Tribe baseball begins and the Cavs bounce back: While We’re Waiting…
March 4, 2015Ohio natives: Brian Hartline decision soon, Ted Ginn visits, and Trent Cole to be released
March 4, 2015The 2015 NFL Draft is creeping closer and closer with the first round starting on April 30th. I started my top five draft prospects by position with the safety group. I now turn to the ever-important corner position. Here were my top five cornerbacks in last year’s draft. In the pass happy NFL, cornerbacks are one of the most important players on the defense. The most talented corners can single-handedly shut down the opposing offense’s best receiving weapon. This year’s class is not a star-studded group, but it contains players who could develop into very good cover corners. So, here are my top five cornerbacks in the 2015 NFL Draft.
1. Trae Waynes, Michigan State
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Trae Waynes of Michigan State has the speed and size to be a press coverage corner in the NFL. Last year, in his junior season, he had 46 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, 11 passes defended, and three interceptions. He is my, and consensus, top cornerback in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Waynes, at 6-foot and 186-pounds, is a good athlete with great speed (Running a 4.31 second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine). He is an experienced corner in press coverage with the ability to cover on an island (As you can see below). His speed allows him to be a very good deep ball defender. He can keep up with most receivers and can recover from behind using his great speed. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein says, “He’s a bump-and-run cornerback with the length, deep speed and confidence to handle himself down the field against speed.” In zone coverage, he is a smart corner with the ability to read a play and use his speed to break to the ball quickly. He is also willing to help in run support.
Waynes biggest weaknesses are his strength and technique. He is not a strong corner, so bigger receivers can sometimes overpower him. His strength also comes into play when he helps in run support. He is not a great tackler because of his lack of strength. A lot of times, he has to dive at the ankles of the ball carrier to bring him down, but this technique can lead to missed tackles. His technique in coverage is also something he needs to work on. This pops up most often on short comeback routes where he is too slow to transition back toward the quarterback. But overall, his intelligence and athleticism make him the best corner prospect in the draft.
2. Marcus Peters, Washington
Washington’s Marcus Peters might be the most physical cornerback in the 2015 NFL Draft. Last year, in his junior season, he played eight games totaling 30 tackles, four tackles for loss, 10 passes defended, and three interceptions. He has the talent to be a shutdown press corner.
Peters’ best attributes are his physicality and press corner abilities. The 6-foot, 197-pound cornerback plays with a hard nose physical playing style. His physicality shows up most in his press coverage against receivers. He uses his hands well at the line of scrimmage to outmuscle the opposing receiver off his route line. He is very good at playing the ball when thrown his way (See video below). His physicality shows up in run support, too. He is an aggressive tackler in run defense and can make plays in the backfield.
Peters must answer questions about his character and speed. He was dismissed from the Huskies’ team after incidents with his coaches. He is a hot head on the field and can get called for personal fouls. His character is a major question for teams to answer before they can get comfortable drafting him. On the field, he struggles on deep balls because of his lack of long speed. He could struggle against speedy receivers, so he will need to stick to guarding big outside receivers. He also needs to play more consistent and play to his fullest potential. Rob Rang of CBSSports.com says, “Peters comes with off-field concerns but there is no questioning either cornerback’s length, aggression and ball-skills.”
3. Kevin Johnson, Wake Forest
Kevin Johnson of Wake Forest has great agility that allows him to stay with receivers. Last year, in his senior season, he had 44 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, six pass break ups, and one interception. He might be one of my favorite corners in this year’s draft class.
Johnson has the ability to play both zone coverage and press coverage at corner. He has great technique and hips that allow him to change directions and mirror receivers down field (As you can see below). He has the speed to stick with receivers and also break on passes quickly in zone coverage. His ball skills are very good, especially his ability to go high in the air to break up a pass. He is a willing run supporter with the ability to make quick reads to make a play on the ball carrier. ESPN’s Todd McShay says, “Johnson is an underrated cover corner with excellent change-of-direction skills and good size at 6-foot.” He has the ability to play both slot corner and outside corner because of athleticism, size and technique.
