Stellar, Standard & Subpar: Nico Collins In 2020

Nico Collins has a chance to blow up as a senior.

Author:
Brandon Brown
Publish date:
Jun 9, 2020 4:28 PM EDT

We continue our series as we look at each potential contributor on Michigan's roster in numerical order and look at what would be a stellar, standard and subpar season in 2020.

We're on to No. 4, senior wide receiver Nico Collins.

Collins is Michigan's biggest pass catching threat and could be in line for a monster season. If U-M can get consistent quarterback play and second-year offensive coordinator Josh Gattis can pick up where he left off, Collins has the physical tools to put together a special season.

Last year, Collins had 37 receptions for 729 yards, both second most on the team behind Ronnie Bell, and a team high seven touchdowns. At 6-4, 222 pounds and with 4.46 speed, Collins simply should be more productive than that.

With that said, what kind of season would be considered stellar, standard and subpar for him?

Stellar

Collins is a special talent and he needs to perform as such. Granted, his production is dependent upon the quarterback throwing him the ball and the play calling and schemes to get him open, but he's too big and talented to finish with less than 40 catches and 800 yards.

In my opinion, he's good enough to eclipse 60 receptions, 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns. To me, that needs to be the very realistic goal, and would also qualify as a stellar season.

Standard

For Collins, a standard season should still be an improvement on last year. With Donovan Peoples-Jones off to the NFL, and Tarik Black off to Texas, Collins is the guy on the outside. Bell is going to get his, as he did last year, but Collins needs to be the deep threat, red zone option and possession guy. He's got the body and skill set to excel in all three areas. A standard season for him would be about 45 catches for 800 yards and 10 touchdowns. That needs to be the floor.

Subpar

A subpar season for Collins would be anything less than or equal to last year. I don't see how his numbers don't go up, so 37 grabs for 729 yards and seven touchdowns needs to be the absolute baseline for his goals in 2020. If any of his totals are lower than they were in 2019, I'd chalk it up as a disappointing final season in Ann Arbor.

My Thoughts

I think Collins is going to be great in 2020 and I think Josh Gattis is going to make sure of it. He worked closely with Collins back when they still could and seemed very proud of Collins' 4.46 time in the 40. If Collins is really running that fast at 6-4 and around 230 pounds, eclipsing 1,000 yards and scoring 10 or more times should be very realistic.

I think he'll do it, regardless of who the quarterback is. He's got the mindset, skills and play caller to get him the ball often enough to put up some big numbers and become the first 1,000-yard receiver since Jeremy Gallon back in 2013.