Played as an outside corner at Ohio State. The defense requires a lot of man coverage. He is a little undersized for an outside corner spot, but he has the build of one.

Athletic Ability is great, quick, balanced, flexible hips, explosive and has great change of direction ability. Good Mental Processing, recognizes play direction, identifies run/pass quickly. Good Competitive Toughness, will get in the middle of a pile, is a very confident player. Great Play Speed, shows acceleration, has the deep speed to stay with most opponents, has the closing and recovery speed needed as a corner. Good play strength, he is a very physical corner who has good body control to position himself where he wants to be. Great Man Coverage, forces his opponent to the sideline on go routes, really good overall vs the deeper routes, nice job in press – really good at mirroring his opponent, very tight coverage on short to mid routes. Good Run support, not afraid to put a hit on anyone, he understands he has to prevent the ball carrier from getting to the outside. Great Ball Skills, does a tremendous job of breaking up the pass when the big receiver is coming down with the football, has quick hands to always have a chance to make a play on a football. He can also be used on special teams, was able to block a punt and field goal attempt.

Didn’t play much zone at Ohio State so that may be a learning curve at the next level. His open field tackling could be more fundamental, may not wrap up his tackles. May struggle vs a much bigger opponent in the Red Zone. With his level of physicality when playing Man coverage, he may draw a lot of holding penalties at the next level. Needs to recognize his opponents route and not be fooled by the double move. The only issue with his ball skills is finding the football, he likes to focus on knocking the ball away rather than going for the INT.

Overall, Ward is an impressive man corner. I would like to see him play a lot of press man at the next level. Ward would definitely start day one for a team that drafts him early.

Outside Corner at Louisville. He doesn’t appear to be as tall as he is listed at 5’11”, may be an inch or two shorter, but if his weight matches he is good in that aspect. Muscular frame, arm length appears to be shorter than average.

Athletic Ability is good, quick, explosive ability, well balanced, fluid hips, suddenness, and agile enough to be used as a Punt/Kick Returner in the league. Good Mental Processing, good route concept, great understanding of run/pass, always aware of the game situation, and knows down and distance w/ sideline. Great Competitive Toughness, contagious confidence, has the swagger defensive backs thrive off, not afraid to hit anyone. Good play speed, shows his large range, closing speed, some deep speed, able to maintain with most WRs. Good Man Coverage, nice press man – gives a nice jam and flips hips, tight coverage even for quick slants, not much of an issue vs the big opponents, good zone coverage, in cover 2 he fully understands when to transition from one opponent to the next, cover 3 – he reads the eyes of the QB very well and will have a better chance to make a play on the ball. Good Run Support, will come downhill when he recognizes run, will put a hit on a RB – no matter the size. Great Ball Skills, playmaking ability, finds the football deep down the field, shows quality hands, positions himself to make the play, will jump routes.

His size will limit his strength and he will have issues vs the very strong Z receivers. Especially when the WR is doing a back shoulder or a comeback route. When tackling, he likes to leave his feet too early and it could set up for missed tackles. He had missed most of his final collegiate season with a sprained knee injury.

Overall, Alexander is a good prospect with the potential of becoming great. The only problem is his size. What I love the most about him is his confidence, he doesn’t care how big the opponent is, Alexander believes he will win. His measurables will be important, if he is around the 5’9” mark he may have to consider moving to nickel. Regardless, I believe Alexander would be a great fit for a team that uses a good mix of man/zone.

Outside Corner at Colorado. Has great height, could add some weight, but has long arms and legs.

Athletic Ability is good, has smooth, fluid hips. Balanced and agile. Good Mental Processing, understands to push WR to the sideline on vert routes, good understanding of route recognition. Good Play Speed, has some deep speed, able to hang with average WRs, shows closing speed as well. Good Play Strength, very physical corner, may not have a lot of muscle but he plays like he does. Wins vs the average WR. Great Man Coverage, tight coverage against the large opponents, reliable to be a press man corner, feet are under his shoulders, jams with his off hand, great job deep down the field. Good Open-field tackler, uses his long arms to wrap up his tackles. Great Ball Skills, finds the football downfield, playmaking ability, understands how to time the ball, puts his hand in the mix at the exact right time, has quality hands as well.

Need to show more of a want to. He has confidence in his game, but there are times where he doesn’t want to make a hit on the opponent. In zone coverage, he allows too much space, doesn’t transition well. For Run support, I would be shocked to be a good run defender in the league. He does not come downhill when he sees the run.

Overall, Oliver is a good prospect. He has the potential to become a great starter in the league. He will have to add some weight to be a starting outside corner in the league. Fits best in a system where the main coverage is in Press Man.

Jackson played as an outside corner at Iowa. Defense played in a lot of zone coverage and when in man, he played bump and run coverage. Jackson is a taller corner, but would need to add some muscle to be a physical corner.