Johnson’s biggest weakness is his strength. He is not a big, strong corner, so he could struggle versus bigger receivers at the next level. His lack of strength also hurts him in run support. He does not have great strength to bring a ball carrier down, so he usually has to go low, which can cause missed tackles. The other thing he must improve on is his propensity to bite on pump fakes and get beat deep. He needs to stay patient and not get too aggressive. But, in my opinion, I think Johnson could end up as the best corner of the class.
4. Jalen Collins, LSU
Jalen Collins of LSU is a big corner with good athleticism to go along with his size. Last year, in his junior season, he had 38 tackles, three tackles for loss, 10 passes defended, and one interception. He has the size and speed combination that teams would covet, but he is still very raw.
Collins has great size, weight, and speed that teams would love to have at corner. He is 6-foot-1, 203-pounds with 32 1/8-inch arms and ran a 4.48 second 40-yard dash. He could develop into a versatile corner who can plan man and zone coverage. He is fast to respond to a pass and get to the ball. He has the strength and size to be very difficult at the line of scrimmage in press coverage. ESPN’s Mel Kiper, Jr. says, “I see Collins as one of the bigger upside plays in this draft class, as he offers very good size and exceptional athletic ability.” He can stay with players on deep throws because of his speed (See below). His size makes him a very good corner in run support, too.
Collins is very raw and must work on his technique. He does not have a lot of experience with just 10 starts in his LSU career. He struggles with his footwork, which can lead good route runners to be able to get separation from him. He does not have fluid hips and can struggle changing directions quickly. He also needs to learn how to use his size and length better in press coverage. Collins must learn how to best utilize his natural talent. He has a lot to work on before he can be a fulltime contributor on defense, but he definitely has the talent to be a corner in the NFL.
5. PJ Williams, Florida State
Florida State’s PJ Williams is another corner with good size and physicality. Last year, in his junior season, he had 74 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, one sack, 11 passes defended, one forced fumble, and one interception. He has the experience and production in college that helps make teams more comfortable in drafting him.
Williams is 6-foot, 194-pound corner with 31-inch arms and plays with physicality. His size and physicality makes him a good press corner. He can use his size to reach in front of receivers to knock the pass away from the receiver (As you can see in the video). He can recover when he is behind because of his size and length to reach out and knock the ball away from the receiver. His physicality and size really helps in the run support. He is a willing and aggressive run defender with the ability to bring down ball carriers by himself.
Williams has stiff hips and is not a very fast corner. He does not change direction as fluidly as the other corners on this list. His speed is not great, so receivers can run past him on deep routes. He also occasionally does not look for the ball in the air and allows the receiver to catch it in an area where he could have tipped it away. He does not have great skills in zone coverage because of his lack of quickness to react to the ball. But, even with these weaknesses, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein has high praises for Williams saying, “With consistency of effort, Williams could become the best cornerback to come out of this draft.” I am not as high on him as Zierlein.
6 Comments
Another great job here Joe.
Roll the dice with Ekpre-Olomu?
What about:
Ronald Darby – Florida St.
Garry Peters – Clemson
Alex Carter – Stanford…turn him into a safety?
Darby – if anyone is worried about Winston, then he needs to be worried about as well. he’s involved in at least 2 of the incidents. as a player, he’s an incredible athlete, but didn’t really seem like a corner when I watched him. he grabs like Skrine when he gets even a little bit beat despite the fact that he has the speed to make up for it.
Peters – love the double-R usage, but he’s another grabby hand corner. Guess it’s just college these days, but he doesn’t have the speed to make up for it when he gets beat. I wasn’t that big of a fan.
Not a fan of Carter. Late round guy to me. I guess he could be a potential safety, but then it’s going to be an even longer transition (like Poyer).
This class has a lot of guys who like to grab a lot. I was debating my fifth corner, but was really not impressed with those three players above Williams
agreed.
“love the double-R usage”
Ain’t it great?