Fourth in a series of articles previewing the top NFL prospects, by
position, for the 2000 draft.
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Penn State's
LaVar Arrington
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In the NFL, everyone is looking for the rare cornerback who can lock on to virtually
any receiver and take that player out of the game to the degree that the quarterback will
rarely even look to his side of the field.
The problem is, players like Jimmy Johnson, Willie Buchanon (before his knee injury)
and Deion Sanders come along about once every 15 years. The consolation prize everyone
hopes for is a blue-chip, shut-down corner who can play on an island and handle all but a
few elite receivers without assistance. From 1997 to ’99, scouts saw one of those
rare gems (Shawn Springs, Charles Woodson and Champ Bailey) enter the league each year.
Next, you have the semi-blue-chip corner, such as the Jets’ Aaron Glenn, who can
run and cover but has a limiting quality, such as size. After that comes the red-chip
corner, who is projected to develop into a solid player and can do the job with some help.
That is where this year’s CB crop begins.
Right now, you could ask six scouts to name the best defensive back they saw this
season and get six different answers. All scouts hope that a couple of players will prove
that they are more worthy than the others at the Senior Bowl and Indianapolis scouting
combine, but for right now, the picture is still very cloudy.
Florida State’s Mario Edwards has the size, speed, quick feet and
press-cover skills that teams look for, and on his good days, Edwards looks like he might
be a blue-chipper. However, concentration lapses, penalties and less-than-ideal ball
skills have held him back and are reasons why he was benched at one point this year. The
fact that Edwards seems to struggle when used in zone coverage is also a concern.
While Edwards is a little bit of an underachiever, Ohio State’s Ahmed
Plummer is an overachiever who does not have quite the athleticism, ease of
motion, explosiveness and pure catch-up speed scouts want in a corner. But he will give an
honest day’s work, read his keys well and play with good technique. The fact that
Plummer played better at the end of the year vs. Michigan than he played at the beginning
vs. Miami (Fla.) will help him, as will his attention to detail, dedication and
durability. But there is a limit to how good he can become, and the team that drafts him
will have to realize that.
Pittsburgh’s Hank Poteat is a former running back who has
improved in each of the last three years on defense. He has quick feet and fluid hips,
shows good cover skills and can play tight, man-on-man coverage. He can also return
kickoffs and punts. However, he is basically a press corner who does not play much man-off
or zone. He is still rough around the edges, has some lapses in coverage and is not a very
aggressive run defender. Poteat seems to have some trouble playing the ball at times and
is not always as alert as scouts would like. There is also some question about his ability
to play hurt.
Jackson State’s Rashard Anderson has great size (6-2½, 200
pounds), good speed and a big upside, and at times he will show he can make the big hit
and big play. For a corner his size, he has good hips and feet, can break on the ball
better than one might think and has some catch-up speed. However, there is still some
question as to whether Anderson can play cornerback at his size and cover a nifty little
receiver because his height has been a problem at times when he is forced to turn quickly.
Anderson is very raw, needs work on his backpedaling and tackling technique and has
inconsistent ball skills. While he has been a fine All-Conference corner in college,
Anderson has not dominated on his level the way former Grambling great James Hunter did in
the ’70s or Roynell Young did when he played at Alcorn State.
California’s Deltha O’Neal may not be drafted until the
middle rounds if he clocks as slowly as some people believe he will. O’Neal does not
have the pure speed scouts look for and still lacks experience since he just moved to
defense from running back in ’98. He also tends to hang back vs. the run and is not a
ferocious tackler. O’Neal does have good cover skills and ball instincts as well as
tremendous anticipation, which allows him to make the big play and the big interception.
He may have the best feel for playing the ball of any corner in this draft, and he has
very good hands and catching skills. Plus, he is an outstanding kickoff and punt returner
with terrific running instincts once he has the ball in his hands. Unfortunately,
O’Neal’s lack of top-end speed also prevents him from breaking as many long
returns as he is in position to and lets players catch him from behind at times.
Tennessee’s Dwayne Goodrich is a track sprinter with the speed
NFL teams covet. He played a great deal as a true freshman and has started the past three
years. However, he has not shown the type of improvement scouts hoped he would and has yet
to show he is totally committed to maximizing his ability. Goodrich is not quite as fluid
in turning or as technically sound as scouts would like and tends to guess too much. He
gets beaten badly a lot on double moves and seems to have lapses in concentation.
