FOXBORO — Jamie Collins is the modern day super freak.

The Patriots linebacker has a new-wave style and an old-school mentality with the flash that coaches covet, the swagger that teammates love and the play-making ability that opponents fear.

Collins’ reputation has soared since he earned a more prominent role later in his 2013 rookie season, and he garnered a couple All-Pro votes last season. With a Super Bowl title on his resume and some of his best performances occurring in the playoffs, Collins has a superstar level of credibility as he builds toward his third season.

But Collins doesn’t much care about what others are saying.

“I’m not all into that,” Collins said. “That’s not me. I just come in here and do what I’ve got to do.

“I can’t control what people think of me. I just come out here and do my job, do what I’ve got to do. Whatever they say, it’s not going to impact me.”

Collins genuinely means it, too. Though he did admit it’s “pretty cool” when some of the league-wide praise gets back to him, he isn’t one to seek it out for validation. The 6-foot-3, 250-pounder cares more about impressing coach Bill Belichick and fellow linebackers Jerod Mayo and Dont’a Hightower than anyone outside the Gillette Stadium fortress.

The second-round draft pick out of Southern Mississippi is a rare talent because he can thump like former Pats linebacker Brandon Spikes and run like Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant. The majority of Collins’ reps come in the box because he can crash downhill to blow up a running back as well as anyone on the roster, but the Patriots have shown a willingness to split him outside against wide receivers when the matchups make sense.

Belichick was candid in December when asked if teams are trending toward scouring the draft for Collins prototypes who can excel in nickel packages. Forget that, Belichick replied, the Patriots were “lucky to have one” Collins.

“He’s a freak,” tight end Rob Gronkowski said. “He’s fast. He’s long and he’s strong. He plays the game of football how it should be. He knows how to hit. He knows how to cover. He’s just an overall good player, so it’s great going against guys like him. It definitely makes you compete and gets you better.”

Through four training camp practices, Collins has likely been the best defensive player. He surely stuck out yesterday during a goal-line drill when he recovered in the back of the end zone to break up Tom Brady’s pass for tight end Scott Chandler in the right corner. It was the defense’s only stop in four reps, to which Collins offered, “(Michael) Jordan didn’t win them all.”

Collins made the loudest play Saturday, too, when he whacked receiver Aaron Dobson from behind to force a fumble. Earlier, Collins ran a better crossing route than running back Brandon Bolden and tomahawked the ball to the turf to win the one-on-one battle.

“As a defensive guy, that mentality is to get the ball out,” Collins said. “If it’s not, then I really don’t know. For me as a player, I’m always looking to get the ball out and get off the field.”

Collins said the best feeling in the world is to take the ball away from the offense and head back to the bench. The 25-year-old has already done plenty of that with two interceptions, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in two seasons, plus a pair of picks in the playoffs. His difference-making plays also include four career sacks and 16 pass breakups, including five in the postseason. Collins led the Pats with 116 tackles last season, too.

That momentum was briefly interrupted this spring when he missed four of five open practices for an unknown reason, but he was the best player on the field during his lone appearance. It’s been more of the same over the past week.

Collins has been coming for the NFL for two seasons, but his third go-round should be something special now that he has kicked the learning curve.

Now, it’s just Collins against the man with the ball. So far, that’s been a one-sided outcome, but he cares even less for the hype than he does for his opponents.

“I just do what I’ve got to do,” Collins said. “I’m doing me.”