Falcons’ Jalen Collins suspended first four games of 2016
By John Buhler
Atlanta Falcons cornerback Jalen Collins has been suspended by the NFL for the first four games of 2016 for using performance enhancing substances.
The Atlanta Falcons’ second-round pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, cornerback Jalen Collins, has been suspended without pay by the NFL for using a performance enhancing substance. As a result, he will miss the first four games of the 2016 NFL season for Atlanta.
News of Collins’ four-game suspension came to light Friday afternoon and head coach Dan Quinn issued a statement on hearing about Collins’ PED suspension, “We are disappointed to hear the news regarding Jalen today. I have spoken to Jalen about this, and I have no doubt this will be something that he will learn from.”
Atlanta drafted Collins out of LSU in the top half of the second round in the 2015 NFL Draft to help Quinn get an ideal press coverage cornerback that the Falcons were lacking in their secondary. Atlanta already had two promising young corners in Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford playing on the outside, but felt the need to draft their own version on Richard Sherman with that second round selection.
Collins dealt with off-the-field issues with playing for Les Miles in Baton Rouge as a collegiate. His checkered past upon entering the 2015 NFL Draft was a cause for concern for several teams, but Atlanta liked the upside that Collins possessed as a lengthy and rangy press coverage corner.
While he will still be able to practice with the team this offseason, losing Collins for the first four games of the season is a big blow for the Falcons’ secondary, arguably the best area of Atlanta’s improved defense under Quinn.
The off-field issues at LSU, the injuries concerns during 2015 training camp, a down rookie season in the Atlanta secondary, and now this four-game PED suspension has to have Falcons fans concerned about having to endure another questionable mid-round draft choice by general manager Thomas Dimitroff. Needless to say, both Dimitroff and Collins are on thin ice entering the 2016 NFL season for the NFC South’s Falcons.
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