Although scouts have not yet looked much at underclassman Deon Grant,
Tennessee’s big, fast and fluid safety, he is too much of an eye-catcher not to
notice. Grant has range vs. the pass, ball skills and hands, which is why he also doubles
as a wide receiver. He tracks the ball well and is fluid for a big man. However, he has
been a below-average tackler with a tendancy to duck his head and miss. Grant lacks some
technique and experience and would probably be better off with another year of college
ball. Said one NFL scout: "I have not really studied him, but I have seen enough to
know that he has the raw skills to develop into a premier player for the 2001 draft if he
goes back to school, improves his tackling, becomes more physical and gets
experience."
Nebraska S Mike Brown is not as big or fast as scouts would like, but
he is a natural player who makes plays and plays faster than he times because of his
instincts and anticipation. He was Arizona’s high school Player of the Year on both
offense and defense. At Nebraska, he was too good not to play as a freshman and has been
an All-Big 12 performer the past three years and an Academic All-American in ’99.
Brown has both football and classroom smarts and toughness. He tackles well and is a solid
zone defender but is too slow and not quite gifted enough to stand out in man coverage.
Michigan State’s Aric Morris gets ringing endorsements from his
former head coach, Nick Saban, who was a DB coach and coordinator in the NFL and is very
well-respected throughout the football world. Morris is built like a chunky running back
but is fast and physical. He is not as tall or fluid as scouts would like and has some
limitations in coverage.
Louisiana State’s Mark Roman has played both cornerback and
safety during his career and was a corner in ’99 until being suspended for his
alleged illegal contact with an agent. As a player, Roman is a good athlete who will make
some plays, but he will need a lot of work if he intends to be a corner. His size (5-11,
187) is less than ideal for a safety.
While nobody questions how tough Arkansas’ Kenoy Kennedy is, the
fact remains that he misses an alarming number of tackles.
Travares Tillman wound up playing cornerback for Georgia Tech this
season, but his future is inside at safety. The big question about Tillman deals with his
instincts.
Ohio State’s Gary Berry can look like an All-American at times
but also has stretches when he plays poorly.
Back at cornerback, North Carolina State’s Lloyd Harrison shows
the tools, but he must play with the same aggressiveness on defense that he shows on
special teams. He tends to play soft in coverage and vs. the run and does not do a very
good job of contesting receivers for the ball.
Penn State’s David Macklin is very hard to get a handle on. At
times scouts think he has the quick twitch and all the tools, aside from height and great
speed. But at other times, it looks like he may lack the two-step, sudden burst of speed
that all good NFL corners must have.
Texas A&M’s Jason Webster is a good player, person and
leader, but at 5-9 and 175 pounds, he gets outsized too much to be a top prospect because
he does not have rare quickness, reflexes or closing speed that an Aaron Glenn has.
Nebraska CB Ralph Brown is a four-year starter who helped his cause
with a strong showing vs. Texas in the Big 12 championship game.
Purdue’s Michael Hawthorne has great size but is hurt an awful
lot and does not play with a lot of passion. Basketball may be his true love.
Oklahoma’s William Bartee seemed to find a home on the corner
late in his senior year after struggling as a safety.
Syracuse’s David Byrd was regarded as a raw size-speed type of
prospect before he nearly lost his life after suffering multiple stab wounds. But he
appears to be recovering nicely and thinks he will be able to resume his career.
The one kicker the pros are excited about is Florida State’s left-footed junior
wonderchild, Sebastian Janikowski. Despite being overweight and having a
bit of a beer-bellied type of look, Janikowski may have the strongest left leg in creation
and is a very good all-around athlete who likes to hit. He could probably become a
linebacker if somebody really worked with him, but he is too valuable as a kicker to risk
it. Janikowski can give a team plenty of unreturnable kickoffs and make field goals from
60 yards at sea level. He is a former star soccer player from Poland who lived with a
foster family in high school and now wants to make NFL type of money so he can bring his
mother to the United States.
The highest-graded punter is Texas A&M’s Shane Lechler, but
his lack of consistency is a major concern.
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