NFL draft prospects like Landon Collins aren't supposed to have a favorite team.
They're coached by agents and advisors to, when asked about any potential franchise that may select them, state simply that they love the team, they've heard great things about the city and the fanbase and that they'd relish the opportunity to put on *insert team name here*'s uniform.
In that regard, Collins isn't your usual draft prospect.
"I grew up a Redskins fan," Collins said on the NFL Network recently, per Bryan Fischer of NFL.com. "I was a big Sean Taylor and Clinton Portis fan. Those were my two favorite players, so I grew up seeing them play for the Redskins, so that would be my dream, to play there."
While Collins is currently projected to go somewhere within the middle to late portion of the first-round of the 2015 NFL Draft and the Washington Redskins hold the fifth-overall selection, meaning that barring a trade-back by new Skins GM Scot McCloughan in the first or a trade-up from their spot in the second, it seems an unlikely marriage of value and need between Collins and Washington.
That being said, there is certainly a need there for the Redskins. Despite the recent trade for Dashon Goldson, Washington could use one or two - heck maybe even three or four - upgrades in their defensive secondary.
The Redskins finished the 2014 ranked 24th in the league in opponent passing yards per game. They also gave up 35 touchdowns, the worst mark in the NFL
While he does have some limitations in man coverage, Collins is far and away the top safety prospect in the draft and would certainly prove an upgrade on one of the two safety spots for the Skins. He nabbed three interceptions, one fumble forced, seven passes broken up, 4.5 tackles for loss and 102 total tackles in his junior season for Alabama.
Despite his ardor for the Redskins, Collins was adamant that he'd rather go to another team in the first-round of the 2015 NFL Draft than potentially slip to Washington in the second-round.
