2017 NFL Draft: Cornerbacks

This is an insanely deep cornerback draft. I have 12 players with starting grades and four more that have the top expected starter grade of 7.0. Stats here will be passes defensed (PD) which is interceptions and pass breakups combined, 40 time, 3-Cone, and short shuttle.

1)     Marshon Lattimore, R. So, Ohio State, 6’ 0” 193 lbs -Starter (7.6)

Stats – PD: 13, 40: 4.36, 3-Cone: N/a, Short Shuttle: N/a

Lattimore doesn’t have a 3-cone or shuttle time but you see all you need to know watching the way he covers and recovers down field. Legit top three player in the draft.

2)     Gareon Conley, Jr, Ohio State, 6’ 0” 195 lbs – Starter (7.5)

Stats – PD: 12, 40: 4.44, 3-Cone: 6.69, Short Shuttle: 4.18

Let’s start by addressing the fact that there are very serious allegations against Conley at the moment. We know very little at the moment so this is the last I’ll address this at this point. Conley has claim to the title of best defensive back at Ohio State last season and with Hooker and Lattimore there that is saying a lot. Conley was just as productive as Lattimore and showed flashes on tape, but Lattimore gets the edge on his ability to recover just a touch better than Conley and at the NFL level you’re gonna get beat from time to time. It’s how you recover that matters.

3)     Marlon Humphrey, R. So, Alabama, 6’ 0” 197 lbs – Starter (7.4)

Stats – PD: 7, 40: 4.41, 3-Cone: 6.75, Short Shuttle: N/a

Humphrey is a player that is very talented, but thrives in a specific role and that’s important in the evaluation. He’s a very good athlete with a little stiffness in the hips. He’s going to be very good if you put him a position where he’s working downhill back to the play as it happens instead of chasing and mirroring as the play goes along.

4)     Tre’Davious White, Sr, LSU, 5’ 11” 192 lbs – Starter (7.4)

Stats – PD: 16, 40: 4.47, 3-Cone: 6.90, Short Shuttle: 4.32

White was very good at LSU, and is the first of my consistent technicians who don’t necessarily have the testing numbers to go along with it. Lack of testing numbers aside White is going to be a starter in the league for a long time, and even if he isn’t your stud lock down corner you won’t ever have to worry about your #2.

5)     Chidobe Awuzie, Sr, Colorado, 6’ 0” 202 lbs – Starter (7.3)

Stats – PD: 13, 40: 4.43, 3-Cone: 6.81, Short Shuttle: 4.14

Awuzie and fellow CB Witherspoon were one of the better tandems in the country this past season. Witherspoon is the bigger lankier of the two, but Awuzie has the slight edge in athleticism. The biggest difference you see shows out in the 3-cone, an indicator of hip flexion, where Awuzie bested Witherspoon by a full tenth of a second. Both are going to be very good at the next level and the 8 spot difference in rank points only to the depth and logjam in the class and not to any major fault or deficiency in Witherspoon’s game or ability.

6)     Fabian Moreau, Sr, UCLA, 6’ 0” 206 lbs – Starter (7.2)

Stats – PD: 11, 40: 4.35, 3-Cone: 6.94, Short Shuttle: 4.12

Moreau suffered a pectoral injury at the pro day but that was after he beasted at the combine, produced during his senior season at UCLA, and made a name for himself.

7)     Adoree’ Jackson, Jr, USC, 5’ 10” 186 lbs – Starter (7.2)

Stats – PD: 16, 40: 4.42, 3-Cone: 6.63, Short Shuttle: N/a

Jackson is a great athlete, a very good corner, and potentially an even better weapon on the offensive side of the ball. I can’t say that I don’t still think about John Ross destroying him at the line of scrimmage, but all said and done he’s an athlete that just about every team would want to have on their football team.

8)     Quincy Wilson, Jr, Florida, 6’ 1” 211 lbs – Starter (7.2)

Stats – PD: 9, 40: 4.54, 3-Cone: 6.86, Short Shuttle: 4.02

Wilson didn’t have the best 40 and that’s going to scare people, but his short shuttle was exceptional, his 3-Cone was very good, and his production and tape at Florida were excellent. At Florida he was always in the shadow of Teez Tabor, but I think the roles and shadow will be reversed at the next level as Wilson gets his time to shine.

9)     Kevin King, Sr, Washington, 6’ 3” 200 lbs – Starter (7.2)

Stats – PD: 15, 40: 4.43, 3-Cone: 6.56, Short Shuttle: 3.89

King was the second best corner at Washington, that’s not a knock as much as a hat tip to the fact that Sidney Jones would have ranked above him without the Achilles injury looming. King is the bigger, lankier athlete of the two and had one of the best testing scores in the class. His agility times are straight fire, his production is excellent in a power five conference, but his tape shows a few flaws that allowed him to fall just a bit down the board. If he can clean up a few technique things King is going to be a name we hear on Sundays for a very, very long time.

