Colts Draft: Secondary Options in the First Round
By Evan Reller
Dec 6, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Landon Collins (26) walks through confetti after Alabama defeated the Missouri Tigers in the 2014 SEC Championship at the Georgia Dome. Alabama beat Missouri 42-13. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Safeties
Landon Collins – Alabama
The 2015 draft safety draft class is basically Collins and a lot of mediocre players. For context, ESPN grades Collins with a 90 and the next closest player, Damarious Randall from ASU, is graded at 77 (although that is merely one groups rankings of the two players). Outside of Collins, every safety seems to have a major flaw or be incredibly one-dimensional.
Collins is by far the only safety worthy of a first round pick in this draft. This is just one of the reasons I believe that the Colts should simply pick the best available defensive players with the 29th pick.
Collins would be a quality starter at strong safety for years to come and he excels when he plays close to the line of scrimmage. He’s quietly put some of the concerns about his overall speed to rest at the combine with a 4.53 40-yard dash time.
The problem is that Collins isn’t likely to fall all the way to 29. With the importance on the position, and so many teams needing a safety, the Colts would probably have to trade up to get him and he probably isn’t worth that move.
Randall has gotten a lot of attention lately but he isn’t a true safety. He’s a built more like a cornerback but there is no denying that Randall is a talented player but it remains to be seen if that will translate to the NFL.