Harry
ASFN Consultant and Senior Writer
Of course selecting a corner depends a great deal on what defensive system you run most often. Joseph, for example, prefers zone. While draftees can be taught different systems, they can start quicker if they understand the philosophy to which they must adhere. One trait I ‘d love the Cards to get is a ballhawk. The Cards defense lacks a playmaker who can change to momentum of the game.
Derek Stingley is a legacy player and if you’ve read many of my previous emails you’ll know I highly value this. He is the surest choice among the corners (except for injury) and likely the best as well. He has elite speed and his athleticism is off the charts. Like Aeneas Williams he can literally take the other team’s top receiver out of the game with his man-to-man coverage. He can high point a ball. Stingley has fluid hips and comes out of his backpedal smoothly. He’s better than Peterson on his best day. He’s physical without being overly aggressive. He’s a decent ballhawk with very good hands. He is intensely competitive, willing to press as well as play off the receiver. Once a catch is made he tackles more like a safety. He willingly supports against the run, taking good angles to receivers and ball carriers. He certainly could play zone but was rarely asked to do so. He plays so physically he was frequently setback by injuries. The bigger, faster NFL players could aggravate this concern. He had recent foot surgery for example. At times he seemed bored in college and got beat by guys he could easily have covered.
Trent McDuffie plays wearing his deceased brother’s number. He has excellent speed. A good leaper, he can high point a ball. He is decent playing man or zone. His best skill is mirroring receivers. McDuffie is a fine wrap up tackler. He did a decent job as a punt returner.
Kaiir Elam is a true ballhawk who intercepts or deflects numerous passes. He’s has a spotty injury history. Like many corners, he is a little stiff and has trouble with double moves. He’s technically a legacy player though Uncle Matt had a shirt NFL career despite being a first round pick. He is intensely aggressive and fearless.
Roger McCreary is a student of the game who excels at route recognition. What he lacks in speed and athleticism he makes up in anticipation. Sometimes he actually runs a route better than the receiver. This along with good hands has yielded several interceptions. He flashed solid tackling form. He has experience blitzing. I think he’ll work better as a slot corner.
Ahmad Gardner busted his tail last off season to build up,his frame. In his last 3 years, he did not allow even 1 touchdown reception. He has long arms and uses them effectively to handle bigger receivers. Once a penalty machine, he’s learned to,play cleaner but stay in contact. He still tends to play physically. He’s a good press corner.
Martin Emerson is a power player with long arms. He likes to mix it up. He one of the few corners who has extensive experience as a blitzes. He does not possess elite speed, but does a nice job diagnosing routes. He displays good ball skills and leaps well to high point ball. Some evaluators prefer him at safety.
Andrew Booth is a fine athlete with great agility and precise footwork. He’s outstanding at Williams’ top skill, mirroring. He’s sound at man coverage. He can get over anxious in zone and take himself out of a play. This is fixable with good coaching.
Kyler Gordon is an outstanding athlete, near the top of this pool. He also displays good agility. He is still learning the position and has a major upside. He does look fluid and comes out of his backpedal smoothly. He’s decent against the pass and the run, displaying aggressive tackling skills. Sometimes he can get overly aggressive. He can play both man and zone, but is more effective in zone until his experience increases. He most often was the nickel corner.
Coby Bryant has the potential to develop into a true ballhawk. He lacks elite speed, but has good ball skills. Bryant watches much film and diagnoses routes and formation tendencies. He is enthusiastic in run support. He seems best suited as a press corner who plays the slot. He has good sideline awareness and uses it to squeeze receiver. He gambles too much which costs him TDs.
Marcus Jones is a true ballhawk who may allow an reception trying to make an interception. Unfortunately he’s only 5’8” and can be challenged by tall receivers. He seems best suited as a slot corner. He was an outstanding kick returner at Troy and a good punt returner at Houston.
Alontae Taylor a former wide receiver he understands what his target is trying to do. He’s still learning the position, but has decent speed. He’s smart and drives vertical routes to sideline. He’s played both man and zone, but he tends to hesitate in zone. He has modest hands and only mediocre ball skills, but he does turn when the ball is in the air. He’s a high effort tackler that needs work on techniques
Josh Jobe is an athletic, physical corner who excels at press coverage. However once beaten he becomes a penalty machine. He has good length but uses it to bully receivers. He show a flair for blitzing.
Derrion Kendrick this guy will fool many scouts. His numbers won’t impress because opposing QBs ceased throwing to his coverage area. He doesn’t have elite speed but makes up for that by being extremely fluid. Sadly Kendrick’s has discipline issues and was dismissed from the Clemson team. He then moved to Georgia and was a model citizen.
Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson reminds me of Winfield if you recall him. He very small (5’9”) yet he consistently outplayed larger receivers. He allowed only 37.5% of his targets to be completed. He has amazing agility and awesome leaping ability which he uses to high point a ball. He has the most fluid change of direction of any of this pool. He may have a tougher time with big corners in the end zone. He also needs to do a better job of ball location.
Derek Stingley is a legacy player and if you’ve read many of my previous emails you’ll know I highly value this. He is the surest choice among the corners (except for injury) and likely the best as well. He has elite speed and his athleticism is off the charts. Like Aeneas Williams he can literally take the other team’s top receiver out of the game with his man-to-man coverage. He can high point a ball. Stingley has fluid hips and comes out of his backpedal smoothly. He’s better than Peterson on his best day. He’s physical without being overly aggressive. He’s a decent ballhawk with very good hands. He is intensely competitive, willing to press as well as play off the receiver. Once a catch is made he tackles more like a safety. He willingly supports against the run, taking good angles to receivers and ball carriers. He certainly could play zone but was rarely asked to do so. He plays so physically he was frequently setback by injuries. The bigger, faster NFL players could aggravate this concern. He had recent foot surgery for example. At times he seemed bored in college and got beat by guys he could easily have covered.
Trent McDuffie plays wearing his deceased brother’s number. He has excellent speed. A good leaper, he can high point a ball. He is decent playing man or zone. His best skill is mirroring receivers. McDuffie is a fine wrap up tackler. He did a decent job as a punt returner.
Kaiir Elam is a true ballhawk who intercepts or deflects numerous passes. He’s has a spotty injury history. Like many corners, he is a little stiff and has trouble with double moves. He’s technically a legacy player though Uncle Matt had a shirt NFL career despite being a first round pick. He is intensely aggressive and fearless.
Roger McCreary is a student of the game who excels at route recognition. What he lacks in speed and athleticism he makes up in anticipation. Sometimes he actually runs a route better than the receiver. This along with good hands has yielded several interceptions. He flashed solid tackling form. He has experience blitzing. I think he’ll work better as a slot corner.
Ahmad Gardner busted his tail last off season to build up,his frame. In his last 3 years, he did not allow even 1 touchdown reception. He has long arms and uses them effectively to handle bigger receivers. Once a penalty machine, he’s learned to,play cleaner but stay in contact. He still tends to play physically. He’s a good press corner.
Martin Emerson is a power player with long arms. He likes to mix it up. He one of the few corners who has extensive experience as a blitzes. He does not possess elite speed, but does a nice job diagnosing routes. He displays good ball skills and leaps well to high point ball. Some evaluators prefer him at safety.
Andrew Booth is a fine athlete with great agility and precise footwork. He’s outstanding at Williams’ top skill, mirroring. He’s sound at man coverage. He can get over anxious in zone and take himself out of a play. This is fixable with good coaching.
Kyler Gordon is an outstanding athlete, near the top of this pool. He also displays good agility. He is still learning the position and has a major upside. He does look fluid and comes out of his backpedal smoothly. He’s decent against the pass and the run, displaying aggressive tackling skills. Sometimes he can get overly aggressive. He can play both man and zone, but is more effective in zone until his experience increases. He most often was the nickel corner.
Coby Bryant has the potential to develop into a true ballhawk. He lacks elite speed, but has good ball skills. Bryant watches much film and diagnoses routes and formation tendencies. He is enthusiastic in run support. He seems best suited as a press corner who plays the slot. He has good sideline awareness and uses it to squeeze receiver. He gambles too much which costs him TDs.
Marcus Jones is a true ballhawk who may allow an reception trying to make an interception. Unfortunately he’s only 5’8” and can be challenged by tall receivers. He seems best suited as a slot corner. He was an outstanding kick returner at Troy and a good punt returner at Houston.
Alontae Taylor a former wide receiver he understands what his target is trying to do. He’s still learning the position, but has decent speed. He’s smart and drives vertical routes to sideline. He’s played both man and zone, but he tends to hesitate in zone. He has modest hands and only mediocre ball skills, but he does turn when the ball is in the air. He’s a high effort tackler that needs work on techniques
Josh Jobe is an athletic, physical corner who excels at press coverage. However once beaten he becomes a penalty machine. He has good length but uses it to bully receivers. He show a flair for blitzing.
Derrion Kendrick this guy will fool many scouts. His numbers won’t impress because opposing QBs ceased throwing to his coverage area. He doesn’t have elite speed but makes up for that by being extremely fluid. Sadly Kendrick’s has discipline issues and was dismissed from the Clemson team. He then moved to Georgia and was a model citizen.
Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson reminds me of Winfield if you recall him. He very small (5’9”) yet he consistently outplayed larger receivers. He allowed only 37.5% of his targets to be completed. He has amazing agility and awesome leaping ability which he uses to high point a ball. He has the most fluid change of direction of any of this pool. He may have a tougher time with big corners in the end zone. He also needs to do a better job of ball location.
