NFL Draft — Cornerbacks

Athlon Sports’ 2008 NFL Mock Draft and Top 100 prospect database will be unveiled on Friday, Feb. 15. Until then, we will be taking a look back at the past five NFL Drafts — with a position-by-position breakdown of the players taken in the Top 100 and first round, along with a sneak preview of the 2008 NFL Draft class.

Corner the Market

One of the most demanding positions in football, cornerbacks are often “on an island” matched up one-on-one against physical freaks like Randy Moss, Plaxico Burress and Terrell Owens. Since corners must read and react to the receiver they’re running with, they need change-of-direction agility as well as straight-line speed. Size helps but can be overcome by aggressive play and leaping ability.

One skill that cannot be measured or underestimated is mental toughness. No matter how skilled or prepared, every cornerback in the league will get burned for a big play or a touchdown. When that happens, the corner has to let it go and move on to the next play. Shaky cornerbacks are easily exposed and can be picked on for the duration of scoring drives or even entire games.

The rare blend of skills needed to play corner has made it one of the NFL’s premier positions. Last offseason, Nate Clements became the highest-paid defensive player in league history — leaving the Bills to sign an eight-year, $80 million deal with the 49ers as an unrestricted free agent. This year, Patriots lockdown corner Asante Samuel is expected to sign a similar contract.

The 2008 NFL Draft cornerback class is led by the trio of Kansas ironman Aqib Talib, South Florida showstopper Mike Jenkins and Troy legacy Leodis McKelvin. Along with their coverage skills, all three have experience in the return game — adding to their draft value. There is also one sleeper to keep an eye on. Tennessee State’s Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (a distant cousin of Chargers’ All-Pro Antonio Cromartie and new training partner of future Hall of Famer Deion Sanders) was the standout corner at this year’s Senior Bowl.

	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003
1st Round	3	4	5	4	5
Top 100	10	11	19	12	13

Over the past five years, an average of 13 cornerbacks have been selected in the Top 100 picks — which is roughly the first three rounds — of the NFL Draft. Of those, an average of four corners per year have been first-round draft choices.

Elite level talent at corner is hard to find — there have been only six cornerbacks taken in the Top-10 picks over the last five years. But there has been a run on the position by teams selecting late in the first round — with 10 of the 21 corners drafted in the first round over the last five years taken between No. 20 and No. 32 overall.

2007	Player, School	Team (Pick)
1st Round	Darrelle Revis, Pitt Leon Hall, Michigan Aaron Ross, Texas	Jets (14) Bengals (18) Giants (20)
Top 100	Chris Houston, Ark. Eric Wright, UNLV Josh Wilson, Maryland Usama Young, Kent St Marcus McCauley, FSU Jonathan Wade, Tenn. Daymeion Hughes, Cal	Falcons (41) Browns (53) Hawks (55) Saints (66) Vikings (72) Rams (84) Colts (95)

Many expected the top corner prospects in 2007 to go in the mid-to-late first round. Revis, Hall and Ross all lived up to their draft status as rookies, with Ross playing a major role as a starting corner for the Super Bowl XLII champion N.Y. Giants. A fourth potential first-rounder, Houston, slid into the second round after concerns over his college scheme and similarities to former Hog wash first-rounder Ahmad Carroll. Many thought that Wright (a USC transfer) had first round talent, but off-field issues led to a falling draft stock.

2006	Player, School	Team (Pick)
1st Round	Tye Hill, Clemson Antonio Cromartie, Florida State Johnathan Joseph, South Carolina Kelly Jennings, Miami	Rams (15) Chargers (19) Bengals (24) Seahawks (31)
Top 100	Jimmy Williams, Virginia Tech Cedric Griffin, Texas Devin Hester, Miami Richard Marshall, Fresno State Tim Jennings, Georgia Ashton Youboty, Ohio State David Pittman, Northwestern State	Falcons (37) Vikings (48) Bears (57) Panthers (58) Colts (62) Bills (70) Ravens (87)

Coming off of knee surgery, Cromartie was a risk-reward pick that has paid huge dividends for the Chargers. After seeing limited action as a rookie, Cromartie established himself as one of the top corners in the game — recording 10 interceptions during the regular season and three more in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Hester was a college corner drafted primarily as a return specialist, where he has become arguably the best of all-time — with seven punt, four kickoff and one missed field goal return for touchdowns in two seasons.

