Seahawks L.J. Collier says the disrespect has been well noted

When the curtain came down on the 2019 season for the Seattle Seahawks, it did so with many fans hoping that Jadeveon Clowney would be brought back, with hopes for continued improvement from 2018 third round pick Rasheem Green. Further, many fans were quick to voice their displeasure with the on field performance of 2019 first round selection L.J. Collier, who was limited by an injury in camp and remained buried on the depth chart for much of the season.

Collier, in fact, remained so buried that he logged just 152 defensive snaps during the regular season and was a healthy scratch on multiple occasions. This was not welcome news for many fans who had hoped that the first rounder could see significant snaps and make an instant impact on the field for a team lacking when it came to pass rush for much of the season. The fact that he was inactive on gameday, particularly for the Wild Card win over the Eagles, seemed to make an outsized impression on fans, who have been quick to voice their displeasure over the return on the team’s pick. This criticism coming in spite of the fact that he actually had more playing time than other top picks of the team. Specifically, during the 2019 season Collier saw the most playing time of the last three top overall picks of the Seahawks.

• 2019 top pick L.J. Collier: 152 regular season snaps
• 2018 top pick Rashaad Penny: 150 regular season snaps
• 2017 top pick Malik McDowell: 0 regular season snaps

So, even though his playing time was greater than other recent top draft picks, fans were not happy with his performance and have been quick to voice that both in the comments on sites such as Field Gulls, as well as on social media.

Getting back to the current day, however, Collier met virtually with members of the media Friday as part of the Seahawks offseason program, and like another former Seahawk taken in the first round, he has taken note of the disrespect. Specifically, he stated that he will be using the disrespect as motivation going forward. While here at Field Gulls it has been noted how well he comps out to Michael Bennett, Collier confirmed that the team intends to utilize in a role similar to that of Bennett where he reduces inside in passing situations.

For those who would like to hear for themselves what Collier had to say during his question and answer session with the media, the team has posted the full video online.