Athletic Ability is good, nice footwork, shows great change of direction, quickness. Good Mental Processing, recognizes the play concept and aware of the game situation. Good Play Speed, shows great acceleration, he shows the closing speed needed to make a play. Good Man coverage, in bump and run coverage he is smooth at transitioning form the back pedal to the full sprint, better at covering the deep areas of the field. Great zone Coverage, reads the eyes of the QB very well and recognizes when he needs to switch assignments and comes up to make a play on the short routes. Solid open field tackler, wraps up his tackles and puts force into his tackles. Elite Ball Skills, can make some ridiculous grabs, always tends to make a play on the ball, times the ball perfectly, hands are incredible, great concentration.

He is not too excited to go make a hit on his opponent, not a fiery type of player. His strength will need to improve if he wants to be a physical press man, difficulty shedding blocks, will struggle when WRs push off to gain separation. In Run Support, he needs to have better angles, hesitant to go make a hit on the ball carrier, won’t jump in the pile.

Overall, Jackson could be a great zone corner in the league. His level of production should transition to the next level if in the right scheme.  Cover 3 may be one of his better zone fits, but he will still be dominant in cover 2 or 4.

Played as an outside corner at UCF. Hughes is a lanky corner, very long arms and legs. About average height, but he is well underweight to be considered an outside corner.

Athletic Ability is great, quick, explosive, balanced, solid change of direction shows flexibility in his hips. Good Mental Processing, understands the play concept, can identify the WR’s weakness. Great Competitive Toughness, willing to make a tackle or get in a pile, high effort player. Great play speed, shows impressive closing speed, has the deep speed needed to be useful downfield. Good Man coverage, can be used in press man, forces his opponent to the sideline on deep routes, nice job mirroring the WR. Good zone coverage, understands when he may have to help teammate to prevent a TD, comes up to make a play in the flat, moves with the eyes of the QB. Good Run Support, will come down and make a hit on the RB, not afraid of the big backs. Great Ball Skills, seems to always be in a position to make a play on the ball, his long arms will allow him to break up many pass attempts, has a large catching radius.

Being underweight will hurt him vs the strong opponents, they will be able to create easy separation when they use their strength in a push off. If he were to stay at his current size, he will likely have to play as a nickel corner. He likes to leave his feet early when attempting a tackle. Needs to be quicker at recognizing the run. Struggles when a receiver takes a slant or a cut to the inside.

Overall, Hughes has potential. The only real issue is his weight and that is fixable. He may not start as an outside corner, but he should down the road. He should be in a system that likes to run a lot of press man.

Played as an outside corner for LSU, schemes involved press man, off and cover 2. Height is below average, and weight is very low, has long arms and legs.

Athletic Ability is good, shows quickness, explosive speed, good overall hips, has a leaping ability. Good Mental Processing, can sniff out the trick plays, stays home, can recognize the route concepts. Great Competitive Toughness, has swagger in his game, can make important plays at very crucial times. Elite play speed, good luck trying to get away from him, shows deep speed, recovery speed and closing speed, rare for him to lose in a speed matchup. Good zone Coverage, very effective when trying to make a jump on the flat throws, showed ability to transition opponents when in the middle of the field. Good run support, will come downhill and will try to hit the RB, fills outside contain. Good Ball Skills, his long arms come in handy, great job timing the ball, able to look back and find the football on the deep shots, always seem to be in the right position.

He is well underweight and that will mean his strength will be a concern. Easily gets pushed around, especially when playing press man, will struggle to shed blockers. He will have to add weight to be an outside corner in the league. He will struggle to make some tackles because of the size, but he will also need to do a better job of consistently wrapping up. He has had several chances to make an INT, but he has dropped some easy ones.

Overall, Jackson is a good prospect. He will need to work on his weight before we can really see what he is capable of, but he has to keep his speed to continue to be successful. I would like him to start out as a nickel and maybe down the road turn into an outside corner.

2-year starter at Alabama. Solid height for an outside corner, weight is a light, must gain weight. Arms are about average in length, hands are good enough. Physical build

Good Athletic Ability, quickness, explosive downhill, suddenness, could improve balance and COD. Good Mental Processing, anticipates the quick underneath routes, knows how to disguise his blitz. Great Competitive Toughness, fights all game long, plays physical, has the swagger needed to be a corner in the league. Good Play speed, shows deep speed, like his closing/recovery speed. Nice acceleration. Good Play Strength, plays stronger than what he is actually capable of, love his physicality, plays well vs bigger competition despite size, strong hand fighting. Good Man Coverage, can play either press or off man and will contribute either way, very tight coverage down the field, nice job mirroring WR in press. Good open-field tackler, puts force in his tackles, wraps up. Good Run Support, will come downhill to make a hit on the large opponent. Good Ball Skills, will make a play on the ball when WR is coming down with the ball, knocking it out of his hands. Locates the football, can make a play on the back-shoulder throws.

