CornerBack ~ Byron Jones ~ Connecticut Huskies ~ 6006/198
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.
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, Navigating Traffic, Processing Speed, Motor, and Tackling.
Pass Coverage: Combat Skills, Agility, Processing Speed, and Catch Point Capacity.
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
* Navigating Traffic
* Processing Speed
* Motor
* Tackling
Pass Coverage
* Combat Skills
* Agility
* Processing Speed
* Catch Point Capacity
Processing Speed: Mediocre. I have High Hopes that this will improve, as Jones is by all accounts a dedicated Student of the Game. And he's already exceptional in Press Coverage, when he's mirroring. But when he's in Off Coverage ~ which was most of the Time when I was watching ~ he seems far less effective in reading the Field of Battle, to me.
Run Defense: Exceptional. I base that entirely on 2013 Tape, mind you, when he wasn't hobbled, as he was, this past Year, but when fully healthy, his extraordinary Core Power and tremendous Motor were tremendous. His Tackling Mechanics could use some Work, mind you, but in time he could develop into one of this Year's very best Run Defenders.
Pass Coverage: Excellent, provided he plays Press Coverage. His capacity to read the man he's covering seems to me to be far superior to his ability to read the QuarterBack. Mind you: Reading the QuarterBack is unquestionably more crucial to a CornerBack's Success, but considerably more so in Off Coverage. Furthermore, his excellent Fluidity suit him far better for Press Coverage than his mediocre Ricochet and Short Speed. His Combat Skills need a lot of Work, but he's very aggressive, very physical, and quite relentless. His Catch Point Capacity also needs a great deal of work, as his Processing Speed and his Tracking & Timing are raw, but God knows he got immense Potential, there!!
It's a reflection of my own Inexperience and Incompetence, of course: The Line between a Top 10 Talent and a UFA Talent, as I am fond of reciting, is wafer thin...And it's delineation is clouded by Level of Competition and Injuries, both'f which come into play with young Mister Jones, who played hobbled in 2014. Thank God for ESPN3, though!!
And he's an excellent Prospect, I think.
But I believe that he is a far better Press Coverage Prospect than Man Coverage, despite those phenomenal Combine and Pro Day numbers: His Strengths, I believe, are Power, Fluidity, and a tremendous Motor, which are perfect for a Press Corner, while his mediocre Ricochet, Short Speed, and Processing Speed hinder him in Off Coverage.
As such, I do not believe that he's as Schematically versatile as my Bettors ~ I have many!! ~ generally perceive, therefore it behooves me to grade'm accordingly, as Defenses are increasingly going Hybrid with as many Aspect as possible!!
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
1st/2nd Round Market Value | Yankee Grade 2nd/3rd Round |
This is not is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning: Caveat Emptor!!