xwalker
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I avoided reading the reviews while doing this in an attempt to not be biased. I'm curious to go back and compare this with the draft media reviews.
Trae Waynes
Fast and quick. Can be physical but has thin build. Effort in tackling and getting off blocks is inconsistent. Make a surprising number of mistakes in both pass and run defense. Got tricked up with rub routes and WRs crossing paths. Seemed to lose concentration or awareness in run defense resulting in some big plays. Will often transition from back peddle too early. NFL receivers with key on that and can get CBs out of position with good cuts/route-running.
Byron Jones
Super athletic with good size, arm length and jumping ability to play the contested throws against big receivers. Not polished but played Safety for a big portion of his college career. Might have issue with small jitter-bug type receivers. Despite lack of polish, seems to be a smart player.
Marcus Peters
Likes to play up in the WRs face. Emotional on the field. Effort in run defense and tackling is often lacking. He can stay right on receivers with tight coverage and is good at preventing contested type catches. He will get too physical/grabby down-field at times. I can see him being a guy that would prefer to play man defense. Another guy that will transition from back peddle early, before the receiver makes his cut. Gives me a Mike Jenkins vibe.
Kevin Johnson
High effort player. Quick and agile. Probably the best back peddle and has nice transition out of back peddle. Is patient to stay in peddle until receiver commits to their move. Thin build with thin legs. Needs to get stronger. Good effort tackling and in run defense. Is more polished and has better awareness than most of the other in this draft. Decent job turning head on deep passes. Could probably cover the slot. Will likely be good against small and medium sized receivers but could struggle with the big receivers, especially on contested throws.
Eric Rowe
I'll review him here on his games at CB. Give good effort to fight through blocks and tackle in the running game. Surprisingly good in transition/change of direction. Good at defending jump ball type contested throws. Can turn an run with WRs and will usually get his head turned on the deep throws. Good awareness and appears to be a smart player. Good size at 6-1, 205 with decent arm length. He is the 5th best CB on the list for me and I might consider moving him even higher.
PJ Williams
Also a notch below the top 4 in athletic ability. Slow/stiff in transition. Will get beat off the line often. Gives up a lot of catches where he had tight coverage. Has good physicality and does not shy away from contact. Good speed.
Quinten Rollins
Surprisingly good considering he only played football for 1 year. Quick feet and quick transition/hip-turn. Solid built and decent physicality. Better than average body control to stay on receivers without interfering. Good hands for INTs. Deep speed is the big problem. He got beat in college purely due to a lack of deep speed. Physically, looks like an ideal zone CB. Safety is an option but he's going to need time to develop.
Josh Shaw
Looks the part with rock solid muscular build. Oddly seemed more physical and intense at CB than at Safety. Was a big hitter in some games/plays but not in others. In game footage transition/hip-turn appeared limited but in the combine workouts it looked really good. I think it’s more about a lack of technique/experience at CB more than a physical limitation. Back peddle needs work also. Good size at 6-0, 201 with good arm length. Moving around from CB to Safety probably limited his development at either. Obviously missing 2014 was a big limitation as well. Overall I think he can be a decent CB with the size to matchup with bigger receivers but might be even better as a Safety.
Steven Nelson
Scrappy high energy player. Will not shy away from contact with good effort in run defense. Good quickness. Maybe some tightness in back peddle transition / hip-turn. Lack of length/size is the biggest issue. He is solid at 197 but at 5-10 with short arms he is limited. He reminds me of Scandrick but his frame is probably smaller than Scandrick and he does not have that kind of deep speed. Punt Returner.
Jalen Collins
Definitely a notch below the top 4 in athletic ability. A little stiff in transition. Good size with solid build. Needs work on technique.
Ronald Darby
Gives good effort to fight through blocks and play run defense. Is fast in straight line but appears stiff in transition/change of direction (the dreaded "tight hips". Rarely plays from a back peddle. Almost always turns to run (hip turn) from his first step. Got burned a few times when receivers took advantage of his hip positioning. He would have his hip to the inside and the receiver cut to the outside and Darby would just twist up like a pretzel and completely lose the receiver. Will need work against contested jump ball type throws.
D'Joun Smith
Seems to get his hands on a lot of balls to knock them down or get the Int. Speed looks good enough. Is better than some other at playing the ball in the air and is good getting his head turned. Stop start quickness is not that good. Limited height and arm length at 5-10, 187.
Craig Mager
Really good player. Very physical. Solid build at 5-11, 201. Good speed and quickness. Good back peddle and good transition/hip-turn. Good stop/start quickness. Good playing the ball in the air and getting head turned. Good anticipation in run/pass. Aggressive run defender and really fights through blocks. Offenses did get him to bite on the run and then beat him with a throw because of his aggressive run defense mentality. Short arms. Punt returner.
JaCorey Shepherd
Very good back-peddle/transition/hip-turn. Good speed and quickness. Good stop/start. Gets his hands on the ball often. Solid built at 5-11, 199. Limited arm length. Good awareness. Decent effort in run defense but not overly physical.
