By Charlie Campbell.
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This page was last updated April 14, 2016. Follow me @walterfootball for updates.
Position Review: Cornerbacks
Cornerback Class
Early-round talent: B+
Mid-round: B
Late-round: B-
Overall grade: B
2016 prospects vs 2015
Vernon Hargreaves III
Trae Waynes
Kevin Johnson
Marcus Peters
Eli Apple
Byron Jones
William Jackson III
Xavien Howard
Jalen Collins
Eric Rowe
Ronald Darby
Kendall Fuller
Mackensie Alexander
Senquez Golson
Artie Burns
Zack Sanchez
This year’s draft class features a solid group of cornerbacks, and this group is comparable to last year’s class. The 2015 class had four corners go in the first round, five in the second round, and more depth into the mid-rounds. The 2016 class could produce similar results.
If you were to mix the classes together, Hargreaves would be the best prospect. Eli Apple, meanwhile, isn’t as good of a prospect as Waynes, Johnson or Peters. He’s more on a par with Jones. Jackson and Howard are bubble first- and second-round picks who would go ahead of Collins. Kendall Fuller and Alexander are on a par with Ronald Darby as prospects; however if Fuller was healthy, he would be at the top with Hargreaves. Burns, Sanchez and Murray are all late second-, early third-round prospects.
Safest Pick: Vernon Hargreaves III, Florida
The 5-foot-10, 204-pound Hargreaves is a well-rounded player. He has great feet, ball skills and instincts, plus is just a natural football player. Hargreaves is a also high-character individual with a strong locker-room presence. Over the past three seasons, he went head-to-head against top competition with impressive performances against the likes of Amari Cooper and Laquon Treadwell. Hargreaves has demonstrated the flexibility to play press-man, off-man, and zone coverage. He has ball skills to go along with being a quality tackler. Hargreaves is excellent at running the route to blanket receivers and prevent separation. He may not become the best corner in the NFL, but I think he’s going to be Pro Bowl caliber and will reach that status quickly in his NFL career.
My track record here is not good. Milliner and Gilbert have been huge disappointments thus far. They’re closing in on bust status. Waynes didn’t become an immediate starter, but I believe that Mike Zimmer is going to develop Waynes into a quality pro.
2015 Pick: Trae Waynes
2014 Pick: Justin Gilbert
2013 Pick: Dee Milliner
Biggest Bust Potential: William Jackson III, Houston
Around the NFL, Jackson is a love/hate prospect. Teams expect him to go in the late first or early second round, but there are some teams that don’t like him at all. One general manager of a playoff team that has been very good at scouting and developing cornerbacks said they had a fifth-round grade on Jackson prior to the Combine. Another team picking early in the 2016 NFL Draft and that is in the market for cornerback help said they have Jackson as a late second-rounder. Still, after his production in terms of ball skills and his great combine workout, Jackson has a great shot of going in Round 1.
As a player, I see some flaws that could lead to Jackson being a bust. For starters, he is an undisciplined corner. He is a gambler who goes for interceptions, so double moves and a lack of eye discipline could lead to him getting burnt in the NFL. Jackson also is a little stiff which makes his off-man coverage shaky as well. I think of the corners who could go in the first round, Jackson has the most bust potential.
My track record is better here. Amerson was a bust for the Redskins, but could be straightening his career out with the Raiders. Roby is a solid nickel corner and backup behind two very good corners, but he’s developing well and should replace Aqib Talib in a year or so. Williams missed his rookie season with an injury.
2015 Pick: P.J. Williams
2014 Pick: Bradley Roby
2013 Pick: David Amerson
Cornerback Rankings by Attributes
Off-Man-Coverage Ability:
NFL prototype: Darrelle Revis, Jets
- Kendall Fuller
- Vernon Hargreaves III
- Mackensie Alexander
- Zack Sanchez
- Xavien Howard
- Artie Burns
- Eli Apple
- William Jackson III
Recap: Going off the opinion of Jon Gruden, which is now a consensus thought around the league, the most important two positions on a defense are an elite pass-rusher off the edge and a shutdown cornerback. The NFL is driven by passing, and a shutdown corner can limit the opposition’s ability to score points by taking the best receiver away from a quarterback. Teams throughout the league are searching hard for that kind of cornerback talent. Playing off-man coverage is more challenging than press-man because off-man coverage requires loose hips and the agility to turn quickly. NFL offenses use lots of bunch formations to force cornerbacks into off-man coverage whether they want to play it or not.
