Hello Dolphin Shout and all Miami Dolphin Fans!
Here are some interesting NFL Combine cornerbacks to measure:
Xavier Rhodes
6-1, 217 pounds, 4.54 40-yard dash
A high first round prospect with an overall player ranking of 23rd and the third ranked cornerback. He played for nationally ranked Florida State in the fifth ranked ACC.
Rhodes has eight career interceptions in 39 starts since the start of his 2010 sophomore season where he had four picks. As of 2011 his opponents tended to avoid his physically aggressive side of the field, as he had just one 2011 interception and three more as a 2012 junior.
He is widely regarded as one of the most physical cornerbacks in the country. He displays the desired length, athleticism, ball skills, and aggressiveness to cover large NFL wideouts.
David Amerson
6-2, 194, 4.59
A second or third round projection and the 68th ranked overall player. He is also ranked as the eighth best cornerback. He started 35 games versus the fifth-ranked ACC and has 18 career interceptions.
A one-time favorite in 2010. He led North Carolina State and the nation with thirteen 2011 sophomore interceptions, which was just behind the NCAA record of 14. He had five 2012 interceptions in his less than stellar junior season when he was burnt deep on a regular basis. Amerson was a projected first round selection before his 2012 season, despite a highly questionable forty time. Now that he has been proven to be beatable, it might be wise to take a close look at his hip flexibility, back-peddle agility, less than fluid transitions, and overall speed concerns.
Here is what he did before becoming an old man in 2012:
Logan Ryan
6-0, 190, 4.53
A second round projection. Rated as the sixth best cornerback and the 52nd overall prospect. He played for a 9-4 Rutgers team in the seventh ranked Big-East.
Ryan has two full years of starting experience as a junior coming into the NFL. In his initial 2011 season as a freshman starter he registered an amazing 67 tackles (six for a loss) and two forced fumbles, which suggests that he is an aggressive run defender at the CB position. He had three interceptions with 13 pass break-ups in that same year. As a 2012 junior he put it in another gear with 97 tackles (five for a loss) and four interceptions with 17 pass break-ups.
Ryan has fluid hips with good size and tends to aggressively end-up wherever on the field the ball happens to be while playing with total dis-regard for his own being as a sound tackler. He has 26 starts with seven career interceptions and his coaches say that, "He is a smart, tough, disciplined player with a tremendous work ethic and talent. He has represented our program in first-class fashion, and we know he will continue to excel when playing on Sundays."
Rutgers is rarely on the tube, and Ryan was an initial after-thought due to the level of competition but has made the watch-list because of an inspiring bio and video highlight research.
Jordan Poyer
6-0, 182, 4.49
Another late first to early second round projection. As a senior played against the second best nationally ranked Pac-12 and for the 20th ranked Oregon State team. He is the 40th overall ranked prospect and the fifth best projected cornerback.
Poyer is another one of three Jim Thorpe finalists and also a Bednarick (top defensive player) finalist. He was voted a first team All-American and is the first from Oregon State to do so since 1967.
As the team co-captain in his second starting season he was a thief of seven 2012 interceptions (2nd in the nation) with four additional 2011 interceptions. Poyer had another two picks as a 2010 sophomore backup. He is a nationally top ranked kick and punt returner. He was a backup safety and leading tackler in special teams in his 2009 freshman season. Poyer has a total of 13 interceptions for his career in approximately 26 starts.
Poyer has led the number two ranked Pac-12 conference in interceptions for two successive seasons. His opposition during those two seasons includes 2013 first and second round receiver prospects such as California's Keenan Allen and USC's Robert Woods. He is also competing on a daily basis against his own highly ranked wide receiver teammate Marcus Wheaton. He has a pick-six in each of the last three years versus NFL quarterbacks like Brock Osweiler and Matt Barkley.
He models his true leadership style of passionate, aggressive physical play after his favorite NFL player Ray Lewis, yet he brings it to the cornerback position with great athleticism and ball skills. Poyer, who absolutely loves everything about the game of football. is most definitely the type of playmaker and leader the Dolphins should be looking at. He is a favorite from this side of the fence, and I believe that he would be a second round steal for the Miami Dolphins.
The first 56 seconds of this next video should do it for you. Look at him against Brock Osweiler.
Senior Bowl Practice Evaluation:
Senior Bowl Draft Profile:
Jonathan Banks
6-1, 185, 4.52
A late first to early second round prospect, the 35th ranked player, and the fourth ranked cornerback. He is an SEC (see Milliner) Mississippi State senior with four 2012 interceptions. He is the winner of the Jim Thorpe best defensive back in the nation award.
Banks had 45 collegiate starts with seven 2009 games as a freshman free safety. He started the remaining three years of his career at cornerback. He had 16 career interceptions and took three to the house, with two against Tim Tebow.
He is indeed the type of playmaker the Miami Dolphins are searching for, however, the thing to focus on for him is a glaring sub-standard forty yard dash for a cornerback. I like him a bunch, but he needs to run a sub-4.50 for an all-out recommendation to pick him at twelfth overall. I would still have no hesitation what-so-ever choosing him in the second round!
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After watching this video and the others included, one can't help but be reminded of Jonathan Banks' skills prior to a past knee injury. It seems as though he is getting back to his old tricks! He drew closer to other favorites at twelve during the writing of this paragraph (regardless of his combine forty).
Dee Milliner
6-1, 198, 4.47
A first round top 10 projection. He is an Alabama 29 game starting junior with six career interceptions and two National Championship rings. Milliner is the fifth overall player in the 2013 draft and the number one ranked cornerback. On top of that he came out of the always number one ranked SEC.
In fourteen 2012 games he went up against seven of the Nation's top 11 ranked teams, and six of those teams were from within his own conference, which he led in pass break-ups with 22. The seventh top 11 team he started against was number one Notre Dame in the National Championship game where Alabama won. Milliner also had a 2012 game against the 24th ranked Michigan Wolverines.
Though he had just two interceptions with one and a half sacks in 2012 he is widely considered the most well balanced cornerback in the draft due to strong coverage skills. He is also a beast versus the run.
He is a very aggressive, consistent player and the Dolphins could not go wrong with selecting the fifth overall prospect, though he may not be available at pick twelve. He also might not be the big playmaker desired in Miami (we shall see). Milliner is a well-rounded Jim Thorpe Award (Best Defensive-Back) runner-up. With just six career picks, keep an eye out for potential sub-par back peddle, transitional footwork, and hand-eye ball skill drills.
DON'T FORGET THESE DEFENSIVE BACKS FROM THE SENIOR BOWL ARTICLE!
Jamar Taylor Boise State Sr.
Phillip Thomas Fresno State Sr.
Bacarri Rambo Georgia Sr.
Robert Alford Southeastern Louisiana Sr.
Robert Lester Alabama Sr.
Desmond Trufant Washinngton Sr.
Official Complete Combine invite list
Follow the "underwear Olympics" Feb. 23-26 on NFL Network.
Remaining Combine workout schedule:
» Monday, Feb. 25: Defensive linemen, linebackers
» Tuesday, Feb. 26: Defensive backs
THANK-YOU for an Open-Minded Read, and we look forward to your angle of view ;)!!
GOFINS!!
