Former Notre Dame standout taking advantage of his NFL opportunity, and looks like the latest feel good story to defy the odds
Former Notre Dame standout turning heads in training camp for the New York Giants
It was an interesting lone year with the Notre Dame football program for former Clemson wide receiver Beaux Collins. He became an important player during the team’s run to the National Championship Game against Ohio State, having several solid games, and some clutch moments. For the most part, however, Collins was extremely inconsistent in 2024 with the Fighting Irish.
At 6-3 and 206 pounds with impressive explosiveness and leaping ability, Collins certainly looks the part of NFL wide receiver. If you turn on the Texas A&M or Stanford games from this past season, you would have seen dominant moments from Collins. For whatever reason, Notre Dame fans just didn’t see it enough.
In 16 games that Collins played with the Irish, he had eight games where he failed to eclipse 20 receiving yards. He had two games where he didn’t manage to make a single reception, and didn’t have more than 37 yards in a game over his last eight games played. His impact just wasn’t consistent despite him starting every game in the boundary.
During Collins’ four-year career with Clemson and Notre Dame, he finished with 132 receptions for 1,780 yards and 14 touchdowns. There were moments of impressive play, but most fans still wondered why he wasn’t a more dominant player consistently.
That lack of production and consistency caused Collins to go undrafted during the 2025 NFL Draft, but he is in the middle of a really impressive preseason for the New York Giants. According to ESPN New York Giants reporter Jordan Raanan, Collins has been running with the first team offense, which is a great sign this deep into training camp.
“You are getting first-team reps, that means something, at this point in the summer,” Raanan said. “Definitely a name I am keeping an eye on.”
Collins has continued to create hype in New York during the team’s most recent matchup against the Jets. It was early in the game when Collins was on the receiving end from quarterback Russell Wilson. Collins was brought down just short of the goal line but managed an 80-yard reception in spectacular fashion.
With just a couple of weeks left in camp, it looks like a lock for Collins to make the Giants roster. The bigger question now is just how big of a role will Collins have in 2025? The team has been looking for some size out wide to go along with star pass catcher Malik Nabers. It appears that Collins is very strong in that conversation.
We have seen Collins start strong and fizzle out a bit down the stretch, including just this past season, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can maintain the momentum. Some are starting to believe that Collins could be one of the latest examples of an undrafted free agent who surprises, and he has put himself in line for a real role this season despite the odds being against him to begin the process.
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