Seattle Seahawks DE L.J. Collier: I have sights on Pro Bowl, being NFL's best DL

L.J. Collier isn’t lacking in confidence.

The Seattle Seahawks defensive end, coming off a strong second NFL season, explained to “Good Morning Football” his high hopes individually and for the team in 2021.

Among them? Showing the world that he can be the best defensive lineman in the NFL.

“I have a Pro Bowl in my future,” Collier told the show. “I also want to win a Super Bowl with the team. I really just want to be the version of myself.

“This year (2020) I showed signs of being a super top tier player,” Collier continued. “I have to go all the way through, complete that and show I can be a top-tier player in this league and for sure the best defensive lineman in the league. That’s what I plan to show this next year.”

Collier, 25, started all 16 games for the Seahawks this past season at the five-technique defensive end spot. He had three sacks, seven quarterback hits, four tackles for loss and two pass breakups on the year. After an injury-riddled rookie campaign in 2019 in which he played 11 games and recorded just three tackles, a leaner Collier in 2020 began to show the promise that made him Seattle’s top pick two years ago.

And he plans to take the next step in 2021.

“I had very limited pad time and things like that. I was playing catch-up all of my rookie year,” Collier said, referring to the high ankle sprain he suffered in his first Seahawks training camp in 2019.  “Getting used to playing and things like that again. It was really frustrating. But I’m a competitor. A lot of people tried to count me out. Talking about this and that and ‘he can’t do this’ and ‘the Seahawks made a mistake.’ I wasn’t really worried about it. I knew what I could do with a healthy body. So I went out there and proved that this year.

“I didn’t even scratch the surface of what I know I can do. Year 3, I’m really going crazy.”

Collier added that he had an ankle scope procedure done this week. He indicated that it wasn’t that serious, saying that he had to just “get my ankle cleaned out a little bit.”

Collier posted a picture pre- and post-surgery on his Instagram story Tuesday.

“It was a quick procedure,” Collier explained. “I’m in a (walking) boot now. It really wasn’t that bad. Gotta let everybody know I’m straight.”

Collier was also asked for his thoughts on the trade rumors surround his teammate, quarterback Russell Wilson, after Wilson went to the media to voice frustration over his pass protection.

“I’m not buying it at all,” Collier said of the trade rumors. “Russ is Seattle. He's our quarterback. He’s a winner … Russ is going to be our quarterback for years to come. I don’t see him going anywhere. He’s a great guy. He’s our leader. I don’t see anybody (else) being under center for a while. That’s my take on it.”