All 49ers

How 49ers DT Alfred Collins is Similar to Older Cousin Trent Brown

If Collins is anything like his older cousin, he will be incredibly light on his feet for such a big man.

Grant Cohn

Feb 26, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Texas defensive lineman Alfred Collins (DL08) during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Feb 26, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Texas defensive lineman Alfred Collins (DL08) during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
In this story:

The first time I met Alfred Collins' older cousin Trent Brown, I wrote him off.

This was 10 years ago at rookie minicamp. The 49ers had just drafted Brown late in the seventh round, so I didn't take him seriously to begin with. Plus, he was immature and had trouble keeping his weight down -- at least that was the book on him.

When I met him during his first group interview, I saw a giant, one of the biggest human beings I've ever met. But he was shy, almost like he wanted to be smaller, and he didn't have much muscle definition. To me, he seemed lanky and uncoordinated. And that is why I'm not an NFL scout.

Turns out Brown was incredibly nimble for his size and was almost impossible to beat in pass protection, particularly when he was young and healthy. But he wasn't always healthy because he was so big. Now, he's on the Houston Texans. So, he's had a successful career.

Which brings us back to his younger cousin, 49ers' second-round pick Alfred Collins. I had the same impression of him this week at rookie minicamp that I had of Brown 10 years ago. Huge. Not chilesed. Not polished. A little uncomfortable in his skin.

But I'm not going to make the same mistake twice.

If Collins is anything like his older cousin, he will be incredibly light on his feet for such a big man. He just might suffer foot injuries because he's so big. He had to sit out rookie minicamp because he's injured right now.

Still, seems like a terriric risk to take in Round 2.

Read more

feed

Published
Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

Home/News
OSZAR »