By John Sarianides

The 2017 cornerback class in this draft is the best collection of corners I have scouted in 17 years of covering the draft. This group is talented and deep. Teams will be able to draft potential starters well into day three. As many as five corners could go in the first round. Here is our cornerback preview.

1. Marshon Lattimore, 6-0 193, Ohio State NFL Comparison: Vontae Davis
Strengths
-Physical squat Cover 2 corner who is effective at jamming and re-routing receivers.

-Lattimore uses his hands well at the line of scrimmage and does a great job of mirroring his hands and hips in transition.

-Effective in the trail technique. Can carry fade and post routes vertically and maintain body position.

– Instinctual player who understands route combinations and makes effective reads. Lattimore has smooth, quiet feet and can easily plant and drive to the ball.

-Lattimore is an effective tackler who breaks down, runs his feet and finishes on contact. He can support the run effectively as a funnel, flat corner.

Weaknesses
-Limited starting experience. Lattimore only started one year at Ohio State. May have benefited from staying in school.

-Lattimore is primarily a squat, Cover 2 corner. He hasn’t play a ton of man coverage and he has limited experience in Cover 3 and quarters. He needs to prove he can play in a loose alignment and pattern read.

-Needs to do a better job of tracking the ball. He locks on receivers too long and is late turning around.

-Can be overly aggressive at times and take bad angles.

-While Lattimore is an elite athlete, he does struggle with trailing routes against speed guys that can separate at the line.

Final Thoughts: Lattimore is one of the best players in this draft and should go within the first ten picks. He has the potential to be a pro-bowl caliber player for a long time.

 

2. Sidney Jones, Washington, 6-0 186, NFL Comparison: Marcus Peters
Strengths
-Effective press corner who does a great job of jamming with the off hand and re-routing receivers at the line of scrimmage.

-Smooth and fluid in his backpedal. Jones is just as effective in a squat technique as he is playing off in Cover 3.

-Jones has quality closing speed. He can plant, drive and accelerate down hill.

-He is willing to support the run from a funnel, flat alignment. Physical tackler who wraps, drives his feet and finishes.

-Plus ball skills. Competes for the ball in 50/50 situations. Maintains proper body position and can high point the ball. Jones has good hands.

Weaknesses
-Jones blew out his Achilles tendon at his pro day so he will more than likely fall out of the first round.

-Jones doesn’t flip his hips smoothly. He can be a bit high and stiff in transition.

-Thinly built. He needs to bulk up and get stronger. Ball carriers break a fair amount of his tackles.

-Overly aggressive on the jam. Lunges a lot and ends up on the balls of his feet.

-Struggles with getting boxed out by bigger receivers on slant and sluggo routes.

Final Thoughts: Some team will take a chance on Jones on day two and get an instant starter when Jones comes back. Had Jones not gotten hurt, there is a good chance he would have been a top ten pick.

 

3. Gareon Conley, Ohio State, 6-0 195 NFL Comparison: Chris Harris
Strengths
-Conley can play both outside corner spots and in the slot as a nickel corner.

-Smooth in transition. Glides with ease and can flip his hips and execute a turn with no hitch.

-A press man cover corner who plays with a good base and balance in his stance. He can punch with the inside hand and re-route consistently.

-Understands route combinations and shows good anticipation reading the quarterback and breaking on a throw.

-Maintains hip position vertically and carry a fade route down the side line. Has loose hips and can execute a baseball turn on a post-corner route.

Weaknesses
-Conley needs to drop his pad level and sink his hips in his backpedal.

-He is late on his reads when playing in an off technique. Needs to identify routes sooner and drive down hill on them in off coverage.

-Struggles in underneath trail coverage and man coverage. Receivers created separation from him on drag and dig routes.

-Not aggressive in run support. He doesn’t attack blockers and he is an average tackler who ankle grabs.

-Runs hot and cold at times. Plays down to competition.

Final Thoughts: Conley is flying up teams boards and should go somewhere in the middle of the first round. He is a talented player but needs work. Conley must show a willingness to support the run. He has not done that on a consistent basis.

 

4. Marlon Humphrey, Alabama, 6-0 197, NFL Comparison: Stephon Gilmore
Strengths
-Experience playing in a pro-style defense at Alabama. Son of former NFL running back Bobby Humphrey.

-Humphrey has the ideal body type for the position. He has long arms and strong hands. He can play in a press alignment as a squat Cover 2 corner or play off in Cover 3 or quarters.

-Displays good short area burst. He can plant and drive on three step routes. Shows good anticipation skills and does a good job of reading the quarterbacks eyes and shoulders.

-Moves well laterally. He can shuffle, punch and re-route a receiver.

-Willing participant in run support. Attacks blockers, stacks and sheds them. A physical tackler who wraps and drives ball carriers into the ground.

Weaknesses
-Over reaches at times and fails to properly jam and re-route receivers.

-Humphrey is tall in his backpedal and has a hard time flipping his hips and transitioning vertically.

-If he gets beat at the line, he lacks the recovery speed to catch up in man to man coverage. He is better in a trail technique with over the top help.

-Heavy footed at times, especially in space.

-Allowed over 19 yards per completion in his career. Susceptible to double moves.

