The Corners: First Impressions

So over the past few days I have spent some time watching the early round corner prospects to get first impressions. I didn’t dig into the games on my DVR and go into depth. Instead, I watched a few game clips on youtube – for example “Darqueze Dennard vs. Michigan 2013.” I will say this – mad props to the folks that do these player isolation videos. They make the review process much more efficient for us armchair GMs. I know that in many cases they don’t show all of the plays that a guy is on the field, but they do consistently show both the good and the bad (unlike the nearly useless highlight videos). That’s especially good for me since I probably won’t have time to dig through my DVR and watch more than a dozen or so full games as we head toward the draft. But I digress. Here are my impressions of several early CB prospects, both in terms of their overall ability and scheme fit, based on about 15-25 minutes of film each:

So far, I’ve watched 6 guys and will try to at least get to my Top 10 in the next couple of days. This is how I rank the 6 guys that I’ve watched, and doesn’t include any corners that I haven’t watched yet. If I manage to watch another handful of guys, I’ll add on.

1. Justin Gilbert – My #1 corner prospect for us hands down. He is at his best with the ball in front of him, but he can play man effectively when asked to. In zone coverage he makes quick reads and explodes to the ball, and I think he would reverse our recent trend of not having CBs make interceptions. His tackling needs work, but it’s nowhere near Deion Sanders bad. I think he’s a legit top 20 pick, and fits our scheme well (as long as the coaches think they can work on his tackling in run support).

2. Kyle Fuller – I like this guy a lot. He flashes great instincts and athleticism, and he makes plays. He’s also a quality special teamer to boot. I think he’s currently very underrated, but based on his film I have a feeling that he will run well and start moving up. Like most college corners, he needs some work on tackling, but I did see him make some nice form tackles in run defense and drop the runner dead on contact (which I did not see out of Gilbert or Dennard). He has a boatload of experience too. I’d love to add this kid to our roster.

3. Louchiez Purifoy – So, the easily accessible tapes of Purifoy on youtube were from 2012. Based on the three 2012 games that I watched, he looks like a 1[SUP]st[/SUP] round pick and fits our scheme well. I really didn’t see any glaring weaknesses in his game. However, NFL draft scout has him currently ranked #69 overall. I do have 1 or 2 Florida games on my DVR from this season, and I’m definitely intrigued enough to spool those up and see why he’s only projected as a 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] – 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] rounder.

4. Bradley Roby – This guy is a good overall corner prospect for our scheme. I see an excellent break on the ball when the play is in front of him, and pretty decent tackling. As I type this, NFL draft scout has him as the #44 overall player, and I think that’s about right. I’d love him in the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP].

5. Darqueze Dennard – I don’t see a 1[SUP]st[/SUP] round corner here – at least not for our scheme. He is at his best pressing and running in contact with his man. When he plays off, he seems to be very slow in his breaks and gives up easy catches. Also, he has a reputation for toughness. I see that in his man coverage. He fights the receiver every step of the way and doesn’t give up ground. However in run support it’s the opposite. I saw at least 2-3 missed easy tackles in run support in each game that I watched. I’m talking about plays where he was in perfect position and chose to just lunge at the runner’s legs instead of making a good form tackle. I would pass on him unless he’s there in the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] and we didn’t go corner in the 1[SUP]st[/SUP]. Then I think about it. My view would be different if we were a press-man team.

6. Jason Verrett – My initial instinct was to downgrade him due to size. However, after watching a few games I think he’s a really solid football player. His size is an issue, and I saw him get somewhat abused by Oklahoma State on back shoulder fades to bigger receivers, but he is great at sticking to his man like glue. I’m not sure that Verrett will ever be a top notch outside guy in the NFL. I think he’ll struggle against bigger receivers, and may not even be on the field in goal-to-go situations. However, as a slot corner I think he can be excellent. He may be able to take those small, quick guys like Welker almost completely out of a game. I don’t think that’s necessarily worth a 1[SUP]st[/SUP] round pick, but he probably has great value to someone after pick #40 or so.

Dissect away.

 

I agree