Cleveland Browns: Top 5 mid-round picks to target in 2018 NFL Draft
Linebacker Jamie Collins, for as great a player as he is, spent the back half of 2017 with an MCL injury. Who knows if Collins will ever be the same when he comes back for the 2018 season?
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The best way to prepare for a down-graded Collins in 2018? Draft his carbon copy. Dariud Leonard out of South Carolina State could be something like a Jamie Collins 2.0.
Standing at 6-foot-3 and weighing 235 pounds, Leonard is almost identical to Collins. At the 2013 NFL Combine, Collins weighed in only 15 pounds heavier than Leonard.
Leonard also comes from a small school like Collins, who attended Southern Mississippi University, and Leonard is coming out of South Carolina State. Both dominated their respective level of competition.
Both are known for getting into plays behind the line of scrimmage. The similarities, it seems, are endless between Collins and Leonard.
Maybe Collins comes back completely healthy and ready to go for the 2018 season. That is the hope for Browns fans. However, there is always the chance that he never returns to be the same player that he once was.
Leonard is an underrated linebacker in this class, and could end up being a steal in this draft, much like Collins himself was. His size alone will take him to the NFL. If Leonard reaches his full potential, he could end up being just as good, if not better, than Collins.