Coby Fleener, Jamie Collins

A pass gets away from Indianapolis Colts tight end Coby Fleener (80) under pressure from New England Patriots linebacker Jamie Collins (91) during the second half of an AFC divisional NFL playoff football game in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

FOXBOROUGH – It didn't take his teammates long to see it.

It was not immediately obvious to the rest of the world, but Jamie Collins is a natural athlete. He'd jump up and snag one-handed interceptions in practice on one play and blow by an offensive lineman on the next, leaving his New England Patriots' teammates in awe.

The second-round pick out of Southern Mississippi was a "freak," in the most endearing kind of way.

"(He makes) crazy, athletic plays in practice, man, where you knew it was just a matter of time before he got comfortable in the game, comfortable enough for him to start making plays like that," cornerback Aqib Talib said of the rookie linebacker.

Getting comfortable didn't come quickly for Collins. After an up-and-down season, he began to emerge during last week's playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts, and now appears poised to continue his breakout during Sunday's AFC title game against the Denver Broncos.

It would be easy to say he's finally started to harness his athletic ability, and maybe he has, but the true key to his emergence might be the slow and methodical path he has traveled.

Collins logged two snaps in his professional debut against the Buffalo Bills, and doubled that number during a Week 2 game against the New York Jets. Over the next several weeks he held steady at around a dozen plays per game, before flashing as a pass rusher during a Week 7 game against the Jets. Collins struggled in a bigger role against the Miami Dolphins the next week, and things slowed back down.

It wasn't until a Week 12 game against the Denver Broncos when it started to become clear what the Patriots saw in the former safety turned defensive end turned linebacker. During that game, Collins dropped Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning for an eight-yard loss, one of ten tackles he recorded, and flashed his coverage skills by breaking up a third-down pass intended for Wes Welker on the final play from scrimmage during regulation. That prevented Denver from getting into field-goal territory and allowed the Patriots to win, 34-31, in overtime.

Over the next few weeks, Collins added to his resume until finally bursting out of the seams Saturday night. With fellow linebacker Brandon Spikes landing on injured reserve with a knee injury earlier in the week, Collins played all 66 snaps and filled up the stat sheet, finishing with six tackles, three quarterback hits, a sack, a pass defensed and an interception.

His stop of running back Trent Richardson for a 1-yard loss, sack of Andrew Luck and interception that set up New England's final touchdown were nice moments, but some of the things that did not show up the stat sheet were even better. It was his pressure on Luck that created an Alfonzo Dennard interception, and it was Collins in coverage when Coby Fleener failed to reel in a pass in the end zone.

Collins' athleticism during the game was somewhat surprising to everyone who was witnessing it for the first time. But those who watch him in practice on a daily basis couldn't help but smirk when asked about the performance.

"He's probably one of the most athletic guys on the team and it didn't take him long to kind of get a grasp on what was going on and for him to make plays like that. Everybody else might be surprised, but we see it every day, and for him to come out and have the game that he did, I wasn't surprised at all," linebacker Dont'a Hightower said.

Saturday's performance provided an extended glimpse of what attracted the Patriots to Collins in the first place. Though he arrived a bit raw, the 6-foot-3, 250-pounder ran a 4.64 40-yard dash, recorded 41.5-inch and 139-inch vertical and broad jumps, and completed the three-cone drill in 7.10 seconds at last February's combine, making him a top performer in each category.

Those measurables have led to several stories about Collins' accomplishments in practice. Safety Devin McCourty said Collins recently told the defensive backs that he could beat all of them in a race, and during training camp linebackers coach Pepper Johnson said he was going have the team hire Collins as a male cheerleader or have him do backflips on the sidelines if his athleticism didn't translate to football.

Thankfully for the Patriots, it appears Johnson won't have to worry about hooking up that second line of work for Collins. But New England wasn't the only team willing to take a chance on Collins.

"Collins is a guy we liked in the draft," Broncos coach John Fox said. "He's very, very athletic – good size."

Now Fox has to hope that Collins isn't quite athletic enough to hang with Denver tight end Julius Thomas, who will be one of the X-factors in Sunday's game. Thomas, a former basketball player, was not on the field for the last meeting between the Patriots and Broncos, and could end up matching up against Collins.

If that happens, it will be the biggest assignment of Collins' young career. He held his own against Fleener last week, allowing two receptions on five targets for 12 yards. This will be a much taller task, but the rookie says he's found the key to success.

"Well, yeah - just preparation," Collins said. "Just do whatever you can, and hopefully everything will turn out right."

That's a start. But having an unnatural amount of natural talent also helps.