Todd Collins (linebacker)

{{Short description|American football player (born 1970)}}

{{for|the former American football quarterback|Todd Collins (quarterback)}}

{{Use American English|date=September 2024}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Todd Collins

| number = 54, 59

| position = Linebacker

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|5|27}}

| birth_place = New Market, Tennessee, U.S.

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 2

| weight_lb = 248

| college = Carson–Newman

| draftyear = 1992

| draftround = 3

| draftpick = 64

| pastteams =

• New England Patriots ({{NFL Year|1992|1998}})
• St. Louis Rams ({{NFL Year|1999|2000}})

| highlights =

• Super Bowl champion (XXXIV)

| statlabel1 = Tackles

| statvalue1 = 435

| statlabel2 = Sacks

| statvalue2 = 3.5

| statlabel3 = Forced fumbles

| statvalue3 = 4

| statlabel4 = Interceptions

| statvalue4 = 2

| pfr = CollTo20

}}

Todd Franklin Collins (born May 27, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He started for the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI, and Super Bowl XXXIV for the Rams.

Collins was a champion in high school and college football. He led Jefferson County High School to the 1987 TSSAA AAA State Championship. Coming out of Jefferson County, Collins was a USA Today High School All-American. He received a scholarship to the University of Georgia, where his older brother Brent was already enrolled. Injury problems kept Todd off the field during the 1988 season, and he transferred to the University of Tennessee for one semester. Both Collins brothers subsequently ended up at Carson-Newman College, with whom they won the 1989 NAIA National Championship.

Collins was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 1992 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=1992 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1992/draft.htm |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He left the Patriots for the Rams in 1999. Part of the compensation package the Patriots received from Rams included the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL draft{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}, which the Patriots used to draft Tom Brady.