2012 NFL Draft: Cornerback

 This is a good class of corners. Its special because it has depth beyond just like the first 3 prospects. There are four corners that could be legitimate perennial pro-bowlers and deserve to be in the top half of the first round. Even after that there are solid cornerback prospects in the 2nd and 3rd rounds which is more than I could say about the last few drafts. Look for Jenkins to be the sleeper of the bunch.

1.      Morris Claiborne—LSU—5’11”-188—Top 7—98—Tremendous athlete, all the attributes you wanna see, 4.47 isn’t great but on film he can run with anybody. His 33.5” arms are what set him apart and will allow him to play press. He has good hips and feet and the ability to drive on the ball. He plays physical with receivers but doesn’t tackle well. Is a much better cover corner than Patrick Peterson. He creates turnovers (11 picks in 2 years) which is the name of the game. Can fit in any system.

2.      Stephon Gilmore—South Carolina—6’0”-190—1st—96—Late riser up draft boards. Long athlete with good (4.44) speed. Really really good man to man cover guy. Played press and off coverage, but I think he’s the best man to man corner in this draft. Reminds me Nmamdi actually. His arms aren’t super long (31”) but he is still a long guy that can play with tall receivers. Looks good around the goaline and is a willing tackler. Trouble coming forward out of his backpedal but has excellent hips. Will need to learn how to better use his hands, but has potential to be a shutdown corner.

3.      Janoris Jenkins—North Alabama—5’10”-193—1st—95—Originally went to Florida then transferred cuz he liked to exercise his bong. Crazy athletic, ran a 4.44 with an insane 1.47 10 yard split. Fluid athlete that attaches to receivers like a parasite. Reminds me of Patrick Robinson with how athletic he is and how good he looks running drills. Difference is Jenkins is way better on the field than Robinson was. If he can stay outta trouble he could challenge to be the best cover corner in this draft. Shut down A.J. Green and Julio Jones, he’s a boss on the field.

4.      Dre Kirkpatrick—Alabama—6’2”-186—Top 20—94—Real long corner, even though he’s got t-rex arms. He’s the best run support corner in this draft. He attacks ball carriers with no fear. Probably best as a zone corner because he excels at reading the QB’s eyes and jumping routes. Ideally a cover 2 corner who can stay in a short zone. He’s tested fast (4.46), but doesn’t play that fast. Dre is just a football player that’s why I think he’ll be a very good corner in the NFL.

5.      Casey Hayward—Vandy—5’11”-192—2nd day—87—Dude had 7 picks in the SEC this past year. He has great awareness on the field and can be a fantastic zone cornerback much like Asante. I think he’s the sleeper of this class and deserves to hear his name early on day 2. He has good size, aggressiveness, football IQ, and ran a respectable 4.52 for a zone corner

6.      Jayron Hosley—Va. Tech—5’10”-178—2nd round—83—Not a huge guy but has great feet. Reminds me a bit of Brent Grimes, but is faster and attacks the line of scrimmage better. Grimes has better hips though. He looks like a 2nd rounder on film but if I were to go back two years he would be neck and neck with Kyle Wilson.

7.      Josh Robinson—UCF—5’11”-199—2nd day—80—Workout warrior, ran a 4.33 with a 38.5” vert. On film he looks ok, maybe 3rd round worthy, he got torched by A.J. Green. He played a lot of man and was effective at is a valuable talent. I think he has good size and plenty of athleticism and with some good coaching should be a solid corner.

8.      Chase Minnifield—Virginia—5’10”-183—2nd day—77—Missed combine with a knee injury, but was a solid corner in college. He’s a talented corner with good size and athleticism. Has terrible effort. Part of it is he’s always in zone and that he has a natural stride, but he looks lazy which ain’t gonna work at the next level. But his talent shows through and is deserving of a 3rd round pick.

9.      Trumaine Johnson—Montana—6’2”-204—2nd day—83—Played press corner in college. He’ll make the switch to safety in the pros cuz he doesn’t have great feet or hips. Long and strong athlete with 4.5 speed and 19 reps. Very aggressive player that attacks the ball and ball carriers which lends well to a safety. He looks just like Jimmy Smith from last year. The projection to safety is a bit tough, but I think he leaves too much room between himself and receivers. Shows blizting ability. 15 career picks combined with his size and speed make him 2nd round.

10.  Brandon Boykin—Georgia—5’9”—182—2nd day—72—Faster than quick (4.42). Doesn’t have very good hips. Has return potential and played a bit of offense too. Too small to be on the outside and will have to play slot corner which might be the toughest position on defense. I’m not convinced he has the burst and change of direction ability to play there so he gets a late grade

11.  Alfonzo Dennard—Nebraska—5’10”-204—2nd day—60—Watched him a few times this year and was pretty impressed. Alshon Jeffrey took advantage of him a few times then they decided to fight but other than that I had all good impressions. Similar build to Amukamara but slower with a 4.51. Once thought to be 1st rounder. Had rough senior bowl exposing his sub par hips. Could be a good press corner, and actually had a good season. Prob 2nd round talent, but he’s a head case so prob 5th to later, oh and he assaulted a police officer a week ago, retard.