It’s painful for Cleveland Browns fans to see their offense consistently suffer while their defense shows so much promise. The team’s defensive squad is packed with young star players who have something to prove, and veterans such as Maliek Collins.
Writing at PFF, Dalton Wasserman named Collins as his breakout player among interior defenders and described why he’s so special.
“Collins has been an important piece of arguably the best defensive line in the NFL in Cleveland. His previous career-high PFF grade was 65.4, set in 2022 in Houston. He’s on pace to shatter that mark with an 86.5 PFF grade that currently ranks third among qualified defensive tackles. Like his Browns teammates, Collins has been unstoppable as a pass rusher. His 90.4 PFF pass-rush grade and 16.8% pass-rush win rate are both top-five marks in the NFL,” Wasserman wrote.
When he was signed by the Browns, most people assumed that Collins would be the sort of player who would add depth, but not much else. But that hasn’t been the case this year, and he is having a career season in multiple ways.
Myles Garrett is obviously a world-beater, but Maliek Collins (#96) is having a career year at 30, and you can't sleep on Mason Graham (#94) or the Browns' other edge rushers
The #Patriots also have to improve vs line games this weekend on top of holding up 1v1 pic.twitter.com/bOBtP5DWb9
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) October 22, 2025
His 3.5 sacks say it all, and they rank second on the team, only behind Myles Garrett. Coming in second behind Garrett is something to be proud of, and Collins is a major reason why this team’s defense is its most important feature.
The Browns still have hopes of reaching the playoffs, and that is only possible if Collins and the rest of Cleveland’s defense stay strong. But they will have to be met at least halfway by the Browns’ offense. So far, this season has been all about defensive breakout players like Collins.
NEXT: Insider Reveals Why Browns QB Is Set Up To Fail
