2027 Draft: Cornerback

[manxman2601]

I really like how Rawls moves. Explosive and twitchy. He’s definitely one I’ll be following closely this year. Keionte Scott?

 

[Clonamery]

I really like how Rawls moves. Explosive and twitchy. He’s definitely one I’ll be following closely this year. Keionte Scott?

He looked much bigger with Florida State.

 

[manxman2601]

He looked much bigger with Florida State.

He's listed at 6'1" but only 178lbs. I think I've read that he's up to 185. He's slight and I think he can play on the outside but has the versatility to play inside and out. It's explosiveness and and ability to get in the offensive backfield on occasion that had me comparing him to Scott.

 

[manxman2601]

 

[manxman2601]

Zeke Berry, Michigan
5-11, 188

The grades aren't great, the size isn't great, but James Foster calls him "the stickiest corner I've watched (aside from Leonard Moore)". Foster's cut up certainly backs that up.

Coverage grade - 67.3 (1 INT but 11 (!) PBUs.
Run Defense - 51.3
Missed Tackle rate - 20.9

The grades are pretty horrific, but he's interesting for now as someone who could backup both the slot and outside corner. Let's see if he improves in '26.

 

[manxman2601]

To try and guage arm length on a prospect I have a simplistic system which has held up fairly well over the years. I find a picture of a prospect standing upright with his arms hanging loose and look at where his fingers are in relation to the thigh pad.

1. If the fingers reach the bottom of the thigh pad or below, I figure the prospect might have 34-35" arms.
2. If the fingers just about reach the top of the thigh pad or just below the top, 30-32".

It's not meant to be a perfectly predictive system, just a rough guide. All that is a pre-amble to this picture of Ja-Bril Rawls



Those are some looooong arms. It wouldn't surprise me if they are 34" plus.

 

[manxman2601]

Jordan Reid says BYU CB Evan Johnson is getting "early day 3" grades from NFL scouts.

 

[mayoclinic]

 

[mayoclinic]

Not on their list:

Chris Peal
Ja'Bril Rawls
Jayden Bellamy
Jalen Mayo
Demello Jones
Jamari Sharpe
Elijah Green
Jyaire Hill

That makes roughly 20 CBs of interest.

 

[mayoclinic]

 

[manxman2601]

Michigan CB Zeke Berry has had quite the rankings bump.

 

[mayoclinic]

Mike Renner CB rankings:

Renner's 2027 NFL Draft scouting series: Is Leonard Moore the best CB prospect since Jalen Ramsey?

The Notre Dame star is the Jeremiah Smith of cornerback prospects

www.cbssports.com

 

[manxman2601]

Mike Renner CB rankings:

Renner's 2027 NFL Draft scouting series: Is Leonard Moore the best CB prospect since Jalen Ramsey?

The Notre Dame star is the Jeremiah Smith of cornerback prospects

www.cbssports.com

A very interesting list. Here's Renner on Ashton Hampton:

"At a shade over 6-foot-3, Hampton has some of the best movement skills you'll ever see for a tall corner. The only contemporary I've scouted in that regard is Sauce Gardner, and he went fourth overall."

 

[mayoclinic]

 

[Uptown]

 

[mayoclinic]

 

[manxman2601]

Useful information when scouting DBs.

Basically the Patriots are in man coverage 29% of the time and play 1 deep safety 50% of the time.

 

[mayoclinic]

 

[manxman2601]

I don't know if it's been mentioned, but Aston Hampton has really long arms. I've talked about my arm length test before - how the arms hang in relation to the thigh pads - and I'd say Hampton is at least 33.5" but probably longer. If we end up finding out his arms are 34-35", that wouldn't surprise me.