2005	Player, School	Team (Pick)
1st Round	Pacman Jones, West Virginia Antrel Rolle, Miami Carlos Rogers, Auburn Fabian Washington, Nebraska Marlin Jackson, Michigan	Titans (6) Cardinals (8) Redskins (9) Raiders (23) Colts (29)
Top 100	Stanford Routt, Houston Corey Webster, LSU Ronald Bartell, Howard Darrent Williams, Oklahoma State Justin Miller, Clemson Kelvin Hayden, Illinois Bryant McFadden, Florida State Stanley Wilson, Stanford Eric Green, Virginia Tech Karl Paymah, Washington State Dustin Fox, Ohio State Ellis Hobbs, Iowa State Scott Starks, Wisconsin Dominique Foxworth, Maryland	Raiders (38) Giants (43) Rams (50) Broncos (56) Jets (57) Colts (60) Steelers (62) Lions (72) Cardinals (75) Broncos (76) Vikings (80) Patriots (84) Jaguars (87) Broncos (97)

An epic cornerback class — with 19 taken in the Top 100 picks, including five in the first round. Three of the six corners drafted in the Top 10 overall in the past five years come from this group.

Pacman, Rolle and Rogers have had their share of troubles, however. As notorious as Jones has become, when he did play he was as talented on the field as he was reckless off of it. But after a season-long suspension, his NFL eligibility and team status (Return to Titans? Trade to Cowboys or Broncos?) is up in the air. Rolle had three INT-return TDs in 2007 but may be headed to the safety spot, which was rumored even before he was drafted. Rogers suffered a season-ending knee injury during a 52–7 loss to the Patriots this year.

Outside of the big three, Miller has become a Pro Bowl return man for the Jets, Webster had two interceptions in the playoffs during the Giants’ Super Bowl run, Williams was fatally wounded in a drive-by shooting on New Year’s Eve 2006 and the 17th cornerback selected, Hobbs, was beaten by Plaxico Burress on the winning touchdown of Super Bowl XLII. In all fairness, Hobbs did start all 16 games this year and has played in 47-of-48 games since being drafted by the Patriots.

2004	Player, School	Team (Pick)
1st Round	DeAngelo Hall, Virginia Tech Dunta Robinson, South Carolina Ahmad Carroll, Arkansas Chris Gamble, Ohio State	Falcons (8) Texans (10) Packers (25) Panthers (28)
Top 100	Ricardo Colclough, Tusculum Keiwan Ratliff, Florida Shawntae Spencer, Pittsburgh Joey Thomas, Montana State Keith Smith, McNeese State Derrick Strait, Oklahoma Jeremy LeSueur, Michigan Rich Gardner, Penn State	Steelers (38) Bengals (49) 49ers (58) Packers (70) Lions (73) Jets (76) Broncos (85) Titans (92)

Hall inherited Deion’s old No. 21 jersey in Atlanta and recently won a season-long public war of words with former coach Bobby Petrino. In between those two distinctions, Hall has snagged 17 interceptions over four seasons, earned the title of NFL’s Fastest Man and been to two Pro Bowls. Meanwhile, Robinson and Gamble have been solid, Carroll’s been a bust and Colclough has won a Super Bowl ring. A Thorpe Award winner with the Sooners, Strait proves that college production does not always translate to NFL success.

2003	Player, School	Team (Pick)
1st Round	Terence Newman, Kansas State Marcus Trufant, Washington State Andre Woolfolk, Oklahoma Sammy Davis, Texas A&M Nnamdi Asomugha, California	Cowboys (5) Seahawks (11) Titans (28) Chargers (30) Raiders (31)
Top 100	Charles Tillman, UL Lafayette Eugene Wilson, Illinois Rashean Mathis, Bethune-Cookman Drayton Florence, Tuskegee Ricky Manning Jr., UCLA Donald Strickland, Colorado Julian Battle, Tennessee Dennis Weathersby, Oregon State	Bears (35) Patriots (36) Jaguars (39) Chargers (46) Panthers (82) Colts (90) Chiefs (92) Bengals (98)

No one can fault the Cowboys selection of Newman, who was a Thorpe Award winner before becoming a Pro Bowl corner. Still, small school sleeper Mathis has turned out to be the top cover corner from the Class of 2003 despite having seven cornerbacks selected ahead of him — including five in the first round. An All-Pro selection in 2006, Mathis has 21 interceptions over five seasons.

But, as is the case with all dominant corners, Mathis’ numbers do not fully explain his impact on games. Essentially shutting down one side of the field, quarterbacks avoided testing Mathis, who had just one pick in 2007 after tying for second in the league (with classmate Asomugha) with eight INTs in 2006.

Wilson has been a regular at corner and safety for the Patriots' recent postseason runs, Tillman has been a turnover machine for the Monsters of the Midway, while Manning's claim to fame is a three-interception game against Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb in the NFC Championship Game as a rookie in Carolina before joining Tillman in Chicago.

Keep checking AthlonSports.com for ongoing NFL Draft coverage:

Safeties Cornerbacks Linebackers Defensive Ends Defensive Tackles Offensive Linemen Tight Ends Wide Receivers Running Backs Quarterbacks 2008 NFL Mock Draft

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