Cornerback

[Ochmed Jones]

In this upcoming draft I believe the Pats will need to draft at least one CB within the top three rounds. Ryan is probably leaving. Jones has been less than inspiring, and Rowe is a stiff.

Possibilities as follows:

1.) Humpfrey Alabama - Great size, appears to have legit speed, very physical, good in press man and good in zone. High backpedal. Not a twitchy athlete, probably could not line up against a slot receiver, tight hips. (Round 1 grade)

2.) Tabor Florida - Decent size, not sure about his speed. Not a great tackler, great in press man, not so much in zone. Big closing burst. Loose hips. Off the field problems. (Round 1 grade, if the speed is legit)

3.) Jones Washington - Decent size, appears to have legit speed, not a great tackler, good in press man, good jams at the LOS, good in zone, (Round 1 grade)

4.) Lattimore Ohio State - Decent size, appears to have legit speed, not a great tackler, good in press man and zone, but can be a grabber, does not jam , history of nagging injuries. (Round 1 grade)

5.) White LSU - Decent size, appear to have legit speed, not a great tackler, lacks discipline in coverage, gets burned a lot. (Round 2 grade)

6.) Lewis Michigan - Shoerter than desired, appears to have legit speed, decent tackler, excellent in press man, not good in zone. (Round 2 Grade)

7.) Tankersley Clemson - good size, appears to have legit speed, decent tackler, good in press man, but grabby, undisciplined in zone. (Round 3 Grade)

8.) Sutton Tenn - Good size, appears to have legit speed, not the best tackler, Good in press man and zone, gets good jams, great route awareness (Round 3 Grade)

9.) Awuzie Colorado - good size, appears to have legit speed, decent tackler decent in press man and zone, loose hips, (Round 3 Grade)

10.) Jackson USC - great athlete, speed off the charts, not a tackler, loose hips, sucks in press man and zone, undisciplined. (Not on BB's draft board)

11.) Conley Ohio State - decent size, appears to have legit speed but is a long strider and a bit robotic, decent tackler, good in press man and zone, but does not jam receivers. (Round 3 Grade)

12.) Moreau UCLA - decent size, appears to have legit speed, good tackling, but needs to fight through blocks better, Good in man, not so much in zone, loose hips and a good burst. (Round 3 Grade)

When looking at CB's that might interest BB, we have to assume the top 4 do not last to #32.
Therefore any of the remaining ones, except Jackson, have to appeal to BB.

I would rank the favorites as Lewis, Sutton and Awuzie.

 

[manxman2601]

Two of the smoother guys are Akhello Witherspoon and Howard Wilson of Houston. Both have good size too.

 

[stelfans]

King? Has the size and is a great tackler.

 

[manxman2601]

King? Has the size and is a great tackler.

He's arguably the closest to replicating the strengths of Logan Ryan. Also has similar weaknesses too though.

 

[jboston19]

King? Has the size and is a great tackler.

Desmond or Kevin?

 

[manxman2601]

Desmond or Kevin?

Good point. I assumed Desmond but like Kevin too. Seems to suit a cover 3 system, unsurprisingly, more than our more commonly used 1 and 2. I do like his ball skills though.

 

[stelfans]

Desmond or Kevin?

Desmond. Like Manx said, I think he is the closest thing to Ryan, only better, at least in college.

 

[BobDigital]

Thses are mine as of now but i need to go back and look at more guys and give these ones a 2nd look.

#1 Lattimore
#2 Wilson
#3 Humphrey
#4 Jones

-gap- Everyone above here is clearly a first round CB and likely top half first round.

#5 Tabor (but he is off my board generally but due to his skill set i have to add him)
#6 Tankersley
#7 King
#8 Awuzie
#9 Lewis (maybe should be on his own list though... Being a slot CB knocks him down a bit).

-gap- Very good CBs who could go in the first but no lower than second and where they are picked depends on team need and how much people like each or look past potential issues.

#10 Conley
#11 T. White
#12 Jackson (clearly i personally am not sold on him. Seems like too much of a risk talent be damned. I see him as Cyrus Jones minus the fumbles who MAYBE turns into a good CB as well as a great returner).

 

[luuked]

In this upcoming draft I believe the Pats will need to draft at least one CB within the top three rounds. Ryan is probably leaving. Jones has been less than inspiring, and Rowe is a stiff.

Possibilities as follows:

1.) Humpfrey Alabama - Great size, appears to have legit speed, very physical, good in press man and good in zone. High backpedal. Not a twitchy athlete, probably could not line up against a slot receiver, tight hips. (Round 1 grade)

2.) Tabor Florida - Decent size, not sure about his speed. Not a great tackler, great in press man, not so much in zone. Big closing burst. Loose hips. Off the field problems. (Round 1 grade, if the speed is legit)

3.) Jones Washington - Decent size, appears to have legit speed, not a great tackler, good in press man, good jams at the LOS, good in zone, (Round 1 grade)

4.) Lattimore Ohio State - Decent size, appears to have legit speed, not a great tackler, good in press man and zone, but can be a grabber, does not jam , history of nagging injuries. (Round 1 grade)

5.) White LSU - Decent size, appear to have legit speed, not a great tackler, lacks discipline in coverage, gets burned a lot. (Round 2 grade)

6.) Lewis Michigan - Shoerter than desired, appears to have legit speed, decent tackler, excellent in press man, not good in zone. (Round 2 Grade)

