Cornerback has been a bit of a controversy in New England for a year or two now.
First the Gilmore thing. Surely the Patriots won’t let their top MVP cornerback leave… ah he wants lots of cash without showing how his injury recovery is going. Yeah, Bill isn’t too fond of…. Oh, okay he went to the Panthers (and now the Colts).
Then, can JC step up? Undrafted out of Maryland in 2018, is he a cornerback 1?
With his new title of Mr Interception he’s a quality player. Now, let’s see if the Pats franchise tag him…. No? Okay…. Oh dear, he’s on social media saying he needs to get paid…. Okay so we need a cornerback in free agency… Okay, maybe the draft… Yep, JC is off to get paid by the Chargers.
But hey, Malcom Butler is back. Is that good, bad or even relevant?
Pushing those papers aside, it’s not beyond the realms of reasonable that many are hoping, thinking, wanting, needing a cornerback at pick number 21 in the 2022 NFL draft (only effective if you do it in your head in a Roger Godell kinda tone) for the Patriots.
I’m guessing you all have your eyes on Andrew Booth, Sauce Gardner and possibly my favourite top round pick guy, Trent McDuffie.
BUT, what if the Patriots do that thing where they don’t chose the position you want them to, and Bill nabs one of those really huge line guys?
So let me tell you about a later round guy, someone you can look at and see if you fancy a piece of him as plan B maybe, or C or even F…
Coby Bryant out of Cincinnati. Now, before anyone gets upset with me I am not saying this kid is who the Patriots should take instead of one of the top round guys, I want a top class cornerback as much as the next Patriots fan. What I am hoping to do is just show you one of the players who I took a shine to at the combine, who, if they took him later on, I’d be interested to see what he can do on an NFL field.
If you like your stats, then I can tell you he measures in at 6’1 3/8”. At the combine, his bench rep number was 17, he ran his 40 in 4.54 and had a one handed catch on his short zone break. His gauntlet was smooth, and his backpedal on the short zone break was really good. He had great ball skills and he stood out to me.
Okay, so that is only a small window into what a player can do, and I fully appreciate that. As fans, there is only so much we have access to, and this is just my opinion folks.
PFF have him ranked at 177, his pros are that he tracks the ball well, like a wide receiver – great for interceptions. He is a willing hitter, so has quality form as a tackler, but he is an average athlete. I don’t know about you, but those pluses sound rather good, and maybe the athleticism thing could be worked on?
Like I said, this is just an opinion piece to get your pondering juices flowing, and I hope you enjoyed it! Keep your eyes peeled as I delve into the draft class of 2022 a little more for some light entertainment!