It was a coup for the New York Giants to land former Alabama safety and likely first-round pick Landon Collins at the top of the 2015 NFL Draft's second-round.
Not just because Collins was widely considered the best player at his position in the entire draft, but because Collins filled an immediate, dire need for a Giants defense that fell well short of expectations in 2014.
"Collins runs a sub-4.5 40. He plays every game with his best effort. He is the best in-the-box safety in this draft. If you're a defensive back for (Alabama coach) Nick Saban, you're well coached. Collins finishes in the run game and he finishes in the pass game," NFL Network's senior draft analyst Mike Mayock said after the selection was announced.
While the presumption has been that Collins will eventually separate himself from the rest of the New York safety pack, it seems that hasn't been the case thus far. In fact, to hear Giants safety coach Dave Merritt tell it, things aren't really progressing all that much in terms of leadership for any member of the unit.
"The chemistry is what I'm really looking for right now," Merritt said Tuesday, via Dan Graziano of ESPN. "You can't have two cooks in the kitchen. I've had that with my wife and her mom. You can't have both of them in the kitchen. Somebody has to go sit down. So you need to have one leader back there, and that's what I'm still looking for. It's elusive. I'm searching for it. If it's Landon, great. If it's Cooper, great. If it's Nat, great. If it's Mykkele, great. But I need to have a leader come up and emerge out of this minicamp and emerge out of training camp."
Collins currently headlines a group that includes fellow rookie Mykkele Thompson, former fifth-round pick and linebacker masquerading as a safety, Cooper Taylor, and second-year man Bennett Jackson. Nat Berhe, who was said to be looking likely for playing time, has been struggling with a calf injury.
In short, a position where no one has yet made a name for themselves - a position which saw the departure of veterans Antrel Rolle, Stevie Brown and Quintin Demps this offseason - remains very much a question mark.
"Very slow," Merritt said. "Very slow leadership, as far as making calls, controlling the defense. If I give you a call and I tell you, 'These are the checks and this is what I need you to do. If you see this formation, this is what you check to,' the guys right now that I have are very slow at making those checks."
Fortunately for Collins and Giants fans, it's still early in the process and things could very well change between now and the regular season. But there's no doubting that it's troublesome Collins hasn't yet been able to take control of a group that, by all rights, should be his.
"Right now, it's a challenge," Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. "It's a challenge to them. It's a challenge for our patience and our trust in them. But every day, it gets better. Every day, there's a trust gained there from the linebackers to the corners back to the safeties. But we've got a long ways to go, in my opinion."
While draft status matters little once the pads go on and the plays are live, if Collins isn't able to make a name for himself this offseason, it will mark a serious disappointment for Giants GM Jerry Reese, head coach Tom Coughlin and all the fans of Big Blue.