Final Thoughts: Humphrey has been inconsistent throughout his career at Alabama. The talent and physical attributes are in place. Humphrey needs confidence. He needs to land in a place where he can be coached up and allowed to flourish.  

 

5. Fabian Moreau, UCLA, 6-0 206 NFL Comparison: Quinton Rollins
Strengths
-Thickly built with a muscular upper body. Physical squat Cover 2 corner who can jam, re-route and gain hip position.

-Moreau has strong hands. he gets inside hand position on receivers and throws off their timing.

-Moreau does a great job of maintaining hip position on vertical routes and shows good anticipation when playing the ball.

-Shows good recognition skills. Plants and drives on underneath routes and gets good body position on receivers.

-Attacks blockers, gets inside hand leverage, shocks them and sticks them. Extends and separates with ease. A good tackler who is physical.

Weaknesses
-A former running back who is still trying to learn the position.

-Inconsistent. Tests better than he plays at times.

-Moreau doesn’t always play as physical as he should considering how big his frame is for a corner.

-Moreau didn’t play a lot of man coverage at UCLA. On early downs, he was in a squat Cover 2 alignment. On long down situations, he played off in a loose Cover 3 alignment.

-Has average ball skills. Struggles to high point the ball. Moreau could be exposed in jump ball situations against bigger receivers.

Final Thought: Moreau hurt a pectoral muscle prior to his pro day workout and could be out for a long period of time. If that is the case, Moreau will certainly drop out of the first round. That is a shame because he is a first talent and could have possibly gone in the 25-32 range of the first round.

 

Next Five
6. Tre’Davious White, LSU, 5-11 192, NFL Comparison: Johnathan Joseph
White is a smooth, fluid athlete who transitions with ease and can accelerate and carry routes vertically. He has played both boundary and open field corner as well as in the slot. He is polished in terms of route reading and breaking on throws. White is a quick twitch athlete who is explosive in short spaces. White could use an extra five to ten pounds of muscle on his frame. He struggles with jamming bigger receivers. Not aggressive in run support. Average tackler who would rather trip up a ball carrier than tackle him. Return kicks as well.

7. Kevin King, Washington, 6-3 200, NFL Comparison: Richard Sherman
King is a boundary corner who is physical from a squat Cover 2 press alignment. Athletic and fluid, King can carry routes vertically and maintain hip position. He has plus hands. King has six career interceptions at Washington. King is a match up corner who can cover bigger receivers and tight ends in the red zone. King attacks blockers and uses his length to his advantage. Good tackler who breaks down and finishes tackles. King doesn’t shock receivers at the line. He lacks the hand strength to completely re-route them. King is not a quick twitch guy. Lacks the short area explosiveness coaches look for at the position. With injuries to his teammate Sidney Jones and Fabian Moreau, King could slide into the first round.

8. Adoree Jackson, USC, 5-10 186, NFL Comparison: Tracy Porter
Jackson is a terrific athlete who can play corner and return kicks as well. He is a bit on the smallish side so he is ideally suited to play in the slot. Jackson is smooth and fluid on the snap. Flips his hips with ease and can get in and out of cuts. Jackson has played a fair amount of man and zone coverage in his career. He played predominately as a loose Cover 2 corner although he can press and play in Cover 3 as well. As I mentioned earlier, size is a concern with Jackson. He is also late on his reads and he isn’t explosive coming down hill when planting and driving. Jackson is a first round talent but he may not go until the early to mid second round.

9. Teez Tabor, Florida, 6-0 199, NFL Comparison: Darius Slay
Tabor was highly productive at Florida but his production is deceiving. Tabor has smooth, quiet feet when he backpedals. He flips his hips with ease and can transition and close on receivers vertically. Played mostly in a loose alignment so he doesn’t have a lot of experience playing in a squat coverage or man to man. Tabor does a good job of reading route combinations and breaking on the ball after the catch. He is especially effective on “Smash” or “China” combinations (outside hitch with a slot corner). Tabor is susceptible to double moves. He has a hard time hanging vertically with fast receivers. Tabor doesn’t attack blockers. He allows them to engage him and he struggles to shed blocks. He is always a willing tackler. Tabor was highly productive at Florida but some questionable character concerns have dropped his stock.

10. Damontee Kazee, San Diego State, 5-10 184, NFL Comparison: Orlando Scandrick
Kazee was the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year in 2016. Despite his lack of height, Kazee is one of the most fundamentally sound cornerbacks in this draft. Kazee has good hands and feet and he does a good job of anticipating routes and breaking on them. He is effective in the trail technique and he works through the receiver to break up passes. Kazee has defended 43 passes in the last three years. He is truly one of the best players in the country that no one knows about. His lack of height will be an issue for Kazee on the outside in the NFL so whichever team drafts him, will kick him inside to the nickel corner.

Next Ten
11. Desmond King, Iowa, 5-10 200
12. Quincy Wilson, Florida, 6-0 210
13. Cordea Tankersley, Clemson, 6-0 195
14. Jourdan Lewis, Michigan, 5-10 180
15. Chidobe Awuzie, Colorado, 5-11 205
16. Jalen Myrick, Minnesota, 5-10 205
17. Rasul Douglas, West Virginia, 6-1 210
18. Marquez White, Florida State 6-0 180
19. Corn Elder, Miami (Fla) 5-10 180
20. Cameron Sutton, Tennessee, 5-11 180