If used correctly, Redskins blockbuster free agent Landon Collins is worth it

The Redskins made a huge splash as 2019 NFL free agency got underway by signing three time pro bowl safety and all pro Landon Collins.

Another Bama Boy! No one saw that coming, right?

The Washington Redskins deal for Landon Collins resets the safety market and makes Collins the highest paid safety in the league.

Collins is a great player that will improve the Washington defense, but is he worth fourteen million a year? Some analysts see the potential, while others question the move.

Collins is known as more of a box safety, and while he is not considered a liability in coverage, he isn’t a prototype coverage safety either. If the Redskins like safeties that can be interchangeable, is Collins really a good fit? Yes, if they use him right.

Washington has been trying to find a safety/dime linebacker combo for years. It started with second rounder Su’a Cravens, but the role has recently been occupied by Josh Harvey-Clemons.
During those years, a huge weakness of the defense was passing yards allowed to backs and tight ends (especially on third down). What good is it to hold a team to third and five, or third and six, if the team can beat you on a shallow cross or a delayed route from the backfield on the regular?
The problem with hybrid players is that even the better ones seem to be good at everything and great at nothing, so maybe Washington is on to something with Collins.

What if Collins filled two roles to earn his fourteen million?

On first and second down, Collins would play safety. He is a fifth linebacker on early downs, and arguably the best box safety in the league. On long distance plays and third downs, he could switch to a dime linebacker, or a third safety role.

Collins may not be the best coverage safety, but he could be one of the best dime linebackers in the league on third downs, both against the run and pass. Collins also possesses the ability to blitz. Many Redskins fans are still playing the “what if” game with Derwin James (after last year’s draft). If he is used correctly, Collins could put an end to the “ifs”… and “buts”… and “maybes”.
He could become a defensive chess piece on the back end that offenses would have to game plan for week in and week out. Something the defense has lacked for a long time.

All that said, an effective No. 1 corner is needed (ideally Josh Norman), but those kinds of players aren’t exactly keeping offensive coordinators up at night, since every other team has one now, so coordinators know how to game plan against them.

If used correctly, however, Collins is a one-player fix to the defense’s main third down conversion deficiencies, and he can send offensive coordinators scrambling again.

Washington has two young center-fielders in Troy Apke and Montae Nicholson (even if Nicholson’s future is uncertain). They may still need some coverage specialist safety help on the back end, but they could solve that issue cheap in the draft or free agency with a cover specialist (maybe Tre Boston, or even Ha Ha Clinton-Dix at the right price).

If Washington is able to find and additional coverage savvy DB on the back end, they could give teams fits in their sub-packages. Something Washington hasn’t been able to accomplish for years.