A three-player run of Alabama safeties with first-round talent from Mark Barron to Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to Landon Collins makes comparisons between the three fairly common.
But this isn't common: An AFC scout believes Collins to be the best of the trio even though he hasn't yet played a down in the NFL.
"He's better than Barron, he's better than Ha Ha," the scout told NFL Media's Albert Breer. "If you look at him, he plays special teams, he plays defense, and he's all out. He's just a football player. Good range, good hands, explosive tackler, always around the ball. ... Barron was a good player, but more of a thumper. Ha Ha was more rangy. This guy is a mixture of both."
NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah has called Collins the best safety in the country, and the best defensive player on the field the day he intercepted one pass and broke up two others in a 42-21 rout of Florida. Jeremiah suggested a comparison similar to Breer's source, but included New York Jets rookie Calvin Pryor rather than Barron. On a Crimson Tide roster loaded with NFL talent, Collins is also the favorite of former NFL general manager Phil Savage.
Barron was a 2012 first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, No. 7 overall, while Clinton-Dix went to the Green Bay Packers in May with the No. 21 pick. Collins will decide at the end of the season whether to declare early eligibility for the NFL draft, as Clinton-Dix did after last season.
Collins leads the Crimson Tide defense in tackles with 32, and has one of only two interceptions made by the Alabama defense this season. He'll try to make another on Saturday at Ole Miss, where hot-and-cold Rebels quarterback Bo Wallace already has thrown six of them.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