7.) Tankersley Clemson - good size, appears to have legit speed, decent tackler, good in press man, but grabby, undisciplined in zone. (Round 3 Grade)

8.) Sutton Tenn - Good size, appears to have legit speed, not the best tackler, Good in press man and zone, gets good jams, great route awareness (Round 3 Grade)

9.) Awuzie Colorado - good size, appears to have legit speed, decent tackler decent in press man and zone, loose hips, (Round 3 Grade)

10.) Jackson USC - great athlete, speed off the charts, not a tackler, loose hips, sucks in press man and zone, undisciplined. (Not on BB's draft board)

11.) Conley Ohio State - decent size, appears to have legit speed but is a long strider and a bit robotic, decent tackler, good in press man and zone, but does not jam receivers. (Round 3 Grade)

12.) Moreau UCLA - decent size, appears to have legit speed, good tackling, but needs to fight through blocks better, Good in man, not so much in zone, loose hips and a good burst. (Round 3 Grade)

When looking at CB's that might interest BB, we have to assume the top 4 do not last to #32.
Therefore any of the remaining ones, except Jackson, have to appeal to BB.

I would rank the favorites as Lewis, Sutton and Awuzie.

Nice list.. thanks ! it's a good starting point once I get to CBs. That being said, anyone that is not at least a decent tackler you can essentially eliminate unless he is blue chip good in some other aspect. Competent tackling seems to be the biggest requirement in our secondary.

 

[BobDigital]

Also I noticed you didn't rank Wilson. Not a fan or just didn't get to him yet?

 

[manxman2601]

I think the CB picture may become clearer in a couple of weeks:

3-cone times:

Cyrus Jones - 6.71
Darryl Roberts - 6.66
Logan Ryan - 6.69
Devin McCourty - 6.70

Dennard and Ras-I didn't run 3-cones and Jemea Thomas is the only real exception of CBs we've drafted at 7.03.

 

[I.M. Fletcher]

I think the CB picture may become clearer in a couple of weeks:

3-cone times:

Cyrus Jones - 6.71
Darryl Roberts - 6.66
Logan Ryan - 6.69
Devin McCourty - 6.70

Dennard and Ras-I didn't run 3-cones and Jemea Thomas is the only real exception of CBs we've drafted at 7.03.

Kevin King apparently ran a 6.67 (or thereabouts) last spring. For a 6'3 guy, that would be next level. I've had him for us as an inside/outside possibility, but will wait til he runs an official timed cone before getting too excited.

 

[manxman2601]

Kevin King apparently ran a 6.67 (or thereabouts) last spring. For a 6'3 guy, that would be next level. I've had him for us as an inside/outside possibility, but will wait til he runs an official timed cone before getting too excited.

That would be exciting. But if he also runs low 4.4s as Tony Pauline is suggesting also might mean he won't be available to us.

 

[I.M. Fletcher]

That would be exciting. But if he also runs low 4.4s as Tony Pauline is suggesting also might mean he won't be available to us.

Yep, and it brings it back to this draft being one of many varieties of players. Teams will have no problem finding guys that should fit in their system, and should be able to avoid over drafting at the position.

King could go anywhere from 1st to 3rd round, and wouldn't be surprised by either.

 

[manxman2601]

Yep, and it brings it back to this draft being one of many varieties of players. Teams will have no problem finding guys that should fit in their system, and should be able to avoid over drafting at the position.

King could go anywhere from 1st to 3rd round, and wouldn't be surprised by either.

Yup. Hit on this draft with plenty of picks and you can transform a team. If Cleveland get Jimmy and Garrett and hit on 3 or 4 other picks, they could be a serious playoff contender in 2-3 years.

 

[I.M. Fletcher]

Yup. Hit on this draft with plenty of picks and you can transform a team. If Cleveland get Jimmy and Garrett and hit on 3 or 4 other picks, they could be a serious playoff contender in 2-3 years.

Try doing one of those Fanspeak mock drafts as Cleveland. It's hilarious how much talent you can end up with, when you have every other pick available to you.

If Cleveland screws up this process, I don't think they ever will escape their failings.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

I think the CB picture may become clearer in a couple of weeks:

3-cone times:

Cyrus Jones - 6.71
Darryl Roberts - 6.66
Logan Ryan - 6.69
Devin McCourty - 6.70

Dennard and Ras-I didn't run 3-cones and Jemea Thomas is the only real exception of CBs we've drafted at 7.03.

I'd like to suggest that the 3-cone is a side effect, and not the starting point. In other words, the Patriots want corners with good movement skills and Wich reactions in coverage, which ends up translating into good agility test numbers. (Also, I'm still salty the Jets stole Roberts. He was a major binkie.)

The corner class is unreal this year. Starters will go undrafted.

 

[manxman2601]

I'd like to suggest that the 3-cone is a side effect, and not the starting point. In other words, the Patriots want corners with good movement skills and Wich reactions in coverage, which ends up translating into good agility test numbers. (Also, I'm still salty the Jets stole Roberts. He was a major binkie.)

The corner class is unreal this year. Starters will go undrafted.

Well yes, but it's a good way to measure the effect. I don't think it a coincidence that four of the seven CBs drafted in the last six years all have outstanding 3-cones.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Also I noticed you didn't rank Wilson. Not a fan or just didn't get to him yet?

I have watched a ton of sec games and I really do not know what to think of Wilson. Right now I would probably have a 4th round grade on him.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

@Ochmed Jones what do you think of Dwayne Thomas and Joshua Holsey? Two underrated SEC guys.