Michigan Wolverines football WR Nico Collins became the third U-M player to hear his name called in this year's NFL Draft, coming off the board when the Houston Texans selected him at No. 89 overall (third round).
Defensive end Kwity Paye and offensive tackle Jalen Mayfield were the first two Wolverines to go, getting picked No. 21 overall by the Indianapolis Colts and No. 68 by the Atlanta Falcons, respectively.
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"It’s like we talked about in the pre-show, it just came a little bit later than I thought with Nico Collins being a good fit," NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah said. "In a draft with a lot of speed, he’s one of the few power forwards.
"A lot of 50-50 balls with Nico Collins down the field, and on back-shoulder throws he’s able to box out defenders down the field. The passes don’t always have to be on target, because he has a great ability to adjust.
"He uses that big body to shield off defenders down the field and can go get the ball in the red zone, high point it, and make the play. You want to play off-coverage, he has that build-up speed and ended up running in the 4.4s [in the 40-yard dash].
"The player you're watching on those highlights is 230 pounds, but he’s now 215 pounds so he’s moving a little bit better. You’re going to have a deep weapon there for the Houston Texas — we just don’t know who’s going to be throwing him the football."
"That was really a must [for Houston]," Charles Davis added. "I feel that way because the Houston Texans' receivers, comparatively speaking, are smurfs compared to Nico Collins.
"To get a plus-sized receiver who can make plays down the field, Chris Conley is the only guy on the roster who's close to that."
"I remember just walking down on the field for warm-ups at Michigan, and he’s one of those guys who walks by and you’re like, ‘Wow.’ He’s very big and still runs 4.4 — it’s so impressive," NFL Network's Joel Klatt exclaimed.
"He suffered from some poor quarterback play at Michigan and I thought he could’ve had more production, but it just wasn’t there at that position."
“He’ll put stress on smaller corners," ESPN analyst Mel Kiper noted. "He’s deemed to be a guy who can separate effectively in the intermediate area. Collins has the size, body control and tracking skills that will allow him to make it as maybe a third or fourth option.”
“They need more size in the receiver group down there in Houston," Louis Riddick added. "Their head coach is a wide receiver coach by trade and knows he needs a big body like this — a guy who can run slants and then take off and take it to the house.
"Collins needs to look like a big-play threat all the time. Some games it didn’t look like that, and then others he’d turn it on again."
Collins came to U-M as a four-star receiver from Birmingham, Ala., in the 2017 recruiting class, but made a minimal impact during his first year on campus (just three catches for 27 yards).
He exploded onto the scene as a sophomore, however, racking up 38 receptions for 632 yards and six touchdowns, with his 6-4, 215-pound stature making him a significant downfield target.
Big plays were the name of the game for Collins during both his sophomore and junior seasons in Ann Arbor, averaging 16.6 yards per catch during the former and a whopping 19.7 yards per grab during the latter.
His 19.7 yard-per-catch average in 2019 was the second-best mark in the league.
Collins' 729 yards in 2019 checked in as the second most on the team, while his seven touchdown grabs led the squad. The Birmingham, Ala., native was thought to be good enough to go pro following his junior campaign, but instead chose to return to Ann Arbor in 2020 for another go-round.
He opted out, however, when the Big Ten originally canceled the fall football season, and never opted back in. Collins became a fan favorite during his time with the Maize and Blue thanks to his positive attitude and big-play abilities.
He also only dropped four passes (according to Pro Football Focus) his entire time in college.
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