Slot Corner ~ Taron Johnson ~ Weber State WildCats ~ 5111/192
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:
Slot Corners ~ Upon Further Review, I confess that I believe that I went A Bridge Too Far with this Business of rebranding NickelBacks as CenterFielders. CenterFielders ~ "Free Safeties" to you Earthlings!! ~ are optimally Hybrids capable of Direct Coverage, anyway, and my premise that NickelBacks ought to be able to manifest the Processing Speed that CenterFielders need, as well as the Run Defense Aspect of a CenterFielder was pushing Evolution too far, too fast!!
It would be terrific for Defenses if NickelBacks were all spry yet beefy 5090/210 Pounders whose Frames could stand up to the rigors of the Run Defense that is an important Aspect of a CenterFielder's Game.
But even then, their Height would be a Liability in surveying the Tactical LandScape.
NickelBacks 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 Slot Corners:
Agility: Acceleration, Ricochet, Fluidity, Verticity ~ that's Turn & Burn Acuity, to you Earthlings!! ~ and Speed!!
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.
* Speed ~ Corner and WideOut are really the only Roles where 40 Times matter.
Processing Speed
* How quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the developing Play: Run/Pass, Routes, Picks, and such.
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 Routes and WideOuts.
* Field Vision ~ Processing Speed with an emphasis on the Tactical LandScape.
CatchPoint Capacity
* Tracking
* Timing
* Combat Skills
* WingSpan
* Vertical Agility
Agility: 60. Excellent Fluidity and Acceleration. Shaky Speed, though.
Processing Speed: 80. Excellent Route Reading.
Run Defense: 50. Short WingSpan and marginal Power, yet impressive Combat Skills and excellent Aggression. He reads and reacts quickly, and while he bounces off a Block, here, and a Tackle, there, he gets after it.
Pass Coverage: 66. He can get badly beasted by Power and badly scorched by Speed, but against Spry Flies he's a tremendous match, exhibiting and outstanding combination of Rapid Route Reading and Twitch.
CatchPoint Capacity: 40. Here, too, his short WingSpan and marginal Power could be and should be fatal flaws, but his Combat Skills, excellent Timing & Tracking, and Aggression are enough for'm to beat smaller Foes.
Ceiling? Warrior. 2nd/3rd Round. That shorter WingSpan, lack of Power, and lack of Speed would certainly get'm destroyed as a Boundary Corner, but as a Slot Corner who goes up against as exclusive as possible a far of SlotBacks, he could shine. He can't effectively compete against Speed or Power, but his Fluidity and Ricochet are Pro Bowl Caliber, which's precisely what's needed when going up against those deadly, chain-moving yardage-racking Slot Corners. That prospectively translates to a Starter's Snaps, and Johnson could become very effective at that role.
Floor? Wash Out. UFA. When WingSpan, Power, and Speed are all Liabilities, your career hangs by a thread.
Risk/Reward Ratio? Strong. There is always some risk when a Division 47 Prospect attempts the jump all the way to the NFL, but Johnson has exhibited truckloads of Intelligence and Drive, evidenced most obviously by his tremendous Processing Speed and Run Support Aggression. I like his Chances of becoming All That He Can Be.
Thank you so very much, Draft BreakDown, without whom my Work would be virtually impossible.
Market Value #110 | Yankee Grade 3rd/4th Round |
Please also note, Fellow FootBall Fiends: These CyberScouting Reports are not intended as predictions of success or failure, but as assessments ~ ludicrously amateurish assessments ~ of potential success. FootBall is a rough and often unfair business, and many a worthy Prospect has fallen far short of his potential, sometimes not because of his own failings, but because of those of coaching, scheme, timing...or because huge investments were made on other Prospects.
In other words: If any of my Super Dooper Deeper Sleepers ever fail to fulfill their vast potential, I’m confident that it goes without saying that it wasn’t their fault…or mine!!...Yes, I think that I'm being funny.
In other words: Caveat Emptor, Fellow FootBall Fiends!!
Enter at your own risk!!