It may just be Landon Collins’ first season as a member of the Washington Redskins, but there’s already a certain aura in the nation’s capital that is beginning to resonate with football fans across the community. Collins and this Redskins defense are capable of doing special things this season, and the feeling of optimism and hope heading into the Redskins’ 2019-20 campaign is vastly different from years past. “I know we all know how to play ball together,” Collins told Def Pen Sports in a recent interview. “We know how to win and we know what it takes to win. From that standpoint, we going to give it our all and play hard for each other.”
Fresh off an injury-marred 2018 campaign that saw the Redskins drop six of their final seven outings, Washington knew this summer would be crucial. Bringing in someone of Landon Collins’ caliber was a focal point, and a clear emphasis was made on bolstering an already improving defensive unit. Still, the safety position remained one of the team’s weakest links. Washington has been desperately looking for any sort of quality safety play for not only the last few seasons but for a decade-plus stretch dating back to the tragic passing of Sean Taylor in 2007. The Redskins have seen the likes of LaRon Landry, Chris Horton, Brandon Meriweather, DJ Swearinger, HaHa Clinton-Dix and plenty others come through Washington, but none have stuck as a long-term solution.
“I had the opportunity to go other places, but it felt like that was the right place for me to be”
Collins figures to change all of that though, and the lucrative 6-year, $84 million contract he received only supports that notion. The Alabama product comes to Washington after spending four incredibly successful seasons with the New York Giants, the same team that selected him with the 33rd pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. In his four seasons as a pro, Collins would rack up three Pro Bowl appearances and earn first-team NFL All-Pro honors in 2016.
With a resume like that already under his belt at the age of 25 years old, one would expect the Giants to do absolutely everything in their power to retain Collins once he hit free agency this offseason. Instead, the Giants reportedly shopped Collins ahead of last year’s trade deadline, which he pinpointed as the reason he decided it was time to explore options elsewhere.
“That’s when I knew,” Collins said. “It was time to move on when they were trying to trade me.” But Collins wasn’t discouraged by his relationship with New York going south. Instead, Collins used free agency to begin a new chapter in his career, in a place he feels like he fits in perfectly with Washington. Collins highlighted the Redskins’ internal unity and “camaraderie” as one of the franchise’s most appealing elements when making his decision.
“I had the opportunity to go other places, but it felt like that was the right place for me to be,” Collins says of Washington. “It had the right team, the right guys, had the right camaraderie within the organization so I was like ‘yeah, let me get over here.’”
Now with training camp well-underway, Collins is already seeing the early benefits of a defense and overall unit that’s on the same page. While Collins joins Josh Norman and Ryan Kerrigan as some of the proven veteran leaders of the group, it’s Washington’s youth and togetherness that could give this team a true edge next season.
“The best part is you know you have your starters and your superstars, but at the end of the day nobody counts on only that superstar making a play,” Collins says. “Everybody on this defense shows that they’re a playmaker or some kind of game-changer.”
This developing rapport combined with an influx of young talent should operate as a shot of energy for a franchise that has lacked much excitement at all in recent years. In just a couple short months of working with them, Landon Collins already detects a brand-new energy emanating from this Washington defense.
“Not making it to the playoffs would be a disappointment. I know the kind of guys we got and the people we’ve put together and it’s all looking like it all fits right together.”
It all starts in the trenches, where the Redskins feature a staunch three-man crew that stacks up against some of the better fronts in the entire NFL. Second-year men Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen figure to build on impressive rookie campaigns while Matt Ioannidis blossomed into a star himself last season.
Washington was a top-five run defense over a month into last season but their effectiveness plummeted as injuries piled up and began to take their toll. The team desperately swung a midseason trade for HaHa Clinton-Dix in a last-ditch effort to patch their secondary, but to no avail. Clinton-Dix would only play in nine games for the Redskins before signing with Chicago this offseason.
But with that trio of Payne, Allen and Ioannidis still in place and wreaking havoc at the line of scrimmage, Collins, Norman and other members of their secondary should be freed up to make game-altering plays on the back-end next season.
However, the potential doesn’t just lie on the defensive side of the football. After falling down boards further than many draft experts had expected, the Redskins lunged on Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins with the 15th overall pick in this summer’s NFL Draft. Some project Haskins to become the premiere quarterback prospect of his draft class, but he will first have to earn the starting job over experienced starter Case Keenum.
However, Collins says there shouldn’t be any rush to throw Haskins into the fire early, especially with a suspect offensive line and daunting early season schedule. While the competition between Haskins and Keenum figures to run through the preseason, Collins says he likes what he sees from both and knows it’ll still take some time for Haskins to adjust fully to the NFL.
“They’re definitely doing their thing, they’re making great throws, making great plays, making great decisions with the ball,” Collins explains. “I think the thing I like about Haskins is he’s a rookie so he came in throwing the ball in positions and places he shouldn’t be throwing the ball in but he’s trying to push the issue to where he can get his mistakes out the window early. He’s learning where he can and can’t throw the ball.”
With a wealth of fresh new faces on both sides of the football, expectations heading into next season are higher than ever in DC. This added pressure isn’t something the Redskins are hiding from either, rather, they’re embracing it.
In a division as tight as the NFC East which is typically decided by a game or two, Landon Collins and the Skins have the utmost confidence in their chances next season. Even with an unproven offense and a defense striving to gain an identity, Landon Collins says the postseason is not only within reach for Washington, but an expectation.
“Not making it to the playoffs would be a disappointment. I know the kind of guys we got and the people we’ve put together and it’s all looking like it all fits right together. We should be in the playoffs.”
