News: USAToday: Caleb Farley to be good for regular season, hope to be drafted in 1st round

NewsBot

New Member
Messages
111,281
Reaction score
2,947
Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley was one of the highest-ranked prospects in the upcoming NFL draft, and one mentioned regularly by Cowboys watchers as a possible first-round target for the club. Despite sitting out his junior season over COVID-19 concerns, Farley had been sent to Dallas with the tenth selection in many a mock draft. Along with fellow corners Patrick Surtain II (Alabama) and Jaycee Horn (South Carolina), Farley looked to be a player who could instantly upgrade a secondary that was thoroughly torched the previous year.

But when news came down in late March- just days before Virginia Tech’s pro day- that Farley would undergo back surgery to repair a previous and lingering injury, his status as an apparent first-round lock was in danger of crumbling.

But the 22-year-old tells Peter King of NBC Sports that he’s gotten assurances from his doctors that he’ll be fully healed and ready to go for the 2021 NFL season, no matter which team selects him or where in the draft it happens.

In his latest Football Morning in America column, King relays a weekend conversation he had with Farley in which the prospect had nothing but positive news less than three weeks before draft day.

“Farley told me Saturday that after imaging and a thorough physical and back exam in Indianapolis,” King writes, “he’s been cleared by NFL docs for the 2021 season.”

The expected timetable for Farley’s rehab and recovery was four months. Farley himself proclaimed that he’s on track to meet that schedule.

“I got a lot of positive feedback from the NFL doctors,” Farley said, per King. “The NFL doctors confirmed I would be ready for the season, and they told me this is definitely not a chronic thing.”

The injury apparently happened doing deadlifts during a weight session.

According to a piece by Jason Butt of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Farley “injured his lumbosacral joint — which connects the L5 and S1 discs — but previously elected for a procedure to repair only the L5 disc. For a year, Farley wasn’t limited physically, although he did experience some sciatica symptoms.”

Originally a wide receiver, Farley was moved to cornerback after he missed his entire freshman year with the Hokies due to a knee injury. In 2018, his first season playing defense, he notched 36 tackles, two interceptions, and a sack. The following season, he recorded 20 tackles, four picks, and an interception return for a touchdown in a first-team All-ACC campaign.

His S1 disc “flared up” again in March as he prepared for his pro day, where he hoped to show NFL teams that sitting out 2020 hadn’t caused him to lose a step on the football field.

“I was trying to cut back and manage the inflammation to come out here on pro day and put up some crazy numbers,” the North Carolina native said. “But after talking to [renowned back specialist] Dr. [Robert] Watkins, getting the MRI and getting things looked at, we were advised it would be best to go ahead and fix this problem so I will be ready for training camp and ready for the season. It was not a recurring disc or anything like that. What I had previously worked on is still intact.”

On March 23, Watkins performed a microdiscectomy, removing the damaged section of Farley’s herniated disc. July 23 will mark four months since the surgery. Most NFL camps open July 27.

But as NFL.com’s Kevin Patra points out, “[d]epending on how the negotiations between the NFL and NFLPA shake out over in-person workouts this offseason, Farley might not miss much time.”

“Farley has outstanding size, length and speed for the cornerback position,” NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah notes in his latest draft rankings. “He mixes up his technique and effectively re-routes wideouts with a one- or two-hand jam in press coverage. He’s very fluid/loose and stays in phase with his man underneath and down the field. Farley has a quick/smooth pedal in off coverage and his patience helps him handle double moves. He shows exceptional burst when he does drive on the ball.”

Despite opting out of 2020’s college season, Farley was rated very highly. Even after the back surgery, Jeremiah only dropped him from 12th to 17th overall.

“The redshirt junior has plenty of speed to carry vertical routes,” Jeremiah continues. “He can find and play the ball down the field. He’s aggressive to fill versus the run, but he will fall off a few tackles. Overall, Farley has all of the ingredients to be a No. 1 cornerback at the next level.”

Here’s what Cowboys Wire had to say about Farley in our draft profile, published before Farley’s surgery.

And even though he went under the knife less than a month ago, all signs point to him still hearing his name called in Cleveland on the first night of the draft.

For a team like the Cowboys, picking in the 10 spot, Farley may represent something of a value pick. If the team is indeed looking at cornerback, it is likely that at least one of the Big Three- Surtain, Horn, and Farley- will still be there when Dallas goes on the clock. If all three are still available, it’s conceivable that the Cowboys could trade back in the first and still land Farley while also adding an additional pick in a later round.

And while some teams may shy away from a player who’s had a prior knee issue, took a year off, and is now fresh off back surgery just on general principle, Farley maintains he’s good to go… and ready to take the league by storm.

“I plan to be the best cornerback of my generation,” he told King. “I just can’t wait to get back in the pads again.”

List


Ranking Cowboys positional needs in 2021


List


CB1: Even with year off, Va Tech's Caleb Farley may be Cowboys top target


List


21 cornerbacks Cowboys should consider signing in free agency



Continue reading...
 
Top