NFL Draft- Cornerbacks

The 2008 cornerback draft class was extremely strong. There were 5 corners taken in the first round, followed by another 5 taken in the second round. Although there are probably no shut down corners in this draft, there could end up being some future very good NFL cover corners that were selected in this draft.

With the 11th pick in the draft, the Buffalo Bills selected Troy's Leodis McKelvin. McKelvin is very athletic, he is very fast, and is a very good cover man. McKelvin can also be a dynamic return man for Buffalo. The knock on McKelvin is his ball skills. McKelvin does not anticipate routes well and he does have trouble coming up with interceptions, evidenced by his 4 interceptions in his whole career at Troy. Also, McKelvin may initially struggle as he did not play against the best of competition at Troy. However, once he makes the adjustment, he could form one of the NFL's better secondaries, teaming with Terrence McGee and Donte Whitner to help the Bills come up with more turnovers and stop the passing game.

With the 16th pick in the draft, the Arizona Cardinals selected Tennessee State's Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Rodgers-Cromartie will have to deal with the same criticism as McKelvin, as he also did not play against top-notch competition in college. However, there is a whole lot to love about him. He has excellent speed and size, and he possesses very good ball skills and he has the ability to be a very good return man in the NFL, something Arizona desperately needs. If Rodgers-Cromartie can add a little bulk to his frame, he is the only corner in this draft with Champ Bailey-like potential. Rodgers-Cromartie has the potential to be one of the best cornerbacks and return men in the NFL.

At pick 20, Kansas cornberback Aqib Talib was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Talib is tailor made for Tampa's Cover 2 scheme. He has excellent size, is a very good athlete, and has exceptional ball skills. Talib also could offer Tampa Bay an option to become a return man. The knock on Talib is his focus. There are some off-field drug issues, and on the field, Talib has the tendency to get beat deap too often. However, in Tampa Bay's Cover 2 defense, Talib should have much better safety help than he had at Kansas, which should allow him to come up with more interceptions and pass breakups. If Talib can put the off-field issues to rest, he will be a very good starting cornerback for the Bucs.

With the 25th pick in the NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys selected South Florida's Mike Jenkins. Jenkins is an excellent athlete, he possesses great speed and has good size for a corner. Jenkins also offers the versatility to play safety for Dallas if too many injuries arise. While Jenkins has the athleticism to be a shutdown corner, he will need to improve his awareness and ball skills to reach his potential, which is immense.

The last cornerback taken in the first round was Arizona's Antoine Cason. Cason, taken by the San Diego Chargers with the 28th pick, had a fantastic career at Arizona, finishing his career with 71 tackles, 14 pass breakups, 5 interceptions (2 returned for touchdowns), and 2 forced fumbles. Cason is a very athletic corner, although he does lack breakaway speed. What separates him from other corners are his tremendous ball skills and his football smarts and awareness. Cason had 15 interceptions in four years at Arizona. Cason will also help San Diego in the running game, as he is a good tackler. Cason could end up being the missing piece on a team that seems just baby steps away from a Super Bowl.

The Kansas City Chiefs continued their excellent draft in the second round, selecting cornerback Brandon Flowers from Virginia Tech. Despite his small stature, Flowers is a strong, big-hitting corner. He has shown good ball skills as well, as he had 5 interceptions and 9 pass breakups last year. If Flowers wants to be a starting NFL corner, he will need to get faster. Once that happens, Flowers will be a strong support for the Chiefs run defense, and he will also be a physical corner that will disrupt receivers' routes.

With the 40th overall selection, the New Orleans Saints continued to strengthen their defense, selecting Indiana's Tracy Porter. Porter is an excellent athlete, possessing incredible ball skills. Porter also can benefit New Orleans in the return game, as he returned punts at IU. While he is very good in coverage, Porter will need to be able to get stronger to bump receivers and blanket the more physical receivers in order to be an exceptional NFL starting corner. That being said, there is a lot about Porter, who has the ability to become a good NFL starter.

With the 60th selection in the draft, the Green Bay Packers made Auburn's Patrick Lee the next corner selected. Lee is a corner with a lot of upside. He has good size, speed, and athleticism to become a starter in the NFL. In order for that to happen, Lee must develop his weak ball skills, and become more consistent, which plagued him at Auburn. That being said, Lee will have time to develop behind Al Harris and Charles Woodson in Green Bay, and should develop into a solid starting cornerback.

The 2008 NFL Draft was extremely deep and talented in terms of cornerbacks. Other notables selected were Colorado's Terrence Wheatley (New England Patriots), USC's Terrell Thomas (NY Giants), Iowa's Charles Godfrey (Carolina Panthers), LSU's Chevis Jackson (Atlanta Falcons), Oklahoma's Reggie Smith (San Francisco 49ers), and Penn State's Justin King (St. Louis Rams). All the corners named all have chances to become NFL starters, while others, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Leodis McKelvin, have chances to become shut down corners if they can adjust to the NFL game.

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