Anthony Campanile doesn’t need a scouting report to introduce him to Nico Collins. The Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator was on the Michigan staff while Collins was catching deep balls in Ann Arbor, and after the Jaguars’ ugly win across the pond last week, he spent Thursday explaining why the Houston Texans receiver worries him down the field.
“Nico was at Michigan when I was at Michigan so I kind of know him pretty well,” Campanile said at his media availability Thursday. “He can run down the field. He can go make plays on nines and eights down the field.”
Nico Collins still stretches the field
Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Nines are go routes and eights are posts, and Collins has run both well since his college days. Campanile joined Jim Harbaugh’s staff as a linebackers coach in 2019, and that fall Collins caught 37 passes for 729 yards and seven touchdowns, nearly 20 yards per catch.
The vertical threat followed him to Houston. Collins averaged 16.2 yards per catch during his 1,297-yard season in 2023 and carries a 14.4-yard career average. This year he has 19 catches for 249 yards and three touchdowns in three games, per Pro Football Reference. “He’s to me, in every facet, a well-rounded receiver,” Campanile said.
The man throwing to him has Campanile’s attention, too. C.J. Stroud has six touchdown passes and no interceptions in five games, and the coordinator credited his tempo after the Jaguars practiced at The Grove in Watford. “He’s really decisive back there, and he’s doing a great job getting the ball out quickly,” Campanile said, according to the team’s Thursday practice notebook. Houston also acquired Marvin Harrison Jr. from Arizona last weekend, which gives Stroud another option outside.
Much of the Collins assignment could fall to Travis Hunter, who has grown into the job, playing every defensive snap at cornerback against Cincinnati two weeks ago. The 4-1 Jaguars are the designated home team at Wembley Stadium on Sunday for their second straight London game, and the 1-4 Texans arrive off a 26-3 win at Tennessee. Keeping Collins in front of the Jaguars’ secondary is the first item on Campanile’s list.
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