I began writing this article with the full intention of telling you that Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro might be the elite, playmaking safety that Dallas Cowboy fans have longed for and if available, should be the selection with the 18th overall pick. But after watching more of Vaccaro and digging a little deeper than just highlight clips and listening to the media, I must admit I am not as impressed as I should be for a potential first round safety.
Kenny Vaccaro is widely considered the best safety in the 2013 NFL Draft class. But he is a very different player than the other safeties in his class. Vaccaro has the rare ability to play as a deep center fielder on one play and then come into the box on the next. He can also cover the most explosive slot wide receivers college football has to offer. This was very evident when he was assigned to cover West Virginia’s Tavon Austin early in the 2012 season. Austin is one of the most electric offensive players in the entire 2013 NFL Draft and Vaccaro did a fine job coming down and limiting his production.
The NFL Combine isn’t the end all, be all for draft prospects. But what it does offer is the ability for a team to compare prospects to former draftees. For the sake of comparison, these are the last four safeties to be drafted in the first round and their measurable next to Kenny Vaccaro:
http://thelandryhat.com/2013/03/10/should-the-dallas-cowboys-draft-kenny-vaccaro/