Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle L.J. Collier, the team’s first-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft, only played six snaps in last Sunday’s overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
That continued a growing trend, with Collier only playing 10 or more snaps in three of the six games he’s appeared in this season.
Considering Seattle’s biggest need is in the pass rush, an area of strength for Collier coming out of college, his lack of playing time points to him not being ready to contribute at the NFL level.
However, the 24-year-old missed most of training camp and the entire preseason with an unusual ankle injury, which slowed his development and is still impacting his learning curve — at least, according to coach Pete Carroll.
“He’s just a young guy getting going,” Carroll commented on Thursday. “Go back he missed a lot of camp time, that time is so important for the young guys to develop. It’s just a process. He’s going to help us before the end of the year.”
Collier came to the Seahawks as the 29th overall pick in April’s draft, a hulking defensive end out of Texas Christian University. His versatility as a rusher off the edge and from the interior drew comparisons to Michael Bennett and made him a favorite to replace Frank Clark as Seattle’s go-to pass rusher, alongside Ziggy Ansah.
Neither Ansah or Collier have lived up to expectations, however, and the team has relied heavily on Jadeveon Clowney, who they acquired just before the season, as well as veteran Quinton Jefferson, to generate a rush that remains among the worst in the league.
Carroll’s confidence in Collier is promising, potentially an indication that he is turning a corner and will start to generate more of a rush in the second half of the season – ideally as soon as Monday night when the team takes on Jimmy Garoppolo and the undefeated 49ers.
