Cornerback Comparison

[xwalker]

I created a spreadsheet with data from 10 of the better active cornerbacks in the NFL. This data is from their combine or pro-day. The data for the Cowboys cornerbacks is included for comparison.

http://www.walker-texas.com/cornerback-data-1.xls

The data from the 10 good cornerbacks was used to develop a range for each category.

BEST
Height: 6023
Weight: 213
40 Yrd Dash: 4.28
20 Yrd Dash: 2.48
10 Yrd Dash: 1.41
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 17
Vertical Jump: 44
Broad Jump: 10'8"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 3.75
3-Cone Drill: 6.50

WORST
Height: 5097
Weight: 184
40 Yrd Dash: 4.49
20 Yrd Dash: 2.66
10 Yrd Dash: 1.60
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 09
Vertical Jump: 35 1/2
Broad Jump: 10'00"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.34
3-Cone Drill: 6.97

I compared each of the Cowboy's cornerbacks and draft pick Josh Thomas to this range.

Newman, Scandrick, McCann and Josh Thomas were in range for all categories with the exception that McCann was 2 lbs below the range.

Jenkins was above the range in Bench Press Reps but was below the range on the following:
Vertical Jump
Broad Jump
20 Yrd Shuttle
3-cone Drill

Mario Butler was below the range on the following:
Weight
40 Yrd Dash
10 Yrd Dash
Vertical Jump
20 Yrd Shuttle
3-Cone Drill

Alan Ball was only below the range in the 40 Yrd Dash.
He was in the range in all other categories including the 10 and 20 Yrd Dash.
He had the best 3-cone Drill of all Cowboys cornerbacks and the best Height at over 6-1.

Another intresting observation is that McCann is taller than Newman, Scandrick and Jenkins.

 

[chagus]

Another intresting observation is that McCann is taller than Newman, Scandrick and Jenkins.[/quote]

No way!!! He sure doesnt look taller.

 

[Risen Star]

Tell me, when you crunch all those numbers and Alan Ball comes out to be the best, do you feel like you wasted your time?

 

[Doomsday]

Tell me, when you crunch all those numbers and Alan Ball comes out to be the best, do you feel like you wasted your time?

 

[xwalker]

Yes, I feel like I'm wasting time with each post I make to a Cowboys message board.

I did notice that you have about 1000 more posts than me in the same time period.:laugh2:

 

[CCBoy]

Tell me, when you crunch all those numbers and Alan Ball comes out to be the best, do you feel like you wasted your time?

Funny thing when evaluators go first on football skills and then add in the measureables. What is even funnier, is that Ball was receiving credit for contributing as a cornerback. But when people expected another Woodson, his appreciation factor changes. Well, he's back to being a solid cornerback, and now we know he does have some positive and measurables beyond a 40 time.

 

[Stautner]

Measurable stats are good tools, but don't tell anything about instincts and recognition etc ..... If measurables were all there was to evaluating talent nobody would ever make a mistake on a draft pick.

 

[TwoDeep3]

Tell me, when you crunch all those numbers and Alan Ball comes out to be the best, do you feel like you wasted your time?

Which is why relying non stats to tell you if a player is good or not isn't valuable.

 

[visionary]

Tell me, when you crunch all those numbers and Alan Ball comes out to be the best, do you feel like you wasted your time?

:laugh1: be kind

 

[xwalker]

Measurable stats are good tools, but don't tell anything about instincts and recognition etc ..... If measurables were all there was to evaluating talent nobody would ever make a mistake on a draft pick.

Really? I thought that player evaluation was 100% numerical and that NFL teams were just too dumb or lazy to look at the numbers.

Measureables do not guarantee that a player will be a good NFL cornerback. The data does indicate that if a players measureables are outside of a certain range that his probability of being good is very very low.

I was just suprised by the data because I had always thought of Jenkins as an above average athlete and of Ball as a below average athlete at the CB position.

 

[Stautner]

Really? I thought that player evaluation was 100% numerical and that NFL teams were just too dumb or lazy to look at the numbers.

Measureables do not guarantee that a player will be a good NFL cornerback. The data does indicate that if a players measureables are outside of a certain range that his probability of being good is very very low.