10)  Shaquill Griffin, Sr, UCF, 6’ 0” 194 lbs – Starter (7.1)

Stats – PD: 8, 40: 4.38, 3-Cone: 6.87, Short Shuttle: 4.14

Shaquill Griffin is a very good football player. That’s not important. What is important is his story. He ended up at UCF because no one else would give his brother, who only has one hand, a chance to prove himself. So amidst the Conley and Mixon stories, remember the Griffin brothers story along with the James Conner story when you need to see some good in this sport.

11)  Jalen Myrick, Sr, Minnesota, 5’ 10” 200 lbs – Starter (7.1)

Stats – PD: 12, 40: 4.28, 3-Cone: 7.02, Short Shuttle: 4.15

Jalen Myrick is in a similar boat as Curtis Samuel. He absolutely destroyed the combine and nobody cared because John Ross ran a 4.22. Minnesota is an under-the-radar DB factory operating out of the B1G. Myrick is the next in that line and it’s not just on paper. He was a constant over the last couple of season for Minnesota and a defense that never got the help needed from the offense to win games. Myrick’s an undersized freak, but much like Verrett a few years back don’t sleep on him.

12)  Sojourn Shelton, Sr, Wisconsin, 5’ 9” 177 lbs – Starter (7.1)

Stats – PD: 16, 40: 4.51, 3-Cone: 6.83, Short Shuttle: 4.02

Speaking of B1G DBs, ain’t no one talking about Sojourn Shelton. A constant at Wisconsin it was easy to forget about him on Saturdays because of how consistent he was for a number of years. He’s a smaller guy, with 4.5 speed, but he’s quick footed and will to challenge bigger receivers in the air and even if he’s just a slot corner at the next level, I’m not sure you’re going to be too worried about who they shift into the slot.

13)  Ahkello Witherspoon, Sr, Colorado, 6’ 3” 198 lbs – Expected Starter (7.0)

Stats – PD: 22, 40: 4.45, 3-Cone: 6.93, Short Shuttle: 4.13

Covered him when I talked about Awuzie, and would just like to draw attention to Witherspoon’s passes defensed and marvel at the depth of the class.

14)  Desmond King, Sr, Iowa, 5’ 10” 201 lbs – Expected Starter (7.0)

Stats – PD: 10, 40: 4.54, 3-Cone: 6.67, Short Shuttle: 4.18

King has been a long topic of discussion for #DraftTwitter. He tested better than expected in the agility drills, his forty was about what we expected, and his production was good again this year. I still have questions going forward for King, but he’s an extremely useful piece to have in your defensive backfield.

15)  Damontae Kazee, Sr, San Diego State, 5’ 10” 184 lbs – Expected Starter (7.0)

Stats – PD: 15, 40: 4.54, 3-Cone: 7.11, Short Shuttle: 4.27

Kazee is one of the most productive corners in recent memory. What keeps him out of the starter tier is his athletic testing. I know that seems like a half-assed reason but in loaded class without an exceptional athletic trait you’re gonna get shuffled down the list. I think Kazee will be a very productive player at the next level, but physically I have more questions than answers about how his game translates.

16)  Sidney Jones, Jr, Washington, 6’ 0” 186 lbs – Expected Starter (7.0)

Stats – PD: 9, 40: 4.47, 3-Cone: 7.02, Short Shuttle: 4.28

Jones would have been much higher up this list if he hadn’t blown out his Achilles at Washington’s pro day. Unlike others who have injuries that will take a while to heal an Achilles injury is one that has very uncertain outcomes especially for a position where you’re relying on athleticism and change of direction which require constant force on the tendon. Hopefully Jones fulfills his potential and comes back from his injury like Jimmy Graham did this season, but the uncertainty with the injury is too high to bump him up any further.

17)  Rasul Douglas, Sr, West Virginia, 6’ 2” 209 lbs – Expected Starter (7.0)

Stats – PD: 16, 40: 4.59, 3-Cone: 6.97, Short Shuttle: 4.26

Douglas was extremely productive at West Virginia and had a wonderful testing numbers, but he ran just south of 4.6 in the forty and had inconsistent tape throughout his time at West Virginia. The pieces are there, but there’s work to be done at the next level for him to succeed.

Note: I have a weird set of numbers here because I wanted to keep Douglas on here because he was tied with three others and because I realized as I went to write about Kevin King I had left Sidney Jones out and even with the injury he deserved mention on this list.