Posted by Rafael at Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Today's chat with the National Football Post's Wes Bunting looks at the top corners, and which of them fit the Cowboys' man-to-man cover style?
Cowboys Nation: I want to review the cornerback grades and ask for more detail on them. You have Morris Claiborne above everyone else. He looks like a pretty certain top-5 pick. I think we can remove him from Cowboys consideration. He has an 8.5 in your system and the next two guys, Dre Kirkpatrick and Janoris Jenkins, have 7.0s, and Brandon Boykin has a 6.9.
How soon do these guys make the field? That's a very important consideration in Dallas' thinking because I think there's a very good chance the team drafts a corner in the first two rounds. When fans go to your board and look at the grades, how does that translate to early production?
Wes Bunting: If you're taking a corner high, unless you have a bunch of guys who are similar to him, he's going to play early. Unless you're a team like the Texans who have stocked up on corners in free agency and the draft, then your pick won't play as much early.
I can't predict and say, Brandon Boykin will start immediately, because I don't know which team is going to choose him, and what their scheme is and what they expect from him. Usually, the guys who are taken high, ten to one you want him on the field sooner.
CN: Which of the the guys at the top of your board are best bets in a press scheme? Who can play the style that Dallas wants from its corners? Let's take Claiborne out and start with Kirkpatrick, Jenkins, Boykin, Jamell Fleming, Chase Minnifield, Casey Heyward, those guys.
WB: Kirkpatrick is the best of that bunch in press, because he's the biggest and the most physical. He's not overly quick, but he can get into people and re-route them off the line.
Fleming has some press skills. Minnifield, you think he would be a better press man, but he's got to get stronger. He's got the upside to do it.
Janoris Jenkins wants to play press bail most of the time.
Brandon Boykin is not afraid to get into you. He's a pesky, off-the-line guy. Granted, he's 5'9'' and a half. But he's got really good quickness when he keeps his base down and stays balanced. He's got a powerful punch and he can be hard to separate from, when he takes on those bigger receivers.
CN: Moving down the line, I notice you have Stephon Gilmore lower, though he's one of the biggest corners at 6'1''. Here's Josh Norman at 6'0'' and here's Trumaine Johnson at 6'2''. Discuss this tier in the same way. If you're looking for a corner who can press you, how do these three rate?
WB: I don't think Gilmore is a good fit for a man-to-man scheme. I don't think he's a good press corner. He gets overextended. Ideally, he's a zone guy. He's going to play a lot of cover-2. These guys will all play both types of coverage in the pros, zone and man, but you want to play a guy to his strengths.
Trumaine Johnson has some Jimmy Smith to him. The biggest thing is he wasn't asked to play a lot of press at Montana. He played a lot of press-bail. He played a lot of zone. You have to project what he can do.
Josh Norman loves to play off-man, where you can look in the backfield, and click-and-close. I saw him play some press at the East West Shrine Game and he's got the capability.
Again, all of these guys are projections. I would say Norman has the chance to be the best press man, of those three, and then Johnson and then Gilmore.
CN: Let's go back to Alfonzo Dennard. He was one of the top press corners coming into the season. You described him as a hyper-aggressive guy who loves to get in your face, and he's dropped some. What's caused that drop?
WB: Well he's not very big and he's not very fast. There's not a dynamic, explosive element to his game to make up for a false step. One adjustment I've made, if I'm going to give a smaller corner a big grade, he's got to have explosiveness, a dynamic element to his game, a plus change of direction or acceleration, and I see that in Janoris Jenkins, but I don't see that in Alfonzo Dennard. He might be a slot corner who can play some outside.
I'm thinking Dennard is closer to Javier Arenas than to Antoine Winfield.
Today's chat with the National Football Post's Wes Bunting looks at the top corners, and which of them fit the Cowboys' man-to-man cover style?
Cowboys Nation: I want to review the cornerback grades and ask for more detail on them. You have Morris Claiborne above everyone else. He looks like a pretty certain top-5 pick. I think we can remove him from Cowboys consideration. He has an 8.5 in your system and the next two guys, Dre Kirkpatrick and Janoris Jenkins, have 7.0s, and Brandon Boykin has a 6.9.
How soon do these guys make the field? That's a very important consideration in Dallas' thinking because I think there's a very good chance the team drafts a corner in the first two rounds. When fans go to your board and look at the grades, how does that translate to early production?
Wes Bunting: If you're taking a corner high, unless you have a bunch of guys who are similar to him, he's going to play early. Unless you're a team like the Texans who have stocked up on corners in free agency and the draft, then your pick won't play as much early.
I can't predict and say, Brandon Boykin will start immediately, because I don't know which team is going to choose him, and what their scheme is and what they expect from him. Usually, the guys who are taken high, ten to one you want him on the field sooner.
CN: Which of the the guys at the top of your board are best bets in a press scheme? Who can play the style that Dallas wants from its corners? Let's take Claiborne out and start with Kirkpatrick, Jenkins, Boykin, Jamell Fleming, Chase Minnifield, Casey Heyward, those guys.
WB: Kirkpatrick is the best of that bunch in press, because he's the biggest and the most physical. He's not overly quick, but he can get into people and re-route them off the line.
Fleming has some press skills. Minnifield, you think he would be a better press man, but he's got to get stronger. He's got the upside to do it.
Janoris Jenkins wants to play press bail most of the time.
Brandon Boykin is not afraid to get into you. He's a pesky, off-the-line guy. Granted, he's 5'9'' and a half. But he's got really good quickness when he keeps his base down and stays balanced. He's got a powerful punch and he can be hard to separate from, when he takes on those bigger receivers.
CN: Moving down the line, I notice you have Stephon Gilmore lower, though he's one of the biggest corners at 6'1''. Here's Josh Norman at 6'0'' and here's Trumaine Johnson at 6'2''. Discuss this tier in the same way. If you're looking for a corner who can press you, how do these three rate?
WB: I don't think Gilmore is a good fit for a man-to-man scheme. I don't think he's a good press corner. He gets overextended. Ideally, he's a zone guy. He's going to play a lot of cover-2. These guys will all play both types of coverage in the pros, zone and man, but you want to play a guy to his strengths.
Trumaine Johnson has some Jimmy Smith to him. The biggest thing is he wasn't asked to play a lot of press at Montana. He played a lot of press-bail. He played a lot of zone. You have to project what he can do.
Josh Norman loves to play off-man, where you can look in the backfield, and click-and-close. I saw him play some press at the East West Shrine Game and he's got the capability.
Again, all of these guys are projections. I would say Norman has the chance to be the best press man, of those three, and then Johnson and then Gilmore.
CN: Let's go back to Alfonzo Dennard. He was one of the top press corners coming into the season. You described him as a hyper-aggressive guy who loves to get in your face, and he's dropped some. What's caused that drop?
WB: Well he's not very big and he's not very fast. There's not a dynamic, explosive element to his game to make up for a false step. One adjustment I've made, if I'm going to give a smaller corner a big grade, he's got to have explosiveness, a dynamic element to his game, a plus change of direction or acceleration, and I see that in Janoris Jenkins, but I don't see that in Alfonzo Dennard. He might be a slot corner who can play some outside.
I'm thinking Dennard is closer to Javier Arenas than to Antoine Winfield.
