Green Bay Packers: Ted Thompson’s top 30 draft picks of all-time
15. Nick Collins (Ray’s pick)
We’ll never know how good Nick Collins could have been, but we do know in the seven seasons he was in Green Bay, he not only helped the team to a Super Bowl championship, but was becoming a perennial Pro Bowler.
Had he not suffered that neck injury against the Carolina Panthers in the 2012 season, he could have been a Packers Hall of Fame player … he was playing at that level when he went down for good.
In those seven seasons, Collins posted 21 interceptions, with his best season being 2008 when he had seven picks, three that he returned for touchdowns. He followed that season up with six more in 2009 and another four in the Super Bowl season of 2010.
He also had 68 pass defenses, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, 340 tackles and 77 assists.
While Collins was the type of player who could thump receivers and ball carriers, he wasn’t utilized as a pass rusher. In those seven seasons, Collins only had one sack the entire time.
Up until that fateful afternoon in Carolina in 2011, Collins had missed just three games – all of them being in 2007.
Probably the biggest play of Collins’ career came on the biggest venue.
He picked off a wounded duck of a pass in the 2010 Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers and returned it for a touchdown that helped make the difference in that game. His dive across the goal line gave the Packers an early lead in that game and eventually was the difference.
It wasn’t until last season that the Packers were able to overcome the loss of Collins in the defensive backfield.
Since he went down and was lost for good, the Packers struggled in finding a player who could lead the defense and make the plays that Collins made.
With the addition of Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to the safety position two seasons ago the Packers finally have a duo in him and Morgan Burnett who are playing like the days when Collins was roaming back there.
Yes, the Packers missed Collins for a long time.
Ted Thompson did well when he picked Collins in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft.
Next: No. 15 (Freddie's pick)