Fuller is excellent in off-man coverage. He can flip his hips and run and is very smooth. He runs the route of the receiver and doesn’t allow separation. This ability really sets Fuller apart from the rest of the pack.
Hargreaves and Alexander are very fluid and do a great job of blanketing receivers. Both of them are a little more stiff-hipped than Fuller, thus Fuller is rated ahead.
Howard, Burns and Sanchez are solid in off-man coverage. They enter the NFL with that being a strength. Apple and Jackson are better in other techniques. Jackson’s off-man coverage is shaky entering the NFL.
Zone Corner:
NFL prototype: Charles Tillman, Panthers
- Vernon Hargreaves III
- Xavien Howard
- Kendall Fuller
- Artie Burns
- Eli Apple
- Mackensie Alexander
- Zack Sanchez
- William Jackson III
Recap: Many teams mix man and zone coverage, so a corner who can excel in both is very valuable. There really isn’t a bad zone corner in the group above.
Florida played more man coverage in Hargreaves’ first two seasons, but did a lot more zone in 2015, which he played very well in. Hargreaves’ thickness, quick feet, tackling, and ability to drive on the ball are great fits to handle zone coverage against pro receivers.
Fuller, Howard and Burns are very good zone corners. Each has the size to help cover receivers who run into his area. They would fit well into NFL zone schemes. Howard has the explosiveness to close quickly and also is well-built to make tackles, thus he’s rated second.
Apple and Alexander should be an asset in zone coverage as pros. They are fast and cover a lot of ground. Apple is ahead because he has more size and would work well in a Tampa 2 system. That could be a great fit for him in the NFL. Alexander and Sanchez are good in zone, but undersized and could be limited to only playing nickel.
Jackson played more man coverage in college, but his lack of discipline could be very problematic in zone coverage. Free-lancing and gambling in zone leads to coverage busts with receivers who are wide open. Jackson will have to improve his discipline significantly if his team plays a lot of zone coverage.
Press-Man Coverage:
NFL prototype: Richard Sherman, Seahawks
- Eli Apple
- William Jackson III
- Xavien Howard
- Artie Burns
- Vernon Hargreaves III
- Kendall Fuller
- Mackensie Alexander
- Zack Sanchez
Recap: Many teams in the NFL feature defenses that play a lot of press-man coverage. Having the ability to jam and reroute receivers helps defenses throw off the timing of plays. Corners who can stay stride for stride with receivers down the field are very valuable. Almost this entire group of corners project well to playing press-man.
Apple (6-0, 199) projects as a true press-man corner. That is his wheelhouse as he is excellent at jamming receivers and riding them down the field. He uses the sideline well as an extra defender and stays in the hip pocket of receivers. The more Apple is able to play press-man, the better off he’s going to be as a rookie. He tends to grab too much with receivers, but if receivers and he are scrapping from the start of the play, he has a better shot of not getting flagged rather than initiating contact late.
Jackson (6-0, 189), Howard (6-0, 200) and Burns (5-11, 193) are all good in press-man coverage. They have the size to be effective at jamming receivers and are able to turn to run. All four of them have technique that is ready for press-man in the NFL.
Hargreaves (5-10, 204) and Fuller (5-11, 187) are put together well enough and could play press-man, but they aren’t as tall or long as the other corners. Hargreaves did well as a press-man corner at Florida, but his size doesn’t make him a great fit for the Seahawks’ style.
Alexander (5-10, 190) and Sanchez (5-10, 185) are too small to thrive as press-man corners. Big receivers will give them lots of problems, so neither should be used in this manner. They are fits as slot nickel corners.
Ball Skills:
NFL prototype: Aqib Talib, Broncos
- Vernon Hargreaves III
- William Jackson III
- Xavien Howard
- Kendall Fuller
- Zack Sanchez
- Artie Burns
- Eli Apple
- Mackensie Alexander
Recap: This was a tough choice as almost all of these players had seasons of good production for ball skills. Still, Hargreaves displayed consistent ball skills over three years despite teams avoiding throwing his direction. He has excellent hands to make catches and plays the ball extremely well. He totaled 10 interceptions over three seasons with 28 passes broken up. Hargreaves was extremely consistent despite the lack of opportunities as a sophomore and junior. Immediately in the NFL, he will be better than a lot of starting corners around the league in terms of ball skills.
There is no doubt that Jackson has excellent ball skills. He had 23 passes broken up last year to go along with five interceptions. Teams were throwing at Jackson, but he did well to break up those passes. Ball skills are one of his best traits.
