CornerBack ~ Brian Allen ~ Utah Utes
6027/216
Old Roles are getting dramatically transformed, and virtually every Front 7 ~ or Front 6!! ~ Defensive Job Description is transitioning into an Hybrid Role where the Defender is asked to excel in multiple Roles and in multiple Fronts.
For that reason, and in order to offer NomenClature that speaks not to archaic, obsolete "Positions", but rather to Skill Sets that accurately reflect the dynamic Changes of the 21st Century Game and the Roles they have spawned, I have undertaken to craft Terminology that is designed to break Skill Sets down as they really are.
Defensive Coordinators have, since Time Immemorial, employed highly creative terminology in devising Defenses and in designating Assignments. In that Spirit, I have admittedly indulged myself considerably in devising the following NomenClature. It is undeniably colorful, but I like to think that there's an underlying Logic, as well:
CornerBacks ~ I find it quite amusing that the very last Skill Set on my list is the only Defensive Skill Set ~ so far!! ~ for whom I haven't adapted or invented a new Term. The Prototype would be about 6000/195.
CornerBacks are of course Pass Defense Specialists, but I will include Run Defense in my Evaluations. But I will note, of course, that as with Blocking as it pertains to WideOuts, it is desirable, yes, but its absence is no Red Flag.
This is how I break down CornerBacks:
Agility: Acceleration, Ricochet, Fluidity, and Verticity ~ that's Turn & Burn Acuity, to you Earthlings!!
Processing Speed: How quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the developing Play.
Run Defense: Power, Agility, Combat Skills, Processing Speed, Motor, and Tackling.
Pass Coverage: Agility, Processing Speed, and Field Vision.
CatchPoint Capacity: Tracking, Timing, Combat Skills, and WingSpan.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Agility
* Fluidity, above all things: Core Agility & Flexibility makes everything possible.
* Ricochet ~ How crisply and how rapidly one breaks in a new direction.
* Acceleration ~ Short Speed or Quickness. Closing Speed.
* Verticity ~ The Ability ~ or lack thereof ~ to Flips Hips and Turn & Burn in Pass Coverage.
Processing Speed
* How quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the developing Play.
Run Defense
* Power
* Agility
* Combat Skills
* Processing Speed
* Motor
* Tackling
Pass Coverage
* Agility ~ Fluidity, Ricochet, Acceleration, and Speed, baby!!
* Processing Speed ~ Reading and Reacting with Speed & Precision to Offensive Tactics.
* Field Vision ~ Processing Speed with an emphasis on the Tactical LandScape.
CatchPoint Capacity
* Tracking
* Timing
* Combat Skills
* WingSpan
* Vertical Agility
Agility: Impressive and potentially phenomenal. There is an enormous Gap, here, between Allen's Raw Agility and his Functional Agility, as exhibited by Combine Numbers and Tape. But as he is a recent Convertible from WideOut to CornerBack, and is therefore still in the Process of integrating Mind & Body, there is a legitimate Chance that his spectacular Combine Fluidity Metrics will in fact translate to the Field of Battle in the next few Years.
Processing Speed: Mediocre. His Instincts are Dog Raw. How they come along is a matter of Pure Speculation.
Run Defense: Mediocre. WingSpan and Speed, but shaky Motor and Combat Skills.
Pass Coverage: Mediocre. Potentially dominant. He has a sensational WingSpan and excellent Speed, so the Potential is there to dominate in Press Coverage, and he's got the Raw Fluidity to potentially excel in Off Coverage, as well.
Catch Point Capacity: Ditto. WingSpan, Raw Power, Vertical Launch, all there. Time & Training are what're needed. Lots.
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the invaluable Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
Market Value #163 | Yankee Grade 3rd Round |
None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!