On Tuesday afternoon, the New York Giants announced that they would not place the franchise tag on safety Landon Collins, making him an unrestricted free agent. Despite a loaded free agent class, Collins may be the best safety on the market considering his age and his style of play.
Collins has been an incredibly solid safety over the last three years, despite a slight drop in production. According to Pro Football Focus, Collins graded as just the 40th-ranked safety in the NFL in 2018 after posting back-to-back grades of 82 in 2016-2017.
Could Collins be a fit in Oakland? The Raiders are looking for a young safety to pair with Karl Joseph, but are searching for more of a free safety type. While Collins and Joseph could certainly play together, the fit would be kind of clunky, especially when you consider the money the Raiders would have to spend to acquire him.
Both excel in the box, rather than in coverage. Paul Guenther’s defense has always worked better when the team has a true ball-hawk at free safety.
As great of a player as Landon Collins is, the Raiders would be wise to look elsewhere for safety help. Collins just isn’t a great fit in Oakland’s defense at this moment
