With Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott in the same draft class, Maliek Collins got overshadowed and overlooked. But the defensive tackle quietly had a successful rookie season, which has defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli excited about Collins’ future.
Collins’ 656 snaps — 61.9 percent of the defensive plays — were the most of any Cowboys defensive lineman. In fact, among the team’s defenders, only linebacker Sean Lee and four defensive backs received more. Collins, a third-round pick in 2016, made 31 tackles, five sacks and 14 quarterback pressures last season.
Collins, though, expected more and wants more.
“I never meet my own goals,” Collins said, via the team website. “My goal is to be the best player I can be so that I always keep improving. That’s how I set my goals. I don’t really do it statistically. Then you’re out there chasing stats. The goal is to improve every day. If I’m not improving every day, then I’m doing something wrong.”
Collins plays the three-technique, one of the most important positions in Marinelli’s scheme. Hall of Famer Warren Sapp manned that position for Marinelli in Tampa Bay. Collins has studied some the best three-techniques ever, including Sapp, in hopes of becoming the next great one.
“The standards are basically written,” Collins said. “Me being a three-technique, the standards are in the history books of what three-techniques have done in this system. I like to say that’s the standard. The people like John Randle, guys like Warren Sapp or [Keith] Millard, who started the system. [Anthony] McFarland, those types of players.”