The Giants felt like they got a first-round talent when they traded up to select safety Landon Collins with the first pick in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. The former All-American and National Champion from the University of Alabama became an instant starter for the Giants, and has recorded 22 tackles and three passes defended through four games so far.
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Each week, Giants.com will check in on the rising rookie as he embarks on his NFL career.
Q: Last year you were just watching NFL players on TV like everyone else, but here you are now and you've completed the first quarter of your rookie season. Who has been the toughest player to go up against where you had sort of a "welcome to the NFL" moment?
COLLINS: I would say the toughest all-around receiver to defend was [Falcons wide receiver] Julio Jones. He can block. He's a big receiver. He's tall. He's fast. He's athletic. He'll go get it and stuff like that. I watched him at Alabama, so I got to see him play over there, too. So he just took that and brought it up to another level in the NFL. So definitely Julio.
Q. If someone came up to you back when you were a freshman at Dutchtown High School in Louisiana and said you would be the starting safety for the New York Giants as a rookie, what would you have told that person?
COLLINS: It's a dream come true, it's a dream come true. That's something I always dreamed of. It doesn't matter what team I would have been on, it's just the fact that I got the chance to be in here and to be able to play for the NFL. I was five years old when I first thought of playing in the NFL. Actually, I thought I was going to be a running back playing in the NFL. But things changed when I got to high school.
Q: You come from a big-time college program. But from your last college game through the draft process and then training camp, is there anything that caught you off-guard?
COLLINS: Just how long the process was, getting drafted and going through all the other obligations and then getting labeled and then being picked here and then everything constantly moving. Other than that, that's the only big change that happened.
