Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Zaven Collins was born May 19, 1999, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is a linebacker in the National Football League.

Collins attended Hominy High School in Hominy, Oklahoma. He played quarterback, linebacker and safety in high school. During his career, he had 4,084 rushing yards with 54 touchdowns and passed for 3,056 yards and 32 touchdowns. He committed to the University of Tulsa to play college football. After redshirting his first year at Tulsa in 2017, Collins played in 12 games and started 10 in 2018. He had 85 tackles, 1.5 sacks and one interception. As a sophomore in 2019, he started all 12 games, recording 97 tackles and two sacks. Collins returned to Tulsa in 2020, where he was awarded the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation's best defensive player, as well as the Lombardi Award. Collins was drafted 16th by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2021 NFL Draft. Collins entered his rookie season in 2021 as a starting inside linebacker alongside Jordan Hicks and Isaiah Simmons. He was relegated to a backup role midway through the season, playing the third-most snaps of the inside linebackers. He finished the season with 25 tackles and three passes defensed through 17 games and six starts.

In the 2022 season, he appeared in 16 games and finished with 100 total tackles (63 solo), one interception, six passes defended, and one forced fumble.