NFL Draft Preview-Cornerbacks

NFL Draft Preview - Cornerbacks

Of all the talent available on the boards, this year's cornerback class could potentially be the most stocked besides maybe the quarterback class. Some mock drafts are predicting as many as six or seven cornerbacks to be taken in the first round. This would be significant as there hasn't been six or more corners taken first round since the 2005 draft headed by Pacman Jones.

I'm willing to bet any amount of money that Ohio State' Jeff Okudah will be the first corner taken this year. Okudah has seen three years of action with the Buckeyes, and his 34 tackles with three picks last season and his ability to shut down any receiver he's lined up against have seemingly locked him into being the top prospect. Once we get outside of Okudah, however, there is some uncertainty as to who will be taken next.

Florida's CJ Henderson, LSU's Kristian Fulton, Alabama's Trevon Diggs, TCU's Jeff Gladney and Clemson's A.J. Terrell could all potentially be second off the board for the cornerbacks. I personally believe that it will either be Henderson or Diggs due to their size advantage with their quickness, although Terrell could be a sneak pick also. I'm not quite as high on the idea of six cornerbacks being drafted in the first round, but with 15 teams appearing to need to beef up their cornerback core, it could be a possibility.

Looking a little bit deeper into the class, I'm really high on Cameron Dantzler from Mississippi State and Luq Barcoo from San Diego State. Dantzler lit it up during Pro Day, clocking a 4.38 with his 40 yard dash time. He saw his time limited last season due to a suspension, but he made the most of his time on the field. Dantzler has five career picks in three years and 31 games with at least one per year. He also had 43 tackles in a full 13 game season in 2018 before grabbing 40 tackles in only nine games last season.

Barcoo's only downside is coming from San Diego State, and that is only from an attention perspective. He's coming off an outstanding season with 55 tackles. He was also tied for the NCAA lead in interceptions with nine picks on the year. I'm not quite sure why most mock drafts have him so low on their boards. However, I fully expect him to be the golden steal of the draft class coming from the later rounds.