After last Sunday's game versus the Jacksonville Jaguars, Nico Collins was informed that backup quarterback Davis Mills threw his way 15 times in the 36-29 win. Collins, who seemed genuinely surprised by the number, replied, "Yeah, I ain't know I had 15 targets. It didn't feel like it, to be honest with you, but, you know, I just made most of my opportunity."
Now we could choose to look at this one of two ways. First, we could say, Well, in the flow of the game, it's entirely possible that Collins, or any receiver for that matter, would have no idea how many targets or catches he has. Playing devil's advocate, we could also say, Yeah, he's full of it. All wide receivers are divas and Collins is no different. Of course he knew how many times Davis Mills threw to him.
But what if there were a third alternative?
What if Nico Collins truly didn't think about, nor care about exactly how many times he's being targeted throughout the course of a game? Sure, as one play after another goes by, Collins or any receiver could grow frustrated with their lack of involvement, but he doesn't need to perpetuate the stereotypes often associated with NFL wide receivers.
"It's a team sport. Not about me. It's not about yards. Not my targets, man. I just want to win," Collins told reporters earlier this week. "And at the end of the day take care of your business, take care of the details. You know, targets gonna come, plays gonna come. So for me, man, I just want to win. That's my biggest goal."
It's easy for Collins to say this after a game in which he was targeted a career-high 15 times, capping off a three game stretch in which he's been targeted at least 10 times in each of those games.
But what happens when Nico Collins isn't getting all of the targets he could possibly want or handle? Does his approach change at that point?
"Yeah, man, just continue to get open. Continue to run the right routes, and continue to show that you're out there getting open, and just let the ball come to you, you know," Collins explained. "Sometimes it might get a little frustrating, but I feel like once you get frustrated, everything else goes downhill, you know?"
Maybe this thought experiment would be better served for a different wide receiver. Nico Collins has seen his targets per game increase in each of his five NFL seasons, and this year, only 11 players in the league are averaging at least 9 targets per game and Collins is one of them.
Whether it be CJ Stroud or Davis Mills under center, there seems to be a mandate to get the ball in the hands of #12.
"Nico is extremely explosive with the ball in his hand. And as many times as we can get him the ball, good things usually happen for us," Mills told reporters on Thursday. “When he’s playing well, I think our whole offense is going to do well. But I don’t think anything was forced. It was just, Nico’s going to make a play."