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Free agent All-Pro safety Landon Collins visiting New York Giants after 3-1 start

Landon Collins
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Aside from maybe the Big Blue faithful, few anticipated a 3-1 start for the New York Giants. The last time they had a 3-1 start came in 2011 when they went on to win Super Bowl XLVI. While no one has similar expectations this time around, the franchise is trying to continue adding pieces, such as Landon Collins, to continue their strong effort so far.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Collins is visiting the Giants on Monday and could strike a deal with his former team.

Now 28 years old, Collins started his career with the Giants after becoming the 33rd pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. After being allowed to leave as a free agent when the Giants wouldn’t match his asking price, Collins chose to stick around in the NFC East, signing with Washington, where he’d get to face his former team twice per season. After three years playing for coach Ron Rivera, now Collins once again finds himself on the free agent market, where he’s been since March.

However, Collins hasn’t exactly experienced a warm market, as he hasn’t been linked to any other teams as of late. His visit with the Giants is the first reported team to be linked to the safety since Washington released the seven-year pro after signing him to a six-year, $84 million contract back in 2019. Collins tore his Achilles in 2020 and couldn’t quite return to top form in 2021, which ended up being his final season in Washington. They have since moved on with Kamren Curl as their starter.

Related: 2022 NFL defense rankings: Reviewing best NFL defenses after Week 4

Landon Collins can help New York Giants boost run defense

Syndication: The Record
Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

At his best, Collins was a hard-hitting box safety who could rack up tackles in a hurry. His lack of range in coverage, however, has limited his appeal around the league.

While Collins still graded highly as a run defender across 13 starts in 2021 according to Pro Football Focus (82.5), his 38.8 coverage grade leaves much to be desired. It gets to a point where when Collins is on the field, teams just target him in pass coverage, making the former All-Pro safety a liability on the field.

Yet, the Giants are banged up on defense, and Collins is eager for another opportunity. Meaning this deal could work out on both sides. While the Giants continued suffering more injuries in their Week 4 win, the visit with Collins was reportedly set up prior to the game’s kickoff.

  • Landon Collins stats (career averages per season: 96 tackles, 1 FF, 1 INT, 5 PD

Just before the season began, the Giants released Blake Martinez, who was set to enter his third season as the Giants’ starting linebacker. Tae Crowder has taken over since. But Collins would likely go back to playing safety, so he’d be set to compete with the likes of Dane Belton.

Yet, the Giants have allowed the fourth-most rushing yards per game through four weeks, so signing Collins would be a move aimed at addressing one of the team’s biggest weaknesses thus far. Starting safety Julian Love also went down with an injury in the win over Chicago. Coach Brian Daboll didn’t want to expand on the severity of the injury, but if Collins is signed, the Giants will at least have more capable depth at the position.

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