Maliek Collins

Last updated

Maliek Collins
Maliek Collins.jpg
Collins with the Dallas Cowboys in 2017
No. 99 – San Francisco 49ers
Position: Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1995-04-08) April 8, 1995 (age 29)
Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:310 lb (141 kg)
Career information
High school: Center (Kansas City, Missouri)
College: Nebraska (2013–2015)
NFL draft: 2016  / round: 3 / pick: 67
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 1, 2024
Total tackles:208
Sacks:25.5
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:7
Pass deflections:4
Interceptions:1
Player stats at PFR

Maliek Collins Sr. (born April 8, 1995) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Nebraska and previously played for the Houston Texans.

Contents

Early life

Collins was born on April 8, 1995, in Kansas City, Kansas, to Janice Davis and C.W. Collins, a mechanic. He has two older sisters. His father C.W. died of a heart attack when Collins was 6 years old. [1]

Collins attended Center High School in Kansas City, Missouri, where he was an outstanding athlete in both American football and wrestling. As a junior, he had a 48–5 record in wrestling and advanced to the state quarterfinals. As a senior, he compiled a perfect 48–0 record in wrestling and won the state championship. As a senior defensive tackle he posted 102 tackles (43 for loss), 15 sacks and 5 forced fumbles.

He accepted a scholarship from the University of Nebraska to play college football. [2]

College career

As a freshman, he played in 12 games as a backup defensive lineman. The next year, he was named a starter at defensive tackle, leading the team in tackles for loss with 14, while finishing second on the team with 4.5 sacks and 13 quarterback pressures. He also had 45 tackles (17 solo).

In his junior season, he started 12 games at nose tackle, where he faced more double teams, registering 29 tackles (7 for loss), 2.5 sacks and 6 quarterback pressures. [3]

After his junior season, Collins decided to forgo his senior year and enter the 2016 NFL draft. [4] He finished his college career with 8 sacks, 19 quarterback pressures and 23 tackles for loss.

College statistics

Nebraska Cornhuskers
SeasonTacklingInterceptionsFumbles
YearClassGPTklsSoloAsstLossSackIntYdsTDLngPDFFFRYdsTD
2013 FR 612661.51.0000001000
2014 SO 1345172813.04.5000000000
2015 JR 132914157.02.5000010000
NCAA total3286374921.58.0000011000

Professional career

Pre-draft

Coming out of college, Collins was projected by some analysts to be a second or third round selection. [5]

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 1+78 in
(1.88 m)
311 lb
(141 kg)
33+18 in
(0.84 m)
9+12 in
(0.24 m)
5.03 s1.76 s2.91 s4.52 s7.53 s29.5 in
(0.75 m)
9 ft 1 in
(2.77 m)
25 reps
All values from NFL Combine [6] [7]

Dallas Cowboys

2016 season

Collins was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round (67th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. [8] On July 13, 2016, the Cowboys signed Collins to a four-year, $3.22 million contract with $887,545 guaranteed and a signing bonus of $881,152. He was the last remaining Cowboys player of the 2016 draft class to be signed. [9] He suffered a broken right foot during the first week of organized team activities, he was placed on the physically unable to perform list and missed most of the preseason.

Collins began his rookie season as the fourth defensive tackle on the depth chart behind the veterans Tyrone Crawford, Terrell McClain and Cedric Thornton. [10] Although he made his professional regular season debut in the Cowboys’ season-opening loss to the New York Giants, he did not record a statistic.

The improved play he showed in the second game of the season against the Washington Redskins made the Cowboys decide in the fourth quarter to move Crawford to left defensive end and keep Collins as the full-time one-technique tackle, where he was playing out of position. He finished the game with three combined tackles and multiple quarterback hurries. The following week, Collins earned his first career start at defensive tackle and made two combined tackles in the Cowboys' 31-17 defeat over the Chicago Bears.

On November 9, 2016, Collins made his first career sack on Cleveland Browns quarterback Cody Kessler. He had in 3 tackles and 2 sacks in the 35-10 victory. [11] He started at the three-technique tackle position against the Bears, 49ers, Bengals and Packers.

During a Week 13 win over the Minnesota Vikings, Collins made two combined tackle and sacked Sam Bradford for his third of the season. On December 18, 2016, Collins made one solo tackle, and sacked Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston causing a forced fumble, the first of his career, helping the Cowboys win 26–20. He started 14 of 16 games, making 31 tackles, 5 sacks (second on the team), 14 quarterback pressures (third on the team), one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

2017 season

In the Week 2 against the Denver Broncos, Collins's teammate DeMarcus Lawrence forced a fumble off of quarterback Trevor Siemian. The fumble was recovered by Collins and helped set up the Cowboys on a touchdown-scoring drive in the 42–17 loss. [12]

In the third game against the Arizona Cardinals, he had his second career multi-sack game with two, along with 5 tackles and 2 quarterback pressures. In the fifth game, he moved from under tackle to nose tackle, after David Irving returned from his suspension.

Collins started all 16 games, posting 18 tackles (3 for loss), 2.5 sacks (third on the team), 25 quarterback pressures (third on the team) and 2 fumble recoveries.

Although he did not miss a game, he had a surgery to address a stress reaction in his left foot during the offseason, which bothered him from the sixth game of the season on. [13]

According to the Cowboys coaches' breakdown, Collins had 18 tackles, 2.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, 25 quarterback pressures and two fumble recoveries in 2017.

