Time To Corner The Market

Running backs are a dime a dozen. Linebackers can be molded. Quarterbacks get better with experience. Guys in the trenches have to be big, strong, and have an endless motor. But what about the secondary? What makes a good cornerback, for example? Well, it used to be whoever made the most interceptions was given the crown. These days the crown is worn by who has the lowest percentage of successful 'throws against' vs 'catches given up'. Now, no defensive back can prevent all the throws from connecting with the receiver, so the best chance of keeping a low percentage is to come on strong and aggressive at the beginning of the game and then be consistent throughout.

It takes a special kind of 'smaller' guy to be aggressive from the start against bigger opponents and to have the physical attributes to stand in on every play on an island and be consistently tough to throw against.

The Dolphins will either draft a cornerback, a wide receiver, or Connor Barwin with that first pick, and will likely draft two of each from those categories (yes, I'm considering Connor Barwin a category. You guys know what I mean). Yesterday we looked at a couple of 'tough guys' on the offensive side, and a while back we looked at Hakeem Nicks as well. Today we flip the field and look at potential draft prospects for the Dolphins at cornerback in order of draft ranking.

• Darius Butler, UConn. 5'11" 183lbs. There's a good chance that this playmaker will be gone by the time we draft at #25, but I guarantee the Dolphins will have him on the board going into the Draft.
  

• Sean Smith, Utah. 6'4" 214lbs. Possible hybrid guy, can play safety but the fact is the guy played corner in college and did pretty well at that position. We already profiled him here.

• Keenan Lewis, Oregon State. 6'1" 208lbs. This guy was completely off my radar since I completely refuse to watch a team called the Beavers. Note: I lived in Portland for 5 years + and never rooted for either Oregon team. But then the Senior Bowl happened, and Lewis' name was mentioned in every scouting report as being the most impressive DB at the practices. The word is his stats were average because opponents were scared to throw to his side of the field.

• Domonique Johnson, Jackson State. 6'2" 198lbs. I'm a firm believer in getting value for your picks, and that means not throwing away your later rounders on average players just to fill the offseason roster. This guy has been compared to that Rodgers-Cromartie guy. His 40-time at the combine was a disappointment, causing him to drop a round in the rankings.
  

• Don Carey, Norfolk State. 5'11", 192lbs. The stand-out at the East-West Shrine Game, he showed that he could run down anyone and could be physical at the LOS.
  

I've selected these guys because they've either been on my radar for a long time (several months or longer) or they've got something I believe the Trifecta will be looking for - a combination if size and speed. These guys are all sub-4.5 runners and they're all for the most part, bigger than your average CB*. This instantly makes the media scream out 'convert him to a safety!' but they don't realize the difference between a cover corner and a safety is not about how tall or heavy he is.

*Though Darius Butler measured in at 5'11", his 43" vertical jump showed he could cover any fade route in the end zone to your bigger receivers. Don Carey is a bit of an enigma, because he measured in at 5'11", 192lbs and ran a 4.49, but he was previously listed as 6'1" and has been timed running a 4.37.