Jalen Collins
 Collins with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015 | |||||||||||
| No. 32 Atlanta Falcons | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Cornerback | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Date of birth: | March 20, 1993 | ||||||||||
| Place of birth: | Kansas City, Missouri | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 203 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Olive Branch (MS) | ||||||||||
| College: | LSU | ||||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2015 / Round: 2 / Pick: 42 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Suspended | ||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 16, 2016 | |||||||||||
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Jalen Carnell Collins (born March 20, 1993) is an American football cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Louisiana State University.
High school career
Collins played three seasons at DeSoto Central High School in Southaven, Mississippi, where he played football and ran track. He then transferred to Olive Branch High School for his senior season, in which he recorded 45 tackles, three interceptions and two blocked field goals. He was selected to play in the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Classic. In track & field, Collins competed as a hurdler at DeSoto and posted personal-bests of 14.68 seconds in the 110 metres hurdles and 40.09 seconds in the 300 metres hurdles.[1]
Recruitment
Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Collins was rated as the 22nd best cornerback prospect of his class.[2] A member of Rivals.com Top 250. Rated the No. 249 prospect nationally and as the No. 22 cornerback by Rivals.com. Ranked No. 85 in the Press-Register Super Southeast120. Named to the Mississippi 6A First Team All-State by the Mississippi Association of Coaches. Named to the first team All-State by the Clarion Ledger. He announced his commitment to LSU on July 27, 2010, after receiving a scholarship offer from the school one week before at a summer camp hosted by LSU.[3][4]
College career
Collins red-shirted as a true freshman. In 2012, he played in 13 games, and started one vs. Texas A&M where he recorded an interception. He finished the season with 30 tackles, with two interceptions and six pass break-ups. In 2013, Collins played in all 13 games, while starting two. He recorded 22 tackles and added two pass break-ups. In 2014, he earned a starting position for the Tigers.[5] He recorded 33 tackles, with two for loss, one interception and nine pass break-ups.
Following the season, Collins announced that he would forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2015 NFL Draft.[6]
Professional career
Pre-draft
Coming out of LSU, Collins was projected as a first round pick by the majority of scouts and analysts. He was ranked the seventh best cornerback by NFLDraftScout.com and the second best cornerback by NFL analysts Mike Mayock.[7] Five of six mock drafts by NFL Media analysts had Collins going in the first round. Although he was coming off foot surgery, he was able to participate at the NFL Combine and completed most of the drills and workouts. Collins was unable to workout at LSU's Pro Day due to a foot injury. A week before the draft, NFL Media analysts Albert Breer reported that multiple teams had knowledge of multiple failed drug tests by him during his time at LSU. Before this the New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers were the two main teams to express serious interest in drafting him. NFL analyst Daniel Jeremiah projected Collins being selected in the second round following the findings of the failed drug tests.[8]
| Ht | Wt | Arm length | Hand size | 40‑yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20‑ss | 3‑cone | Vert jump | Broad | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1 in | 203 lb | 32⅛ in | 9⅜ in | 4.48 s | 1.61 s | 2.63 s | 4.27 s | 6.77 s | 36 in | 10 ft 4 in | ||||
| All values from NFL Combine[9] | ||||||||||||||
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons selected Collins in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. He was the fifth cornerback selected in the draft.
2015 season
On May 9, 2015, the Atlanta Falcons signed Collins to a four-year, $5.42 million contract with $2.88 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2.20 million.[10]
Collins entered training camp competing with Robert Alford, Desmond Trufant, and Phillip Adams for a starting cornerback position. Collins was named the fourth cornerback on the depth chart to begin the regular season behind Alford, Trufant, and Adams.[11]
Collins made his professional regular season debut in the Atlanta Falcons' season-opener against the Philadelphia Eagles and made two solo tackles in the 26-24 victory. During a Week 7 matchup against the Tennessee Titans, Collins made his first career start in a 10-7 win. On November 8, 2015, he made his second career start and recorded a season-high five solo tackles during a 17-16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He finished his rookie season with 18 combined tackles in 16 games and two starts.[12]
2016 season
Collins entered the season as the third cornerback on the depth chart behind Alford and Trufant.
On September 3, 2016, Collins was suspended for the first four games of the regular season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.[13]
On October 25, 2016, he appeared in his first game of the season after serving his four-game suspension and as the Falcons loss to the San Diego Chargers 33-30. He made his first start of the season in Week 9 after Desmond Trufant suffered a shoulder injury and was placed on injured-reserve. Collins recorded six solo tackles in a 24-15 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The next game, he made six combined tackles and a season-high three pass deflections during a 38-19 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. On December 27, 2016, he a season-high recorded six solo tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted Cam Newton for the first pick of his career, as the Falcons routed the Carolina Panthers 33-16. The following week, he recorded five solo tackles, three pass deflections, and intercepted Drew Brees in a 38-32 win over the New Orleans Saints.
Collins finished the season with 31 combined tackles (28 solo), ten pass deflections, and two interceptions in eight games and six starts.[12] With the last two victories of the season, the Atlanta Falcons managed to finish second in the NFC with an 11-5 record.
On January 14, 2017, Collins appeared in his first career post season game and recorded four solo tackles and a pass deflection in a 36-20 NFC Divisional game victory over the Seattle Seahawks. On January 22, 2017, he forced a key fumble after he stripped the ball away from Green Bay Packers' fullback Aaron Ripkowski and recovered it, leading to a touchdown. He also made three combined tackles and a pass deflection as the Falcons routed the Green Bay Packers 44-21. In Super Bowl LI against the New England Patriots, Collins had a team-high ten tackles in the 34-28 loss in overtime.[14]
2017 season
Collins was suspended the first 10 games of the 2017 season for again violating the NFL's policy on performing enhancing substances.[15] This length of suspension was due to this being his second suspension for PED use.
References
- ↑ http://ms.milesplit.com/athletes/846286-jalen-collins/feed#.VLA1p3smm4s
- ↑ Jalen Collins - Yahoo Sports
- ↑ Collins blows up at LSU
- ↑ Jalen Collins commits to LSU
- ↑ LSU cornerbacks are older and talented, but veteran Jalen Collins still has a presence
- ↑ Report: LSU cornerback Jalen Collins to enter NFL draft
- ↑ "*Jalen Collins, DS #7 CB, LSU: 2015 NFL Draft". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ↑ Bryan Fischer (April 24, 2015). "Former LSU CB Jalen Collins failed multiple drug tests in college". NFL.com. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ↑ "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles – Jalen Collins". nfl.com. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ↑ "Sportrac.com: Jalen Collins contract". sportrac.com. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ↑ "Ourlads.com: Atlanta Falcons' depth chart". ourlads.com. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- 1 2 "NFL Player Profile: Jalen Collins". NFL.com. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
- ↑ "Falcons Finalize 53-Man Roster For 2016 Season". AtlantaFalcons.com.
- ↑ "Super Bowl LI - New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons - February 5th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
- ↑ Conway, Kelsey (August 6, 2017). "Jalen Collins To Serve 10-Game Ban For Violating NFL Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances. This length of suspension was due to this being his second suspension.". AtlantaFalcons.com.