L.J. Collier ready to prove to Arizona why Seattle made him a first-round pick
The bottom of the first round of the 2019 draft was not great. Heck, it wasn't even good. Defensive lineman L.J. Collier was one of the disappointments, going to the Seahawks with the 29th pick.
In four seasons in Seattle, Collier played 45 games, had three sacks and made $10.8 million.
He left in free agency this offseason, signing a one-year, $1 million deal with the Cardinals.
“Those are great people over there," Collier said Tuesday, via Tyler Drake of Arizona Sports. "It just didn’t fit for me. Just wasn’t my type of system, my type of place. I tried my hardest to make it work but sometimes places and things don’t work out. So, onto the next one.
“I feel like I’ve made a home here, and I think that I’m going to prove in the next couple weeks that I am worthy of the first-round pick that I was a couple years ago and we have a chance here to be great.”
Collier will get a second chance with the Cardinals, who lost Zach Allen in free agency and J.J. Watt to retirement in the offseason. He won't have the pressure he had in Seattle.
In Arizona, no one expects anything from him.
“I’m five years in. I’ve proved that I can play,” Collier said. “Now, it’s about being consistent. Can I be a Pro Bowl-type player? Can I help an organization get to the playoffs? Can I be a showstopper? That’s what’s important to me.
“I have nothing left to prove to anybody but myself that I deserve to be here and that I can play at the highest level with the best.”
