Teams concerned Alabama S Lester can't cover

[RS12]

Alabama S Robert Lester "struggled throughout the week" at Senior Bowl practices, and there are reportedly concerns inside the NFL that he may project as no better than a backup pro safety.
Lester played "high" in Mobile with a "choppy backpedal," struggling to change directions. The worry is that Lester can't play the pass. Lester's box score stats impress with 14 career interceptions, but they're not indicative of his on-field coverage skills. He has more work to do in the pre-draft phase.
Source: National Football Post Jan 26 - 8:49 AM

[jobberone]

I would look for the bigger CBs to play S. I don't see them as any different than a CB for the most part with the exception they need to be big enough to cover TEs. AFAIC, they all need to be big enough to cover TEs since they're all over the field and some are just big WRs. All DBs should be able to cover.

Now finding five large, mobile, athletic, good covering and tackling DBs is not so easy.

[Goldenrichards83]

Funny thing is if you go on CBS sports they have a segment on the Senior Bowl. Pat Kirwan says Lester had a great showing there and he is one to watch.

[IAmLegend]

Lester never impressed me at Alabama. He was easily one of the weaker defensive players on Bama's D and I remember him getting beat a lot in coverage whenever I watched them.

[xwalker]

Originally Posted by jobberone

I would look for the bigger CBs to play S. I don't see them as any different than a CB for the most part with the exception they need to be big enough to cover TEs. AFAIC, they all need to be big enough to cover TEs since they're all over the field and some are just big WRs. All DBs should be able to cover.

Now finding five large, mobile, athletic, good covering and tackling DBs is not so easy.

I agree that physically, big Cornerbacks project well to Safety in the modern, pass-happy, NFL. The problem is that it is difficult to evaluate if a CB has the instincts to play Safety.

Safety is the most difficult position to evaluate, IMO. They have to have a certain amount of instincts and good mental reaction times.

Here is a list of the top Defensive Backs with overall rankings of 224 or better. I excluded all players under 190 lbs. The list is sorted by weight.

The Round is based on overall rankings. Melvin White was ranked #338 overall which is the equivalent of a 12th round.