New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper appeared earlier this week on the NFL Network to discuss his team's recent draft picks and provided commentary about the network's top 100 NFL player rankings.

Shaper, who played cornerback and safety for the Packers from 1997-'04, provided his list of the six best safeties in the NFL today. He put Nick Collins of the Packers third:

1. Troy Polamalu (Pittsburgh)
2. Ed Reed (Baltimore)
3. Nick Collins (Green Bay)
4. Antrel Rolle (N.Y. Giants)
5. Adrian Wilson (Arizona)
6. Brandon Merriweather (New England)


Collins made the top 100 players list at 96.

He loses creditability when he ranks Merriweather on there.

Originally Posted by: porky88 

It's really tough for me to think of a safety that I'd rate above Collins (besides Polamolu and Reed). He's great in coverage, solid in run support, and makes game changing plays.

Originally Posted by: millertime 

I was surprised to hear Sharper call him "The gambler". I never thought of Collins as a constant risk taker.

Collins has certainly improved significantly since we drafted him. I remember his first few years he had total hands of stone. He couldn't catch a pass to save his life. Now, he is one of the best ballhawks in the entire league. I think playing alongside Woodson really helped him(same for Tramon).

And BTW, Collins was seriously screwed over on the NFLs top 100 players list. 96? At the very best, the players rated him the 5th best safety behind Reed, Troy, Rolle, Wilson and Berry. Antrel Rolle ranked ahead of him over 30 spots on the countdown.

Originally Posted by: Kingkoopa 

It's really tough for me to think of a safety that I'd rate above Collins (besides Polamolu and Reed). He's great in coverage, solid in run support, and makes game changing plays.

Originally Posted by: millertime