I was just suprised by the data because I had always thought of Jenkins as an above average athlete and of Ball as a below average athlete at the CB position.

Well, it's kind of a no brainer that if a person is seriously undersized or considerably slower or weaker than others that he will be competing against he isn't as likely to be successful. These stats didn't identify anything new, just kind of helped provide a ballpark of where those perameters were. Bottom line is, again, the measurables are a tool, but outside of eliminating those that clearly do not have the physical traits for a position, which you don't really need charts for, it really doesn't tell us much about who will be a better player.

 

[rkell87]

Really? I thought that player evaluation was 100% numerical and that NFL teams were just too dumb or lazy to look at the numbers.

Measureables do not guarantee that a player will be a good NFL cornerback. The data does indicate that if a players measureables are outside of a certain range that his probability of being good is very very low.

I was just suprised by the data because I had always thought of Jenkins as an above average athlete and of Ball as a below average athlete at the CB position.

your data may suggest that, but your sample size is too small, maybe if you take the top 15 CBs in each year over the past 20 years or so, you may get completely different results.

 

[speedkilz88]

I created a spreadsheet with data from 10 of the better active cornerbacks in the NFL. This data is from their combine or pro-day. The data for the Cowboys cornerbacks is included for comparison.

http://www.walker-texas.com/cornerback-data-1.xls

The data from the 10 good cornerbacks was used to develop a range for each category.

BEST
Height: 6023
Weight: 213
40 Yrd Dash: 4.28
20 Yrd Dash: 2.48
10 Yrd Dash: 1.41
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 17
Vertical Jump: 44
Broad Jump: 10'8"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 3.75
3-Cone Drill: 6.50

WORST
Height: 5097
Weight: 184
40 Yrd Dash: 4.49
20 Yrd Dash: 2.66
10 Yrd Dash: 1.60
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 09
Vertical Jump: 35 1/2
Broad Jump: 10'00"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.34
3-Cone Drill: 6.97

I compared each of the Cowboy's cornerbacks and draft pick Josh Thomas to this range.

Newman, Scandrick, McCann and Josh Thomas were in range for all categories with the exception that McCann was 2 lbs below the range.

Jenkins was above the range in Bench Press Reps but was below the range on the following:
Vertical Jump
Broad Jump
20 Yrd Shuttle
3-cone Drill

Mario Butler was below the range on the following:
Weight
40 Yrd Dash
10 Yrd Dash
Vertical Jump
20 Yrd Shuttle
3-Cone Drill

Alan Ball was only below the range in the 40 Yrd Dash.
He was in the range in all other categories including the 10 and 20 Yrd Dash.
He had the best 3-cone Drill of all Cowboys cornerbacks and the best Height at over 6-1.

Another intresting observation is that McCann is taller than Newman, Scandrick and Jenkins.

I'm pretty sure McCann was 5-9 and change. The others were 5-10 1/4 area.

 

[JD_KaPow]

Measureables do not guarantee that a player will be a good NFL cornerback. The data does indicate that if a players measureables are outside of a certain range that his probability of being good is very very low.

Your data indicate nothing of the sort. Not even remotely. Of the only two guys you looked at who didn't fall in the range, one of them, Jenkins, has a legitimate Pro Bowl season under his belt.

And what do you mean "outside a certain range"? Are you suggesting that some guys are too fast or jump too well to be successful CBs? I think you mean "below a certain minimum".

 

[xwalker]

I never said that Ball was the best. He is listed as "below the range".

The data is from the Combine and Pro Days. They measure height within 1/8 of an inch.

McCann measured at 5105 which is 5'11-5/8".

Newman measured at 5103 which is 5'11-3/8".

The jury is out on Jenkins. The sample size of 1 good year is small. I have read that he is great on some types of routes/schemes and not good on others. It is possible that this is due to great straight line speed but limited agility.

I would like to increase the sample size. I only have access to data back to about the year 2000. I am looking for suggestions on other top cornerbacks drafted since 2000. Also, I would like to look at some cornerbacks that were great in college but busts in the NFL.

My main point of this research was to look at measureables other than just fourty times.