casmith07's Cornerback Big Board

[casmith07]

Completely unscientific. This is my "Cornerback Big Board" based on nothing more than YouTube scouting and the eyeball test from watching games this year.

Warning - being a Virginia native, I am a huge homer, so I give special deference to Chase Minnifield of UVA, and Jayron Hosley of VT.

1. Morris Claiborne, LSU -- better pure CB than Patrick Peterson, value it in coverage skills both in man and in zone, as opposed to return ability that Peterson brought with him along with more "potential" in the CB category. Easily the best CB in the draft and a day 1 instant starter on any team in the league.

2. Alfonzo Dennard, Nebraska -- Nebraska is a school known for putting out pretty good DB/CB prospects. Dennard is no different. Another case of the guy coming out a year later being better than the other guy, Dennard is a better tackler than Amukamara. Good value late in the 1st.

3. Chase Minnifield, Virginia -- closest thing to the definition of a "shutdown corner" in college football this past year. His stats aren't huge, but it's because teams just didn't throw his direction. If he's available in the second round, I like this pick for the Cowboys a lot. He's twice as good as anyone not named Jenkins on our roster, at a minimum. I like his size a little better than Hosley's too, and his tackling is good - exactly what Rob Ryan wants. Reminds me of Charles Woodson or Champ Bailey.

4. Desmond Trufant, Washington -- younger brother of Seahawks DB Marcus Trufant. You usually can't go wrong when a position runs in the family. I wouldn't be terribly upset with this pick, either, if he comes remotely close to being as good as his brother in his prime. Good man cover guy, too, and has speed. Haven't watched a ton of his stuff, but he looks to be a fundamentally sound tackler. as one poster said, he's returning to school.

5. Jayron Hosley, Virginia Tech -- Ball. Hawk. You want picks? He'll deliver. Didn't get that many this past year because of injury and because of a drop off in Virginia Tech's defense across the board, but as a sophomore he led the nation with 9 picks, about half of which were stealing the ball from receivers/tight ends seemingly twice his size, or from "hawking" the ball while it was in the air from the opposite side of the field. Size is a concern, and because of that tackling may suffer, but Mike Jenkins is pretty slight of frame too. Reminds me of Joe Haden of the Browns, or Brandon Flowers of the Chiefs.

6. Stephon Gilmore, South Carolina -- potential is there, does well in man coverage, but struggles in zone and makes too many mistakes in coverage trying to "guess" on routes. Pretty physical player, though, and as long as he works on minimizing mistakes and shoring up his coverage game, could be a very good player for a long time.

7. Casey Hayward, Vanderbilt -- haven't watched much of him, but it is said that he is a ball hawk with good hands and good coverage skills. Definite day 2 guy, and is probably already better than Scandrick on day 1.

8. Brandon Boykin, Georgia -- jumps up into the top 10 purely on his return/offensive skills. He can do it all for your team - underrated cornerback who will excel from playing with a good team with solid coaching, a dynamic punt and kick returner, and can run some routes and catch TD passes. Where ever he is selected, outside of the 1st round, the pick makes sense because of what he brings to the table. Big time value no matter where he's selected. I wouldn't be terribly upset with this pick in the 2nd round, but for there being much better defenders on the board still left. However, if Hosley and Minnifield were gone, I would make this my 2nd round selection and not bat an eye. Immediate upgrade to two huge, gaping holes on the roster.

9. Xavier Rhodes, Florida State - another guy that benefitted from teams not throwing his direction, to the detriment of his stats. FSU was somewhat middle of the road, though, so it's hard to see how good a guy is when the rest of the team is kind of stinky.

10. Shaun Prater, CB, Iowa - teammate Micah Hyde is allegedly the better prospect, but everything that I've found says he's returning to school. Prater is a zone guy, and not much of a turnover creator. I don't think he would fit here in Dallas.


OFF THE BOARD: Janoris Jenkins, Dre Kirkpatrick. Character concerns would have me removing both of these guys from my board entirely, if I were working for the Cowboys. Some might not think marijuana is that big of a deal, but for me it's the decision-making process in making a conscious choice to participate in an illegal activity despite having things pretty much fairly made for you on the football field, even moreso with Kirkpatrick, who at the time of his arrest had the combine in less than 3 months and the draft in 4.

Janoris Jenkins let down his entire team by getting suspended/dismissed for something that's as simple as saying "no thanks." These kinds of decisions might not rear their heads as pot-smokers in the NFL, but I'm a believer that people with poor character allow those characteristics to manifest themselves in other ways.

[supercowboy8]

Alfonzo Dennard would not be in my top ten.

Is trufant even declared for the draft, great player but I thought he was going back to school.

[Chris in Arizona]

Apparently Kirkpatrick is still in play. As long as there are no other incidents, past or current, he won't get booted off our board.

Personally, I'm not high on Dennard at all.

I really like the CB depth in the first two rounds this year.

