Mr. Everything Unloads

There’s almost nowhere on defense that Landon Collins won’t play. And in a wide-ranging interview, the Giants star shows he’s not afraid to go on offense either.

- Matt Bowen

AT THE MIDWAY point of last season, Giants do-everything defensive back Landon Collins was the most do-everything-est player in the NFL. After eight games, he was the only player in the league to lead his team in tackles, interceptions and sacks. The second-year safety from Alabama finished 2016 as the Giants’ top tackler (125 total stops, most in franchise history for a defensive back) and placed third in the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year balloting. Now the 23-year-old breakout star isn’t afraid to let the world know that he should have won DPOY honors, that the Giants are Super Bowl contenders and why the NFL is easier than Alabama—all while managing to get in a few more digs at Dak Prescott. Yes, even in interviews, Collins does it all.

ESPN: Should you have won Defensive Player of the Year?

COLLINS: Khalil Mack had a great season— but he plays one position. I’m all over the field. And he only had, what, 11 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and 1 touchdown? I’m making sacks, tackles for losses, forced fumbles and interceptions.

You played some running back in high school. Could you play offense in the NFL too?

I had 89 carries for 1,200-plus yards as a senior, but I only played running back that one year. I just played it because my team wanted me to. When I got to high school, I was supposed to be a running back. But Eddie Lacy was our starter [at Louisiana’s Dutch town High], so I wasn’t touching the ball. If things didn’t work out at DB, yes, I would’ve been a running back in the NFL.

What if Ben McAdoo wanted to get you a few carries?