Howard plays the ball extremely well and doesn’t panic when it comes his direction. He had nine interceptions over the last two years with 23 passes batted away. He has good ball skills, and I think he’s going to produce some nice interception totals during his NFL career.
Sanchez displayed impressive ball skills at Oklahoma. Last year, he totaled seven interceptions with seven passes broken up. In his previous seasons, Sanchez had six interceptions and eight passes batted. He is also a threat to take the ball the other direction.
Fuller displayed consistent ball skills over his first two seasons. He had six interceptions and 11 breakups as a true freshman and followed it up with 17 breakups and two picks as a sophomore. Fuller does a superb job of playing the ball.
Burns and Apple each have a season of good production. Last year, Burns had six picks and five breakups after not producing much in 2014. Apple was the opposite with three interceptions and 10 breakups in 2014 before declining to one and eight respectively as a redshirt sophomore. Both of them have some ball skills entering the NFL.
Ball skills are one of things lacking from Alexander’s game. He had zero interceptions in his two seasons as a starter with 11 breakups in that time. Alexander isn’t a turnover creator entering the NFL.
Run Support:
NFL prototype: Richard Sherman, Seahawks
- Kendall Fuller
- Xavien Howard
- Vernon Hargreaves III
- Eli Apple
- Artie Burns
- William Jackson III
- Zack Sanchez
- Mackensie Alexander
Recap: Some college and NFL teams aren’t too concerned with how corners play the run, but good corner run-defenders can prevent big gains on the edge and make tackles to prevent long carries.
You might be surprised that Fuller is rated first considering he isn’t the biggest of corners, but in his two full seasons, he was a good run defender with tackle totals of 58 and 50. Fuller is a gritty, tough player who didn’t hesitate to help the ground defense.
Howard is very good in run defense. He chases backs down and doesn’t hesitate to fly into the tackle box. He had tackle totals of 42 and 51 the past two seasons.
Not surprisingly Hargreaves is close to the top as the SEC is a running-based conference. He can be a tough, good tackler. Hargreaves had 50 tackles as a sophomore and really threw his body around in his first two seasons. Last year, he seemed to ease up in run defense.
Burns, Jackson and Sanchez aren’t afraid to stick their noses in the scrum and take on a back. Each of that trio had least one season of over 40 tackles in their collegiate careers. Sanchez’s size could be an issue in run defense in the NFL. Likewise for Alexander with size being a concern. He had 23 and 21 tackles respectively the past two seasons, but the Clemson scheme didn’t call on the corners for run defense.
Instincts:
NFL prototype: Joe Haden, Browns
- Vernon Hargreaves III
- Kendall Fuller
- William Jackson III
- Xavien Howard
- Zack Sanchez
- Mackensie Alexander
- Artie Burns
- Eli Apple
Recap: For cornerbacks, instincts aren’t just picking off passes. Instincts also are about reading the route and the quarterback. It starts before the snap when the offense lines up. Elite corners seem to have eyes in the back of their head to know when passes are coming behind them.
Hargreaves and Fuller are very instinctive, and made plays all over the field. They notched interceptions, broke up passes, and got in position to make tackles against the run. Hargreaves gets the edge with more experience.
Jackson displayed real instincts for Houston over the past few seasons. He made big plays to change the course of games and has a really nice feel for what the passing game is trying to do. He almost trusts his instincts too much, and that can lead to some of his discipline issues.
Howard and Sanchez were very instinctive. They read plays well and were wise when they made breaks. That led to each of them producing turnovers. Alexander was very good at reading receivers and quarterbacks to prevent separation.
Burns displayed more instincts as a junior. He has upside and room to grow. Apple seemed to show more instincts in 2014 than he did in 2015.
Recovery:
NFL prototype: Patrick Peterson, Cardinals
- Mackensie Alexander
- Vernon Hargreaves III
- Kendall Fuller
- Artie Burns
- Xavien Howard
- William Jackson III
- Eli Apple
- Zack Sanchez
Recap: The majority of cornerbacks in the NFL are going to allow some separation against good route-runners, but the good corners have the ability to recover to close the space. It takes short-area burst, but having length also plays a significant factor.
In this draft class, Alexander, Hargreaves and Fullar are excellent in recovery. They quickly close any separation, and that makes it hard to complete passes against them, especially Alexander. An instant after the receiver is open, he’s covered again before the quarterback can complete the pass. Overall, Alexander’s recovery last season was phenomenal.
Burns and Howard were very skilled at recovery last year. Jackson and Apple displayed inconsistent recovery skills. Sanchez showed big improvement in this category. Early in his college career, he struggled to recover and was often burned. He was much better in 2015.
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