Collin Oliver Gained All-Pro Supporter During Rookie Season Ruined by Injury

This story encapsulates what Micah Parsons means to the Green Bay Packers as well as what Collin Oliver could mean.

During a meeting at the end of the season, Parsons asked Oliver if he’d like to spend several weeks in Dallas working out together.

“It’s Micah Parsons,” Oliver said, “you got to take that opportunity.”

Parsons, an All-Pro in four of his first five seasons, isn’t a standoffish superstar. It’s not as if Oliver or Barryn Sorrell, who also was part of those workouts, were touted prospects or rookie standouts. They were Day 3 draft picks who had nondescript rookie seasons.

Who would have blamed Parsons for not giving them the time of day? He could have wished them well and headed back home to rehab his torn ACL by himself, and nobody would have given it a second thought.

Instead, Parsons reached out to the young edge rushers. At least Sorrell had shown something. He finished his rookie season with only 1.5 sacks in 14 games, but he flashed a tenacious approach in practice and against the run.

Oliver’s rookie season, on the other hand, was a nothingburger. A hamstring injury sustained at the Scouting Combine required surgery and was a problem for most of the season. He didn’t even get on the practice field until late in the year and wound up playing in one game.

“It means the world, because I want to be great at this sport and he’s one of the greatest players of our generation,” Oliver said of joining Parsons. “To learn from him and to train with him, see where his mind’s at when he’s training, what he does on a daily basis to maintain the level of play that he has, you’ve got to take up on that.”

Like Brothers

Sorrell, Oliver and Parsons got together after the Super Bowl and worked out until the team returned for the start of the offseason program just before the NFL Draft.

“I gained little brothers in the process,” Parsons said. “I love those guys to death. One thing that I loved about them was they weren’t afraid of the hard conversations we had. Sometimes I just took them to lunch and I was like, ‘This is what you need to get better at.’ Everything’s always positive.

Green Bay Packers edge rusher Collin Oliver (45) talks with his bike kid while on the way to training camp last year. | Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“Even when I was away, Collin was showing me videos of his OTA reps and what his footwork looked like. He was like, ‘Are my feet looking right?’ I was like, ‘No, man. You’ve got to keep practicing and working on it and focusing on it.’ That just means how much he believes in me and how much I believe in him, just that safe space we have between each other. That goes a long way when it comes to coming back and them excelling early in their careers, which I think we’ll all appreciate.”

What did Oliver learn?

“A lot,” he said. “Not only the leader he is, but the type of person he is. He really cares about us and he really wants us to be great – all of us to be great. That’s on the whole defense. So, I learned a lot from him as a leader and just as a person.”

The playful Parsons from his weekly conversations with reporters isn’t an act. He’s a “character,” Oliver said.

“He’s funny as hell,” he continued. “Especially being a younger player, it’s easy to take it all in (because) it comes from love. It all comes from love. It’s easy to take on that coaching and the advice when it comes from love.”

Oliver’s rookie season was mostly a lost cause. Because of the recurring hamstring injuries last year, he missed the entire offseason program along with training camp and the preseason. He spent most of the season on injured reserve before practicing for the first time on Dec. 1. He made his NFL debut in Week 18 against the Vikings and contributed a couple pressures.

“It was a really cool experience,” he said. “My first NFL game, of course, and it was really cool to just be out there and let loose. I can’t wait to keep on doing it.”

Can Collin Oliver Help Pass Rush?

The next step was put on hold. Oliver sat out all three weeks of offseason practices due to an undisclosed injury. Rather than going through drills, Oliver worked on the side – a too-familiar sight during his brief career.

“I’m in a great spot, and I can’t wait for where lies ahead,” Oliver said.

What lies ahead is training camp in about six weeks. Parsons will miss the start of the season as he completes his comeback from the ACL injury. Rashan Gary was traded to the Cowboys. Kingsley Enagbare signed with the Jets.

The Packers are going to need Oliver to help supply the pass rush that – on paper – is missing.

Oliver, who had 22.5 sacks, 38.5 tackles for losses and five forced fumbles at Oklahoma State from 2021 through 2023 but played in only two games as a senior in 2024 due to a foot injury, didn’t consider that reality as pressure, though.

“There’s a lot of things that may have happened and things that are happening currently that we can’t control,” he said. “As a player, it’s my job to be the best that I can be so I can help the team win. And that’s where my head’s at. That’s where it’s always going to be at. As long as I’m here, that’s where my head’s at.”

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