NFL Draft Preview: DB
The college football season and Senior Bowl are finished, and the NFL Scouting Combine is coming up before the NFL Draft. Here is our look in order at the top 10 defensive backs available and a look back at their ranking and recruitment along with an opinion of each from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell.
Ranking: The Nashville (Tenn.) Brentwood Academy five-star was rated as the third-best cornerback in the 2013 class behind Vernon Hargreaves III and Kendall Fuller.
Recruiting: Ramsey had been committed to USC for months but rumors circulated that he probably wouldn't end up in Los Angeles. The five-star prospect selected Florida State right around National Signing Day.
Overview: Ramsey finished with 52 tackles, one fumble recovery and 10 pass deflections this season.
Farrell’s take: Ramsey is a great athlete and can play safety or cornerback in college, as he’s shown, but in the NFL he’s a safety. He has very good range and length and has shown the same explosion we saw out of high school and he’s a willing tackler. However, I do have some questions about his ability to solo cover outside. His combination of size, athleticism and suddenness shows more often than not and he's around the ball quite a bit. He was a freaky athlete coming out of high school and I expect him to do well at the combine and pro days.
Ranking: The Immokalee, Fla., four-star was rated as the seventh-best cornerback and No. 42 overall in the 2013 class.
Recruiting: His recruitment was topsy-turvy for a long time. A former Tennessee commit, Alexander was also serious at Florida State at one time and then later Mississippi State and Auburn before picking Clemson.
Overview: En route to the national championship game, Alexander had 23 tackles and five pass deflections this season.
Farrell’s take: Alexander was avoided more than most top corners coming out for the draft but he has still proven to be a true lockdown cornerback. His injury in the national title game impacted things more than people realize down the stretch. He led a secondary that was near the top in the country when it came to opponents' completion percentage and helped put his team in the mix for a national title. We saw this cocky attitude in high school and a guy who loves to be on an island and his attitude will make him a great one in the pros.
Ranking: Hargreaves was rated as the No. 1 cornerback and the second-best recruit in the 2013 class behind five-star DE Robert Nkemdiche.
Recruiting: A week before his eventual commitment, Hargreaves tweeted a top five that had the Gators listed No. 1. Then that week, the five-star and a few teammates visited Gainesville and upon his return home, Hargreaves announced he had committed to Florida over Clemson, Miami, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt.
Overview: Hargreaves had 33 tackles, four interceptions, one forced fumble and four pass deflections this season.
Farrell’s take: Hargreaves had a solid but not great year and there are some concerns about his ability to tackle and cover bigger players. His bowl game performance against Michigan hurt his stock but he can still cover and has excellent instincts. Hargreaves is one of our highest-rated corners ever out of high school because of his ball-hawking ability and solo coverage skills so those attributes still stand out. Being ranked in this range might be lower than some expected heading into the season as he was considered a top five pick, but I never saw that. If Kendall Fuller didn’t get hurt, he’d be behind him and I’m tempted to slide him behind Eli Apple as well, so he needs some good workouts.
Ranking: The Olney (Md.) Good Counsel five-star cornerback was rated second at his position and ninth overall in the 2013 class.
Recruiting: Virginia Tech and Clemson were the two legitimate finalists for Fuller, who committed to the Hokies in the summer before his senior season started. He was also looking at Michigan and USC. Fuller's three brothers played in Blacksburg.
Overview: Fuller sustained a knee injury and only played in three games this season.
Farrell’s take: I was impressed with Fuller from the first time I saw him as a freshman. I was obviously aware of the family tree, but he carried himself like a star from the start and his backpedal was arguably the most fluid I had seen in my career. Add good size, amazing instincts and sneaky closing speed, and you have a corner you can put on an island. The knee injury has hurt his stock. He’d be higher on this list without that question mark and possibly my No. 1 without it.
Ranking: The Voorhees (N.J.) Eastern four-star was rated as the eighth-best cornerback and No. 89 overall in the 2013 class.
Recruiting: Apple picked Ohio State over Rutgers, Notre Dame and many others.
Overview: Apple had 33 tackles, one interception, one fumble recovery and eight pass deflections this season.
Farrell’s take: Apple was a Rivals100 prospect and top 10 corner who had good size but wasn’t tested that much in high school and did more work on the offensive side of things. He was up against some top corners in the 2013 class and was overshadowed a bit by guys like Ramsey, Hargreaves, Fuller, Alexander and Tre'Davious White who decided not to come out. He was a solid tackler up near the line of scrimmage and was solid but not spectacular in solo coverage but improved greatly in college especially with his footspeed.
Ranking: Jackson was rated as a three-star athlete out of Houston (Texas) Wheatley in the 2012 class.
Recruiting: He spent the 2012 season at Trinity Valley Community College before signing with the Cougars the following recruiting cycle
Overview: Jackson finished with 43 tackles, five interceptions, an incredible 28 pass deflections and a fumble recovery this season.
Farrell’s take: Jackson was under-recruited out of high school and only had a Houston offer (and a late one at that) after a solid but unspectacular high school career. Now he's rising on NFL boards and pushing with his size and fluid hips and his ability to get his head around and make a play on the ball in tight coverage. He has good ball skills, but he needs to fill out that frame and that’s the biggest knock on him. Injury question marks and durability keep him lower on this list.
Ranking: The Rossville (Ga.) Ridgeland five-star prospect was the fourth-best safety and No. 32 overall in the 2013 class.
Recruiting: On National Signing Day, Bell picked Ohio State over Alabama and Tennessee, his childhood favorite. The Buckeyes were his long-time frontrunner.
Overview: Bell finished with 65 tackles, two picks, a fumble recovery and nine pass breakups this season.
Farrell’s take: Bell, a former five-star, is one of the fastest and sudden safeties you'll find in college football and his closing speed is amazing. He can tend to lose focus at times, but he can make plays others can't. He’s arguably the most athletic safety on the board and he has excellent instincts, although he tends to miss on plays he should make here and there. His size isn’t great either, which will likely keep him sliding.
Ranking: Cash was a three-star prospect and the No. 25 safety in the 2011 class out of Plantation, Fla.
Recruiting: Cash committed to Ohio State (coached at the time by Jim Tressel) over Miami and others and he spent two semesters in Columbus before transferring to Duke.
Overview: Cash was third on the Blue Devils with 101 tackles (18 for loss) along with three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and eight quarterback hurries.
Farrell’s take: Cash was a big safety out of Florida known for his tackling and hitting and less for his natural coverage skills. Then he became a monster at Duke. Cash has been compared to Kam Chancellor because he impacts a game close to the line of scrimmage and makes the middle of the field a scary place. He’s had some dominant games where he’s made play after play and a couple where he failed in coverage. The concern is more about his skills in the passing game than blitzing or playing the run. Speed is the biggest issue in coverage.
Ranking: Burns was a four-star cornerback out of Miami (Fla.) Northwestern who was rated No. 15 at his position and No. 187 overall in the 2013 class.
Recruiting: A former Alabama commit, Burns pledged to the hometown Hurricanes, who beat out Florida State, Louisville, LSU, USC and others for his services.
Overview: Burns finished with 36 tackles, six interceptions and a fumble recovery this season.
Farrell’s take: Burns had a good frame and solid size coming out of high school in that 2013 cornerback class and his ball skills were always excellent. The question mark then and now was how physical he’s willing to be. He is a solid tackler, but doesn’t arrive at the ball with enough thump for some scouts in a strong cornerback class he could slide down and become a steal if he solves that issue.