Linebacker Jamie Collins Will Be Key Cog for Lions' Defense in 2020
The Lions added former New England Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins in free agency this year.
Collins may not be the highest-profile defender, but he is exactly the type of player the Lions were missing on their bottom-of-the-barrel defense from a season ago.
In head coach Matt Patricia’s hybrid scheme, having linebackers who can line up all over the formation is of utmost importance.
Christian Jones moved on and off the line regularly in 2019.
Unfortunately, he had one of the worst pass-rush productivity ratings in the entire league, and was also a liability in coverage.
When dropping back into coverage, Pro Football Focus graded him with the seventh-worst grade from the off-ball linebacker spot in the NFL.
Needless to say, despite Jones’ versatility, he didn’t necessarily excel in any category.
While seeing 618 snaps last season, Jones’ impact was minimal.
Overall, the linebackers, in general, underperformed.
Enter Collins -- an extremely athletic guy who can do it all.
Whether it be lining up at multiple positions, pass-rushing or covering, Collins is a significant upgrade.
If Collins' snaps do come at the expense of mostly Jones, the SAM backer position is arguably the position with the biggest chance for an uptick in productivity on the entire team. It went from a weakness to a strength in one season.
Of the 100 off-ball linebackers that played in 20 percent of their teams' snaps in 2019, Collins was in the top 15 for both pass-rush and coverage grades, according to PFF.
In fact, he was one of three linebackers to land in the top 15 of both those categories.
Once again, in comparison to Jones, Collins pressured the quarterback on 32 of his 189 pass-rushing snaps last year.
Quite the contrast to Jones' 12 pressures on 126 attempts rushing the quarterback.
To be fair, Collins may not be a huge upgrade against the run or in the missed tackle department. But, he does provide significant value in areas that the Lions have struggled to find from their linebackers in years past.
The Lions have to find a way to fix their defense, and if they find success, Collins is going to be instrumental in their transformation.
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