Maliek Collins

Golden Nuggets

• In college, earned citizenship awards for his time spent volun- teering with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Mad Dads, Uplift- ing Athletes and the Madonna Rehabilitation Center.
• Grew up the youngest of three, with two older sisters.
• As a wrestler, won the Missouri Class 2A state championship with a perfect 48-0 record in his senior season.

Golden Nuggets

• In college, earned citizenship awards for his time spent volun- teering with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Mad Dads, Uplift- ing Athletes and the Madonna Rehabilitation Center.
• Grew up the youngest of three, with two older sisters.
• As a wrestler, won the Missouri Class 2A state championship with a perfect 48-0 record in his senior season.

Goldmine

• Co-owned and trained at a boxing gym, 12th Round Fit, in Arizona that primarily served people with Parkinson's Disease. In an at- tempt to cut down weight in the offseason, Collins took up boxing with trainer Marty Barrett and fell in love with what it did for him, both on and off the field. He was inspired by the work Marty was doing with Parkinson's patients and wanted to get involved. So, they opened a facility where members of the gym can participate in group and individual training sessions. This training provides them with the confidence in themselves and their abilities, despite their diagnosis. "Usually, you're training to beat someone else. With Parkinson's, we're trying to beat a disease. And we're training for the fight of their lives." said Barrett. The gym grew significantly since opening and has seen many professional athletes train there as well, including 49ers teammate DL Javon Hargrave.

College

• Collins (6-2, 310) was originally drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the third-round (67th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. Throughout his eight-year career with the Cowboys (2016-19), Las Vegas Raiders (2020) and Houston Texans (2021-23), he has appeared in 119 games (112 starts) and registered 206 tackles, 46 tackles for loss, 25.5 sacks, one interception, four passes defensed, one forced fumble and six fumble recoveries. He has also started five postseason contests and added eight tackles and 1.0 sack. In 2023 with Houston, Collins started all 16 games he appeared in and registered 41 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks and one pass defensed. His 41 tackles marked a career high, while his 5.0 sacks tied his career high. He also started two postseason contests and registered two tackles.
• A 28-year-old native of Kansas City, MO, Collins attended the University of Nebraska for three years (2013-15) where he appeared in 38 games (26 starts) and registered 86 tackles, 8.0 sacks, one pass defensed and one forced fumble. Collins earned Second-Team All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore and junior (2014-15).