Collins drafted by Cowboys in 3rd round
It was just shortly after Nebraska’s win over UCLA in the Foster Farms Bowl back in December when defensive tackle Maliek Collins announced he would forego his senior season and move on to pursue his NFL dreams.
On Friday night, those dreams officially came true.
Collins became the first Husker selected in the 2016 NFL Draft when he was taken by the Dallas Cowboys with the 67th overall pick in the third round.
He becomes Nebraska’s first player drafted in the 2016 class and the 37th drafted player since 2006 and the seventh defensive lineman taken during that span.
The 6-foot-2, 311-pounder just recently turned 21 years old and is one of the youngest defensive tackles in the 2016 draft class.
"His productivity really wasn't all that good, only 2.5 sacks this last year," NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. "As you see, 6-2, 311 pounds, but you see the flashes, you see the explosive hands. He can really, really bend, and I think he's going to be a fun project for (Cowboys defensive coordinator) Rod Marinelli. We'll see if they can get it out of him on a down-in, down-out basis, because you see that quickness. It just hasn't quite resulted in the production you're looking for. But it's there. You have a nice piece of clay to work with, and Rod Marinelli is as good as it gets."
Following NU’s loss to Iowa to close out the regular season, Collins submitted a request for a review from the NFL advisory board, which gave him a second-round grade.
That was enough for Collins, who said after the bowl game that he opted to skip his final season in Lincoln primarily because of the opportunity to provide for his family. Collins has a 2-year-old son, Maliek Jr.
A two-year starter for the Huskers, Collins was the team’s co-defensive MVP as a true sophomore in 2014 when he racked up 45 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and 13 quarterback hurries.
Named a team captain prior to his junior season, Collins’ numbers dropped under new head coach Mike Riley and staff, as he finished with 29 tackles, seven for loss, 2.5 sacks and six hurries.
Despite the decrease in stats, Collins was named a consensus third-team All-Big Ten selection.
“I think he was disruptive,” NU defensive coordinator Mark Banker said Collins during bowl practices. “There were a lot of games that we just didn’t get calls against him. Any time he got any kind of penetration … he was getting held, and the ball had to be directed elsewhere.
"What makes him different from a lot of different guys is get-off. He’s explosive. He has good size, and a lot of times good size doesn’t necessarily mean they’re explosive off the ball between the time there’s movement and between the time they actually move. His reaction time is good, so therefore he’s explosive. He can get into the blocks, and therefore he can get off faster.”
