Former Ohio State cornerback Bradley Roby was on SiriusXM NFL tonight and told Gil Brandt that he has a visit lined up with the Steelers.
.@OhioStFootball CB @BradRoby_1 tells @Gil_Brandt & me visits set w @steelers @TennesseeTitans @buffalobills @nyjets @chargers @SiriusXMNFL
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) April 1, 2014
While you mostly hear about Dennard and Gilbert, Roby is a corner who is likely very high on the Steelers radar. In 2012, he was being compared to top tier cornerbacks. In 2013, not so much. Roby possesses good size at 5’11, 194 lbs, and he displays very good speed. His official combine 40 time was a 4.39. He looks even faster on tape at times. A couple concerns about Roby are his very high burn rate in 2013, and the frequency at which he fails to wrap his man up.
Greg Peshek of Rotoworld charted out the top CBs of this year’s draft. While stats aren’t the be-all end-all, they’re a useful tool for evaluating certain aspects of a player’s overall performance. As you can see in the chart below, Roby has the worst PD rate (passes defensed) out of the group. Basically, he got his hand on the ball 1 in 5 targets. As a comparison, Verrett- 1 in 3.
Also concerning is how high his burn rate is. In his defense, Ohio State’s scheme played a part in that number. Having voiced those concerns, I will say that Roby is one of the more well-rounded corners in this class, and I do think he’ll be successful in the NFL. In terms of “Steelers cornerbacks”, he has many traits that they covet. He’s fast, he’s a strong run supporter, and he’s played in a variety of coverages.
In 2013 he had 63 tackles, 3 INT, 13 pass break ups, and 2 blocked punts.
Here are a couple games if you haven’t seen him in action. Thanks for stopping by, and as always, be sure to share with your friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tMjNxhpHFeM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Whr1Cr9TW-M