Collins is a big linebacker from Tulsa at 6’4 260 but he moves surprisingly well. He projects as a SAM linebacker in 4-3 schemes and 3-4 schemes. He’s a pretty versatile player so 3-4 vs 4-3 wouldn’t matter too much for him. Going to a zone team however, would maximize his tremendous capabilities as a zone defender.

Strengths: 

  • Amazing in Zone Coverage

Zaven Collins best tape is when he’s in zone coverage. His technique is amazing and he is constantly gaining ground backward. His look backs are well timed and his anticipation after those look backs is great as well. He reads the QB well in zone and closes on underneath routes quickly. His play recognition in zone is absolutely amazing. In his limited man snaps he more than held his own.

  • Good Run Defender as Well

He’s not as good in the run game as he is in zone coverage but he’s still a great run defender.

  • Speed/Explosiveness

He has surprising play speed for his size to get from one side of the field to the other and he fills his gaps quickly. Once he sticks his foot in the ground he can really get going and make plays. 

  • High Effort Player

Collins is always in pursuit and he regularly finishes plays because of his pursuit and high effort. He doesn’t take himself out of plays by jogging near the end of plays

  • Mentally Quick

He’s got a great processing ability which let’s him get to plays quicker. Mentally he’s almost always one step ahead of the offense which is huge. His instincts are pretty great as well both in the run and pass game and he makes plays others can’t because of these instincts.

  • Good Strength

He has great strength so fighting through traffic and getting off of blocks is something he’s good at.

  • Great Hand Usage

He still has room to grow when rushing the passer but one thing he does extremely well is use his hands. This shows up in the run game as well but his hand placement and punch strength are top notch.

  • Opportunistic Player

Collins is also a very opportunistic player and will create turnovers when given the opening.

Weaknesses: 

  • Bad Short Area Quickness

He has surprising speed and burst for a bigger guy but this doesn’t translate into short area quickness and change of direction ability. Because of this problem he’s not able to maneuver tight spaces or do well in the open field in one on one scenarios.

  • Stiff Lower Half

He has a pretty stiff lower half which leads to him not being able to turn the corner around offensive lineman to make a play.

  • Not Great Rushing Passer

As a pass rusher he’s not amazing. For as strong and fast as he is he almost never attempts a bull rush with a speed to power conversion and with his somewhat short arms he can be taken out of rushes at times. He also doesn’t have much bend which narrows down a lot of what he can do rushing the passer. 

Player Comp: Collins reminds me a lot of KJ Wright from the Seattle Seahawks. These are both bigger players who have surprising speed and they both excel in zone coverage. They also are both opportunistic players, who process the game incredibly fast, and they both have stiff lower half with limited lateral mobility. KJ Wright does have more length than Zaven Collins which helps Wright rush the passer a bit better but other than that I think they’re extremely similar players and Collins should be nearly as good as Wright.

Final Thoughts: Zaven Collins is a player that I like a bit more than other people do and this is mainly because of his ability to cover which is so coveted for linebackers nowadays. He’s a bigger guy who can cover which is extremely rare and he’s also very smart which is why I think that he should go in the 16-24 range of the first round of the draft. Two teams that Collins would fit well on are the Jets and Raiders, because they both run the Seattle zone system that I think Collins would fit perfectly in and they both have a need at the position.