Michigan Football: Nico Collins returns makes WR room ultra talented

Believe it or not, Michigan football would have been really talented at wide receiver without Nico Collins, but now the Wolverines are loaded for 2020.

You don’t have to know much about Michigan football to know that getting back wide receiver Nico Collins for his senior season is a big deal.

In a sport that’s all about impact players and guys that can change the game, Collins is a true deep threat and someone that can legitimately win those 50/50 jumps balls, which is something Michigan would have lacked if he went to the NFL.

But honestly, even as it might look like Michigan football is seeing an exodus at wide receiver with Donovan Peoples-jones going to the NFL and Tarik Black transferring, the truth is that it was always going to be this way.

Peoples-Jones was the No. 1 wide receiver in his class. He didn’t necessarily live up to the hype, but he didn’t have the best quarterback situation to work with. Shea Patterson was a big improvement and the numbers reflected that in a sense.

However, Patterson was never a great deep-ball thrower and that hurt Peoples-Jones production. He’s a solid route runner but just someone that fits better in the NFL, attacking deep and over the middle. I doubt he will ever be a No. 1. But I could see him in Green Bay or somewhere like that and with a talented thrower, he’d excel.

Coming into the season, we all thought DPJ, Black and Collins would have exceptional seasons. It didn’t really happen that way and the adjustment period to Josh Gattis took longer than expected.

The new offense is also predicated on some quicker routes and quicker throws that aren’t necessarily a strength of Peoples-Jones and Collins. Black falls in that category too, although if he wasn’t going pro, he should have returned.

Now, Collins will get the chance to be the No. 1 guy and surrounding him will be a bunch of speed-in-space attackers in Ronnie Bell, Giles Jackson, Mike Sainristil and A.J. Henning. Those are all guys who can play in the slot or move outside and Cornelius Johnson, as well as incoming freshman Roman Wilson should also help add deep threats. Johnson caught a TD against Notre Dame this season.

But that’s also why the return of Collins is so important. Michigan football has all the other pieces to be dynamic at wide receiver, however, every team needs that guy that can win on deep balls and in the red zone and in Collins, the Wolverines have it.

Collins has gone over 630 receiving yards the past two seasons and caught 13 touchdowns. He also averaged 19.7 yards per catch last season. That’s a big-time weapon and with him back in the fold, the wide receivers are loaded heading into 2020.