Washington Football Team: Landon Collins will thrive in Jack Del Rio’s new scheme

Landon Collins should fit very well into the Washington Football Team’s defense in 2020.

He was the big free agency splash last offseason for the Washington Football Team. Washington finally had its “blue chip” player.

However, like almost everybody, Landon Collins underperformed in 2019. While he was good at stopping the run, he was average to subpar in pass coverage. He wasn’t a bad player by any means. But for a player that has a $14.2 million cap hit in 2020, one that is only going to continue to increase, he just wasn’t good enough.

Due to an uninspiring 2019 season and a defensive line that has the potential to be one of the best in NFL, Collins has gotten no buzz in training camp.  In a recent practice, Collins had a pick-six on Dwayne Haskins and the focus was more on Haskins’ mistake than Collins making a play. In fact, Troy Apke, third-year safety from Penn State and former fourth-round pick has gotten more buzz than Collins.

The previous defensive coaching staff was one that consistently put its players in bad positions. The defensive coordinator is now a quality control coach for Kentucky. You heard that right. A quality control coach, in college football.

With that being said, the new defensive coordinator, Jack Del Rio, is a breath of fresh air. He brings about a strong pedigree of success in the NFL. He coached great defenses while with the Denver Broncos. He understands what it takes to coach a great defense.

It wasn’t that long ago that Collins was considered to be one of the elite safeties in football. In 2016 he was selected as a first-team All-Pro. That’s an honor that a Washington player hasn’t had since 1996.

If you put Collins in the right scheme, you can get an elite player. With a new scheme and coaching staff, here are three reasons why Collins will flourish in this new system and may even return to his All-Pro form.