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NFL Draft Scouting
Journal 4. The Cornerbacks
by Jared Donnelly
NFL Draft Analyst
2/14/08
Aqib Talib, Kansas
A big corner with good speed and intense playmaking skills is important
to have in the NFL. He has good ball skills and his size allows him to
physical on the line while his excellent speed allows him to do that
without having a huge gap to close out. Oddly enough, his physicality
led him to have some trouble against the smaller wideouts he faced but
nothing too severe to scare me or most NFL GM’s off. The reasoning
there
is that the NFL is so focused on big guys at WR that he may not have to
face too many smaller guys on the outside where he is best suited to
cover. It is obvious that New Orleans needs a corner, but I think that
New England could also take a look at him. Look for Talib to go
somewhere between seven and twelve depending on how he runs.
Antoine Cason, Arizona
Usually at each position every year there are a couple guys that I like
more than most people do. Cason is my guy at CB this year. He lacks
ideal size but he is very strong and really gets in guy's grills and
lets them know that he is covering them. It allows him to push and
cushion as well as cushion and close out on underneath routes. One
thing Cason does not have however is elite NFL speed. The only
reason
that I don’t have Cason number one this year is because of how much I
love Talib. To give you an idea of how I value him, if Malcolm Jenkins
had come out, he would have been my third corner after Talib and Cason.
Recently I have seen some mocks (our own Michael Abromowitz among them)
that have Cason going in round two. I am not here to disagree with that
projection although I do think he could go earlier. I do have him
projected a bit high right now but I could see him slipping down into
the bottom of round one since some might not be wild about his size and
speed. Anywhere between fifteen and thirty five seems like a
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Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, Tennessee St.
One of the quickest risers and one of my favorite prospects. As far as
being NFL ready, he has a ways to go but I still love him. He has elite
size and speed and has really trended upwards in each of his collegiate
seasons as they came to an end. Playing at a smaller school might hurt
him a little bit as far as adjusting goes but some folks said the same
thing about Rashean Mathis when I told them he was my top corner
prospect in that draft and look at him now. If I am an NFL GM, I am
considering taking DRC in the top 10-15 picks.
Mike
Jenkins, South Florida
I have him rated above Reggie Smith mainly because I am still not 100%
sure what Smith is (CB or safety). Jenkins is a pure cover corner with
adequate measurables who had a good year for the Bulls as they tried to
compete for a national title in 2007. A team like the Lions would like
to snag him at 15 if he is available, and he should be. Houston could
also give him a look, but Dallas would be thrilled to death if he
slipped to them at 22.
Leodis
McKelvin, Troy
A relative unknown who projects well in testing and had a nice season
for Troy this past year. He is not a guy that a ton of people know a
lot about but he does possess good cover skills and decent hitting
ability which will make him valuable as a physical corner. May lack
pure elite type speed but does OK in certain schemes. I think McKelvin
is a late first to mid second type of guy. Tennessee seems like a good
fit especially if they can unload Adam “Make it Rain” Jones.
Michael
Abromowitz's 2008 NFL Mock
Draft
Gregory Cox's 2008
NFL Mock Draft
Paul Eide's 2008 NFL
Mock Draft
Jared
Donnelly's 2008 NFL Mock
Draft
Mock
Draft Database
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