Trae Waynes
Fast and quick. Can be physical but has thin build. Effort in tackling and getting off blocks is inconsistent. Make a surprising number of mistakes in both pass and run defense. Got tricked up with rub routes and WRs crossing paths. Seemed to lose concentration or awareness in run defense resulting in some big plays. Will often transition from back peddle too early. NFL receivers with key on that and can get CBs out of position with good cuts/route-running.
Byron Jones
Super athletic with good size, arm length and jumping ability to play the contested throws against big receivers. Not polished but played Safety for a big portion of his college career. Might have issue with small jitter-bug type receivers. Despite lack of polish, seems to be a smart player.
Marcus Peters
Likes to play up in the WRs face. Emotional on the field. Effort in run defense and tackling is often lacking. He can stay right on receivers with tight coverage and is good at preventing contested type catches. He will get too physical/grabby down-field at times. I can see him being a guy that would prefer to play man defense. Another guy that will transition from back peddle early, before the receiver makes his cut. Gives me a Mike Jenkins vibe.
Kevin Johnson
High effort player. Quick and agile. Probably the best back peddle and has nice transition out of back peddle. Is patient to stay in peddle until receiver commits to their move. Thin build with thin legs. Needs to get stronger. Good effort tackling and in run defense. Is more polished and has better awareness than most of the other in this draft. Decent job turning head on deep passes. Could probably cover the slot. Will likely be good against small and medium sized receivers but could struggle with the big receivers, especially on contested throws.
Eric Rowe
I'll review him here on his games at CB. Give good effort to fight through blocks and tackle in the running game. Surprisingly good in transition/change of direction. Good at defending jump ball type contested throws. Can turn an run with WRs and will usually get his head turned on the deep throws. Good awareness and appears to be a smart player. Good size at 6-1, 205 with decent arm length. He is the 5th best CB on the list for me and I might consider moving him even higher.
PJ Williams
Also a notch below the top 4 in athletic ability. Slow/stiff in transition. Will get beat off the line often. Gives up a lot of catches where he had tight coverage. Has good physicality and does not shy away from contact. Good speed.
Quinten Rollins
Surprisingly good considering he only played football for 1 year. Quick feet and quick transition/hip-turn. Solid built and decent physicality. Better than average body control to stay on receivers without interfering. Good hands for INTs. Deep speed is the big problem. He got beat in college purely due to a lack of deep speed. Physically, looks like an ideal zone CB. Safety is an option but he's going to need time to develop.
Josh Shaw
Looks the part with rock solid muscular build. Oddly seemed more physical and intense at CB than at Safety. Was a big hitter in some games/plays but not in others. In game footage transition/hip-turn appeared limited but in the combine workouts it looked really good. I think it’s more about a lack of technique/experience at CB more than a physical limitation. Back peddle needs work also. Good size at 6-0, 201 with good arm length. Moving around from CB to Safety probably limited his development at either. Obviously missing 2014 was a big limitation as well. Overall I think he can be a decent CB with the size to matchup with bigger receivers but might be even better as a Safety.
Steven Nelson
Scrappy high energy player. Will not shy away from contact with good effort in run defense. Good quickness. Maybe some tightness in back peddle transition / hip-turn. Lack of length/size is the biggest issue. He is solid at 197 but at 5-10 with short arms he is limited. He reminds me of Scandrick but his frame is probably smaller than Scandrick and he does not have that kind of deep speed. Punt Returner.
Jalen Collins
Definitely a notch below the top 4 in athletic ability. A little stiff in transition. Good size with solid build. Needs work on technique.
Ronald Darby
Gives good effort to fight through blocks and play run defense. Is fast in straight line but appears stiff in transition/change of direction (the dreaded "tight hips". Rarely plays from a back peddle. Almost always turns to run (hip turn) from his first step. Got burned a few times when receivers took advantage of his hip positioning. He would have his hip to the inside and the receiver cut to the outside and Darby would just twist up like a pretzel and completely lose the receiver. Will need work against contested jump ball type throws.
D'Joun Smith
Seems to get his hands on a lot of balls to knock them down or get the Int. Speed looks good enough. Is better than some other at playing the ball in the air and is good getting his head turned. Stop start quickness is not that good. Limited height and arm length at 5-10, 187.
Craig Mager
Really good player. Very physical. Solid build at 5-11, 201. Good speed and quickness. Good back peddle and good transition/hip-turn. Good stop/start quickness. Good playing the ball in the air and getting head turned. Good anticipation in run/pass. Aggressive run defender and really fights through blocks. Offenses did get him to bite on the run and then beat him with a throw because of his aggressive run defense mentality. Short arms. Punt returner.
JaCorey Shepherd
Very good back-peddle/transition/hip-turn. Good speed and quickness. Good stop/start. Gets his hands on the ball often. Solid built at 5-11, 199. Limited arm length. Good awareness. Decent effort in run defense but not overly physical.