Zone Coverage is not his strong suit. Shown confusion when transitioning from one opponent to the next and allows too much space/window when playing a cover 2 look, caught guessing routes. His strength should improve when he gains more muscle, but he has struggled with shedding blocks and dealing with a the very large opponents like a TE. Could work on footwork a little bit. Likes to dive too early when attempting a tackle. Ball production is low with only 1 INT.

Overall, Averett is a man corner. He will gain weight at the next level but depending on how quickly he does that he may have to consider playing inside at nickel. I fully expect him to be an outside corner down the road, but when is the question. Would fit a system that is primarily a Man coverage look.

Outside Corner at Auburn. Mainly a man coverage scheme. Has great height and weight to be an NFL Corner, good arm length with good build, legs a little longer than average. Good thickness overall.

Good Athletic Ability, has body control with leaping ability. Should improve his balance, quickness and change of direction. Good Mental Processing, can identify run/pass pretty well. solid understanding of the route concepts. Great Competitive Toughness, has that dawg in him, doesn’t care how big the opponent is, he will try to destroy him. Good Play strength, physical corner, his force is shown when he plays press with his jam, can shed tackles easier than average CBs. Good Man Coverage, nice job pushing the WR to the sideline on deep routes, his physicality makes it difficult for many WRs to focus on the ball. Good Open-Field Tackler, uses the hit stick, takes his opponent through the ground. Great Run Support, comes downhill once run is recognized, fills his gap responsibility well. Good Ball Skills, has the concentration to make a catch off a deflection, his long arms give him a better opportunity to make a PBU. I like him in the redzone, uses his body control and leaping ability well.

He doesn’t have the deep speed to deal with the speedy WRs. Not much experience in zone, has shown confusion when dealing with a bunch formation. Needs to wrap up his tackles more consistently. He only had one INT last season, he needs to capitalize on more opportunities.

Overall, Davis has the size of an NFL CB and he can fill a role early if needed. I would like to give him a little time to learn the zone systems before throwing him in the fire. Could be a good prospect in the league.

Underdog story, walk-on at Alabama to eventually receiving a scholarship and becoming the starting outside corner. A very long corner, long arms, but is underweight, has the size to play outside, but needs another 15 pounds of muscle.

Athletic Ability is good, some quickness and explosive play, nice body control. Good Mental processing, often is quick to recognize run/pass, communicates well with his teammates to adjust the coverage, aware of the rub routes. Great Competitive Toughness, a player with a chip on his shoulder, plays every down like it’s his last, plays with confidence. Good play speed, has some deep speed to stay maintain with above average receivers, has closing/recovery speed. Good Man Coverage, best used as a press-man corner, tight coverage in short to mid areas of the field, pushes WR to the sideline on vert routes, very physical. Great Ball Skills, if given the opportunity he will make a play on the ball, his long arms will allow him to get in the middle of a lot of throws, nice timing on when to knock the ball away without a PI, nice production in college in terms of Pass Defended.

His size will limit him in the league, only because of his weight. He can add weight and be a very good Corner in the league, but for the time being he has a lot of work to do. His weight will hurt him when dealing with large RBs when he has to make a tackle, or when trying to shed blocks. At Alabama, he did play zone much compared to Man, there may be a learning curve.

Overall, Wallace is an interesting prospect. It’s difficult to project how a player will perform at a different size. If he were to keep the size he has now, he would be forced to move to nickel corner. If he were to gain an additional 15 pounds of muscle; Would he be able to keep his speed? Would he be able to be better supporting the run defense? It’s likely why he will fall to the 3rd or 4th round. I believe he will eventually get a shot to be an outside corner, but for the time being he will have to play nickel.

Started his collegiate career as a Wide Receiver at Western Michigan. Transitioned to CB his Sophomore season. Phillips is undersized to be considered an outside corner at the next level, but he is perfect for the nickel slot. His weight matches his height, and has solid build, legs appear to be shorter than average length, long arms.

Great Athletic Ability, extremely explosive, quick, great fluidity in hips. Footwork is solid and is balanced when in an awkward position. Great Play Speed, shows off some deep speed with closing ability, his acceleration is impressive. Good Play Strength, his nice build allows him to be more physical with average receivers, allows him to play press with a good jam. Good man coverage, best vs short routes, his physicality makes it difficult for receivers to create separation, can play press or off-man. Great Ball Skills, it’s easy to tell he was a former WR, has playmaker ability, his long arms allow him to create a lot of chances for himself, more aggressive when the ball is in the air, has the anticipation skills needed. In cover 2, he has much better anticipation for the flat routes, and can transition from one assignment to the next.

