Competing for touches within a loaded Seattle Seahawks backfield during the preseason, second-year running back Alex Collins was ultimately the odd man out between C.J. Prosise, Thomas Rawls and then newly-added veteran Eddie Lacy, leading to his release in September. Collins was scooped up by the Baltimore Ravens just three days after his release, and neither he, nor the Ravens, have looked back.
Collins has taken flight as the Ravens’ go-to back in recent weeks, most notably against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14. Among the 36 running backs with at least nine touches in Week 14, Collins ranked No. 1 in yards after contact per attempt (5.28), tied for No. 1 in forced missed tackles (9) and No. 2 in elusive rating (237.5).
Collins often had success making Steelers defenders miss at the second level, as seen here in his sidestep of Pittsburgh safety Mike Mitchell.
#Ravens RB Alex Collins cuts away from his FB's lead block as he sees the PIT LB fit into his OG's second-level block and makes Mike Mitchell miss (badly) for an easy 17-yard gain. pic.twitter.com/pkBBgE9ltJ
— Austin Gayle (@AustinGayle_PFF) December 12, 2017
Collins earned an 89.3 overall game grade for his efforts in Pittsburgh, which ranked third among all running backs to take the field in Week 14. In fact, Collins has earned at least an 86.0 overall grade in three of his last four games, his only pitfall coming the Houston Texans in Week 12 (73.4).
Since Week 5, Collins has earned double-digit carries in all nine of Baltimore’s games and has forced the seventh-most missed tackles (31), ranking eighth in elusive rating among backs with at least 50 touches in that span. He has also hauled in 13 receptions for 121 yards in just his last six games, giving him the fifth-highest yards per route run average (2.12) among running backs with 12-plus targets since Week 8.
Going from one loaded backfield to another, Collins’ high-level production has helped him push ahead of the slew of talented backs in Baltimore.
Ravens’ Javorius Allen and Terrance West, the team’s second and third-leading rushers in terms of carries, respectively, have combined for fewer forced missed tackles and yards after contact than Collins has amassed on his own.
Collins has specifically outplayed his backfield counterparts on two of the Ravens’ go-to run concepts: outside zone & power. Running 70 outside plays this season, Collins has averaged 5.00 yards per carry, which is 3.22 yards higher than any other Ravens running back. Similarly, Allen has averaged a respectable 4.66 yards per carry on his 35 power runs, but Collins has bested him, averaging 5.38 yards per carry on his 25 power runs.
Here, Collins makes something out of nothing on this power run against the Steelers, effectively bouncing into an open lane as Pittsburgh interior defender Stephon Tuitt works his way into the intended lane.
#Ravens RB Alex Collins uses his signature jump cut to bounce the power run to the lane adjacent to intended/clogged lane, finds open grass & gains 9 yards on 3rd and 2. pic.twitter.com/yiTUnB98rL
— Austin Gayle (@AustinGayle_PFF) December 12, 2017
Collins and Mitchell meet again on this power run, as Collins bounces inside of the kick block to find running room behind his pulling guard James Hurst. Of course, Collins creates his own running room when he can drag defenders for extra yards.
#Ravens RB Alex Collins jumps inside of the kick block from Maxx Williams to run behind his pulling OG on the power run and drags Mike Mitchell for a few extra yards on the gain of 7 — Beautiful. pic.twitter.com/85oKCh0rqA
— Austin Gayle (@AustinGayle_PFF) December 12, 2017
Collins will experience much tougher sledding on the immediate road ahead, as he and the rest of the Ravens’ offense will square off against the Cleveland Browns in Week 15. Though it has yet to have a positive effect on the win column, the Browns’ defense leads in the NFL in yards per carry allowed against outside zone concepts (1.92).
Regardless of the blocking scheme, count on Collins to continue to make defenders miss and bowl through arm tackles against any of the defenses he faces moving forward, as he is showing no signs of slowing down in that regard.
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