[JonJon]

I listened to the interviews that were available of Jenkins on Youtube, and I'm impressed with some of his answers. He said that he has been honest about his past situations and has moved beyond them. The most impressive thing to me was that he said that he could have opted to enter the supplemental draft, but returned to college to get his degree. I think Jenkins will be fine in the NFL and teams that pass on him will rue the day.

[fortdick]

Originally Posted by JonJon

I listened to the interviews that were available of Jenkins on Youtube, and I'm impressed with some of his answers. He said that he has been honest about his past situations and has moved beyond them. The most impressive thing to me was that he said that he could have opted to enter the supplemental draft, but returned to college to get his degree. I think Jenkins will be fine in the NFL and teams that pass on him will rue the day.

You may be correct on the rue'ing, but he was not contrite after the first incident, was he? It wasn't until he got caught again, kicked off the team, and realized he was one step from bagging groceries at the Piggly Wiggly when he straightened out (or at least starting talking smarter).

If he would agree to a piss test every week for three years, maybe....

[Zaxor]

Originally Posted by fortdick

You may be correct on the rue'ing, but he was not contrite after the first incident, was he? It wasn't until he got caught again, kicked off the team, and realized he was one step from bagging groceries at the Piggly Wiggly when he straightened out (or at least starting talking smarter).

If he would agree to a piss test every week for three years, maybe....

that is the trick isn't it...IF he is sincere or not...If he is, he is a great talent... if not not worth the trouble

[JonJon]

Originally Posted by fortdick

You may be correct on the rue'ing, but he was not contrite after the first incident, was he? It wasn't until he got caught again, kicked off the team, and realized he was one step from bagging groceries at the Piggly Wiggly when he straightened out (or at least starting talking smarter).

If he would agree to a piss test every week for three years, maybe....

Sometimes it takes people hitting rock bottom before they change, or at least make an effort to change. It certainly doesn't excuse his actions, but nothing will. No amount of apologizing and drug test will erase the choices he made. The best thing he can do is move forward and not look back, which seems to be what he is doing.

[RoyTheHammer]

Originally Posted by Chris in Arizona

Apparently Kirkpatrick is still in play. As long as there are no other incidents, past or current, he won't get booted off our board.

Personally, I'm not high on Dennard at all.

I really like the CB depth in the first two rounds this year.

You have access to the Cowboys draft board that isn't even made up yet?

Sweeeet.

[Bigdog]

I think Rhodes did not declared but it would be nice to have him.

[Chocolate Lab]

No Leonard Johnson, eh...

[Chris in Arizona]

Originally Posted by RoyTheHammer

You have access to the Cowboys draft board that isn't even made up yet?

Sweeeet.

One, never said I have access to the Cowboys board.

Two, if you don't think there isn't a board already started than you are more clueless than I ever imagined, and that bar was already pretty low.

Good talking to you Roy.

[casmith07]

Originally Posted by Chocolate Lab

No Leonard Johnson, eh...

He can't tackle.

[tm1119]

Denard got torched all week at the SR bowl. I even read some talks of him being delegated to safety in the NFL because he doesn't have fluid enough hips to turn and run with NFL WR's.

Also there is just no way u can take a kid completely off of your board for weed charges. If you eliminated every kid who smoked weed there wouldnt be a whole lot left to draft. Whether you want to accept it or not its part of the college culture. Some get caught and others dont. That's life. Jerry and Jason just have to do their do diligence and sit down and talk to these kids and make their best judgement.

[burmafrd]

Originally Posted by tm1119

Denard got torched all week at the SR bowl. I even read some talks of him being delegated to safety in the NFL because he doesn't have fluid enough hips to turn and run with NFL WR's.

Also there is just no way u can take a kid completely off of your board for weed charges. If you eliminated every kid who smoked weed there wouldnt be a whole lot left to draft. Whether you want to accept it or not its part of the college culture. Some get caught and others dont. That's life. Jerry and Jason just have to do their do diligence and sit down and talk to these kids and make their best judgement.

well you are totally wrong. A lot of teams have taken weed heads off of their boards over the years. Stupidity is the main reason; not so much smoking the stuff.

You just do not get it, do you?

IF you are so STUPID as to keep smoking weed when you KNOW you will be tested fairly soon, you are too STUPID to draft. Certainly not high.

THAT is why- because they are STUPID. If smoking pot is more important to you then making millions of dollars, no smart GM wants you on their team? Do you FINALLY GET IT?

[tm1119]

Originally Posted by burmafrd

well you are totally wrong. A lot of teams have taken weed heads off of their boards over the years. Stupidity is the main reason; not so much smoking the stuff.

You just do not get it, do you?

IF you are so STUPID as to keep smoking weed when you KNOW you will be tested fairly soon, you are too STUPID to draft. Certainly not high.

THAT is why- because they are STUPID. If smoking pot is more important to you then making millions of dollars, no smart GM wants you on their team? Do you FINALLY GET IT?

Ok, first of all calm down.

Second, you must be a fan of the wrong team. This franchise has a fairly long list of drug abusers/criminals who were successful on the field. As long as one of these kids doesn't have a felony drug related charge you have to give them a shot.