2018 season

On May 14, 2018, Collins underwent foot surgery to repair a fifth metatarsal fracture in his left foot suffered during an offseason workout, and was ruled out until August. [14]

Collins injured his knee in the second game against the Giants and missed three contests. His first start of the season came in the eighth game against the Tennessee Titans, making a season-best 5 tackles with one for a loss.

He appeared in 13 games with 9 starts. He totaled 16 tackles, 4 tackles for loss (tied for third on the team), 3 sacks (fifth on the team), 20 quarterback pressures (fourth on the team) and one fumble recovery.

2019 season

He started all 16 games, making 16 tackles, 4 sacks (tied for third on the team), 30 quarterback pressures (third on the team) and one fumble recovery. In the fifth game against the Philadelphia Eagles, he had a season-high 5 tackles (2 solo) and added one fumble recovery.

Las Vegas Raiders

On March 30, 2020, Collins signed a one-year contract with the Las Vegas Raiders, reuniting with defensive line coach Rod Marinelli, who was his defensive coordinator with the Cowboys.

Collins was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on November 18, [15] and activated three days later. [16] He played in 10 games before being placed on injured reserve on December 4, 2020. [17] On December 26, 2020, Collins was activated off of injured reserve. [18] He appeared in 12 games with 11 starts, registering 15 tackles and no sacks.

Houston Texans

On March 23, 2021, Collins signed a one-year contract with the Houston Texans. [19] He started 15 games, recording 29 tackles, along with 2.5 sacks (tied for fifth on the team), 9 tackles for loss, one interception, one pass defensed and one fumble recovery.

On March 18, 2022, Collins signed a two-year contract extension with the Texans. [20] He started 15 games, posting 37 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 2 passes defensed. He had two sacks against the Miami Dolphins.

On June 20, 2023, Collins signed a two-year, $23 million contract extension with the Texans. [21] He started 16 games, collecting a career-high 41 tackles, 5 sacks and one pass defensed. He had two sacks games against the Carolina Panthers and the Tennessee Titans.

San Francisco 49ers

On March 14, 2024, Collins was traded to the San Francisco 49ers for first of the 49ers two seventh-round picks (#232-Levi Drake Rodriguez). [22]

NFL career statistics

Legend
BoldCareer high

Regular season

YearTeamGamesTacklesInterceptionsFumbles
GPGSCmbSoloAstSckTFLPDIntYdsAvgLngTDFFFRYdsTD
2016 DAL 1614231765.0501100
2017 DAL 16162210122.5400260
2018 DAL 139191273.0500100
2019 DAL 1616201554.0600100
2020 LV 121115870.0000000
2021 HOU 15152918112.591100000100
2022 HOU 15153727103.5920000
2023 HOU 16164119225.0810000
2024 SF 112200.000100
Career 1201132081288025.5464100.0001760

Postseason

YearTeamGamesTacklesInterceptionsFumbles
GPGSCmbSoloAstSckTFLPDIntYdsAvgLngTDFFFRYdsTD
2016 DAL 110000.0000000
2018 DAL 2210641.0200000
2023 HOU 222200.0100000
Career 5512841.030000.0000000

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References

  1. "Collins driven by force larger than himself", Fremont Tribune
  2. "Former Center football standout Collins impressing at Nebraska"
  3. "Collins driven by force larger than himself", Columbus Telegram
    - "Husker DT Maliek Collins reshapes physique, sets sights on putting up Suh-like stats"
  4. "Nebraska DT Maliek Collins: NFL 'seems like best decision'"
    - "Maliek Collins declares for NFL draft; 'Thank you to all Husker fans'"
  5. "PFF scouting report: Maliek Collins, DT, Nebraska", Pro Football Focus, April 1, 2016.
  6. "Maliek Collins Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. March 4, 2016.
  7. "2016 Draft Scout Maliek Collins, Nebraska NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  8. "Cowboys believe third-rounder Maliek Collins fits scheme perfectly". ESPN. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  9. "Cowboys sign third round pick DT Maliek Collins, officially lock up 2016 Draft class". NFL Trade Rumors. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  10. "Dallas Cowboys Depth Chart". Ourlads. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  11. "Maliek Collins Game-by-Game Stats". ESPN. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  12. "Dallas Cowboys at Denver Broncos – September 17th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  13. "Cowboys guard Zack Martin skipping Pro Bowl, recovering from elbow surgery". ESPN. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  14. "Maliek Collins has foot surgery". NFL. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  15. "Raiders Add 7 Players To COVID-19 List Ahead Of Rematch Vs. Chiefs". CBSLocal.com. November 18, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  16. Gutierrez, Paul (November 21, 2020). "Las Vegas Raiders activate 7 off reserve/COVID-19 list". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  17. "Raiders place DT Maliek Collins on injured reserve". Raiders Wire. USA Today. December 6, 2020.
  18. Damien, Levi (December 26, 2020). "Raiders activate DT Maliek Collins from injured reserve to face Dolphins". USAToday.com. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  19. "Houston Texans Transactions (3-23-2021)". HoustonTexans.com. March 23, 2021.
  20. "Texans bringing back Maliek Collins on two-year deal". Houston Chronicle. March 15, 2022.
  21. Alper, Josh (June 20, 2023). "Texans announce Maliek Collins' contract extension". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  22. "49ers Acquire DL in Trade with Texans; Sign Three Free Agents". 49ers.com. March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.