Still learning how to be consistent corner, he will easily buy the pump fake, harder for him to diagnose the route concept when in press man. His effort level is low, coasts way too much, but I applaud him for coming back into the game despite an injury. In zone coverage, he will stare too much at the QB and lose track of his surroundings, allowing large windows. Mainly a catch tackler who will drag his opponent to the ground. His effort vs the run isn’t there, his unwillingness to shed blocks and hit a RB will be a turn off for some teams.

Overall, Phillips is a solid prospect. He will likely become a nickel, but he may see some time outside if he can show more effort vs the Run. Still learning the position, so give him some time.

Outside corner for Stanford. Large corner, taller than average, more physically built than average, weight is a little light, longer arm length and good lower body build.

Athletic Ability is solid, his footwork needs a lot of work, shown to be unbalanced because of it, change of direction is an issue, hips are tight. Good Mental Processing, recognizes screens and identifies the checkdown WRs. Great Competitive Toughness, fights hard to shed blocks, competitor, always fighting to make a play. Good Play Speed, shows above average deep speed, some closing speed. Good Play Strength, will shed blocks from receivers and does play physical in short areas, red zone, could work against large WRs. Good Zone coverage, comes downhill when he recognizes the flat routes, nice job transitioning from one assignment to the next. Good Open-Field Tackler, nice job wrapping up and using force with his tackles. Good Run Support, will make a hit on the RB, his ability to shed blocks will make it difficult for teams to run outside his direction. Good Ball Skills, played better in the back half of his final collegiate season, able to locate the football deep downfield, his longer arms can help with pass breakups.

He should not play press man at the next level. His feet are too slow to transition, especially vs a speedster. Allows too much space for crossing routes, has guessed the route concept at times. When attempting a tackle, he likes to hesitate for a split second before wrapping up to make the tackle, killing his momentum.

Overall, Meeks is a solid player. His footwork needs to be improved before he sees extensive playing time at the next level, but he can be a force vs the Run. Some may look at him as a Strong Safety if he does not improve his feet. Give him a year to develop and see how he does in press man.

Coming soon.

Outside Corner, Punt and Kick Returner at Kansas State. Played a lot of off-man because of the multiple spread offenses in the big 12. Undersized to be considered an outside corner, but he carries more muscle weight than what an average player at that size would carry. Longer arms for size but is about average compared to big corners.

Athletic Ability is good, shows his quickness, balance, has some change of direction ability, feet are not bad at all. Good Competitive Toughness, shows some swagger in his play, will be a lead blocker for his teammates on an INT return. Good Play Speed, shows acceleration and closing speed, has some deep speed to handle average opponents. Good Man coverage, really like him in press, best in short to mid-range, does play physical. Good Zone Coverage, best in cover 2, impressive job anticipating the throws in the flat. Great Ball Skills, has the production to match it, finds the football deep downfield, goes up to get the football, nice job getting a hand in the mix.

Needs a better understanding of the game, has been caught guessing on some routes, needs a better understanding of where he is on the field – most noticeable in punt returning, too aggressive and will make a catch at the 5 or even closer to the end zone. His strength will push him inside, he may play somewhat physical, but he will struggle to shed blockers or deal with the very large receivers. Not much of a tackler, his tackles are low, unusual for him to wrap up, use force with tackles. He will come downhill for run support, but his strength will limit how much he can contribute, needs to be more consistent with the outside contain rules. In zone, he has been caught staring too much at the QB, losing a sense of the WR.

Overall, Reed is a solid nickel corner in the league. I would use him as a kick returner more than a punt returner. Maybe will need some time to adjust, but he could get his shot down the road.

Outside Corner for Florida State. He played great in the 2016 season but took a major step back this previous season. He has great height, freaky arm length, lacks the weight for his size and will need to add muscle mass.

Athletic Ability is great, shows his balance, has some explosive ability, some quickness, change of direction is not perfect, but solid. Good Mental Processing, has good route concept, he can diagnose a play and change his assignment before the action occurs. Good play speed, long strider and shows some deep speed, has nice acceleration and closing speed. Good Man Coverage, one of the best in short areas of the field, his long arms really disturb the WRs.

His competitive Toughness, is frustrating to watch, lazy effort, gives up on a play way too early. He does have physical tools, but he must improve his lanky arms, having difficulty trying to shed WR blocks, unlikely for him to win vs Big WRs. Allows a little too much space in zone coverage. He is more of a catch tackler, not going to go through his tackles. When in a one on one situation he will come downhill but won’t have a big impact because of his unwillingness to hit the RB. It was shocking how big of a step backwards he took in terms of Ball Skills, had trouble locating the football – especially in fades or jump ball situations.

Overall, McFadden is a confusing prospect. If he can play like his 2016 season, then we could see a good starter in the NFL, but if we see a repeat of this previous season, McFadden won’t be in the league for long. I would like him to be in a primarily man scheme.

Coming soon.

Coming soon.