Willie McGinest says Jamie Collins is the NFL player most comparable to him
At 6-foot-5, 270 pounds, Willie McGinest has a unique body type, and as a result had a unique playing style in the NFL. Drawing direct player comparisons could be difficult.
But in a Reddit.com “ask me anything,’’ the Patriots Hall of Famer took a swing at finding a comparable player in today’s NFL.
“Probably Jamie Collins,’’ he wrote.
Like McGinest, Collins was drafted by the Patriots coming out of college. The former Southern Mississippi linebacker fell to the Patriots in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft, and at 6-foot-5, 250-pounds, is a little smaller than McGinest, who was the Patriots’ fourth-overall pick in 1994.
McGinest was also asked who the best linebackers in the NFL were, and who was most underrated.
“[Demario] Davis and [Luke] Kuechly… but then you got [Justin] Houston. CJ Mosley,’’ he wrote.
Collins is underrated, McGinest added.
McGinest was a fan favorite, like Collins is now. But when the linebacker’s contract expired in 2005 after 12 years with the Patriots, he entered free agency and signed with the Cleveland Browns.
“I just never had the opportunity to stay,’’ he wrote. “I was never offered a deal. It wasn’t just Bill [Belichick], it was [former general manager] Scott Pioli also.’’
So it goes with the Patriots.
McGinest averaged 37 tackles and 6.5 sacks per season in New England, and averaged 33 tackles and 2.6 sacks per season with the Browns.
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