The New York Giants are poised to drop a whole heaping of expectations onto the shoulders of rookie safety Landon Collins.
Big Blue traded up seven spots to swipe the safety atop the second round of the draft to fill a yawning hole in their secondary.
A box safety, the biggest question mark for Collins is his coverage skills. According to the New York Posts' Paul Schwartz, that struggle was apparent during Saturday's session of rookie mini camp when the rookie was beat by tryout tight end Matt Marfisi because the safety didn't read the pass-catcher's break prior to the snap.
While his coverage must improve, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo noted that Collins took over from a leadership standpoint, a vital step for a rookie safety that will likley be asked to play from Day 1.
"I will say this, from practice one (Friday) to just this morning, I saw a jump already,'' Spagnuolo said of Collins. "They come here initially and they're feeling their way through. They don't really want to say anything, but by the time we got to that last team period (Saturday), Landon was moving people around and directing, so if he can keep doing that every day, I think we'll have exactly what we thought we had when we took him.''
The Giants will utilize Collins as a thumping box safety until his coverage skills improve. With the gaping hole, he'll have to play through the growing pains and display the type of leadership Spagnuolo discussed when the veterans hit the field.
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