The New England Patriots have two young and exciting superstars in the making that continue to be overlooked: Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins. The linebacker couple has terrorized opponents’ offenses but the NFL and most fans haven’t yet taken notice. Both players will break the bank in the next coming seasons, however the players deserve to have the respect of a highly paid player right now.
Collins and Hightower are entering their third and fourth seasons, respectively, and are hoping to develop one of the best linebacker groups in the league with Jerod Mayo, who has been injured the past two seasons. In both seasons Hightower and Collins were forced into much larger roles and leadership positions to help lead one of the top teams in the league. The moment was not too large for either Patriot as New England advanced to two straight AFC Championship games and Super Bowl XLIX.
This past season was a breakout year for both young linebackers with Collins coming in with 116 tackles, 13th best in the league, and Hightower setting a career-high number of sacks with 6.0. The group was a defensive stronghold for the Patriots, racking up nearly 20% of the team’s tackles and 25% of the team’s sacks. In addition, both helped the Patriots with their best defensive unit in recent memory while allowing just 19.6 points per game, 8th best in the NFL. The duo set impressive standards for years to come by holding the rankings of two and three under the category of 3-4 inside linebackers, according to Pro Football Focus.
Overlooked and overrated is not new for Hightower and Collins, as neither player was voted to the 2015 Pro Bowl despite both receiving two votes as inside linebackers for the All-Pro teams. Neither of them are ‘household names’ or thought of as top players in the league (both snubbed from Top 100 Players of 2015), but both are gaining hype around the web. If their strong play, like in 2014, continues then expect to see more media and fan hype for the versatile and ferocious couple.
Hightower and Collins’ versatility make the linebackers two of the most valuable linebackers in the entire NFL. From covering wheel and seam routes to the deadly, bone-crushing double ‘A-gap’ blitzes that premiered last season, Hightower and Collins continue to showcase their top ability on one of the best teams in the whole league. Both linebackers join the likes of Bobby Wagner, Luke Kuechly and DeAndre Levy as some of the top tier young linebackers. Look for the duo to roll heads and draw more attention this upcoming season as they both get prepared for possible extensions. If the Patriots can hold on to two of the best linebackers in the league, who are projected huge salaries, then Patriots’ excellence will continue on for seasons to come.
Kirk von Kreisler is the lead New England Patriots writer for RSEN. You can follow him on twitter @KirkNFL.
