Cornerbacks With Brian Kelly recently opting for Free Agent status and Ronde another year closer to joining his brother in retirement, corner could quickly become a question mark for the Buccaneers. It’s quite tough to predict draft slots for any position with about two months to go until draft day but with such a premium placed on speed at the corner position, combine performances can have a dramatic impact. DeAngelo Hall went from a late 1st round pick to a top 10 pick, the big difference was the speed that he displayed in the work outs. That said from games alone there are a number of corners that already stand out. If I was to pick two corners that I’m almost certain will get first round money they would be Leodis McKelvin (Troy) and local product Mike Jenkins (South Florida). Jenkins is very familiar with Raymond James Stadium having played for the South Florida Bulls, Jenkins is a very physically gifted corner who possess great speed and size. My concerns will Jenkins are that he has struggled at times when asked to play zone coverage (excels at bump & run) and his tackling is well below the required level and therefore his play in open space is a concern. As a cover corner Jenkins has a lot of value, add to this his explosiveness as a return man and he’s a first round pick. Leodis McKelvin is the another corner that can expect to go high in the draft, Leodis will probably be the highest draft pick that many people have not heard of, this is because he plays at Troy. McKelvin is maybe one of the best athletes in this draft, he is blessed with NFL speed, great size and his ability to fluidly change direction at speed makes him a special talent. Concerns with him have to be the level of competition that he has gone against, when I look at small school corners I always think of Jacksonville's Rashean Mathis who was obviously a talent prospect but it was always a question of who would pull the trigger and select the small school prospect first, with McKelvin I think that will be quite early. Antoine Cason (Arizona) is also one of the top prospects at this position, he has constantly been one of the better corners in college. He lacks the speed that most coaches are looking for which makes the combine very important for him. He projects well as a cover 2 corner but if his speed is at least adequate he could easily be gone in the first half of the 1st round. Would fit very nicely into the defensive schemes in Tampa, a prospect that some see more as a safety. There similar issues with Brandon Flowers (Virginia Tech), flowers is probably the most physical corner in this draft and is best suited to playing in a cover-2 system, he’s fundamentally sound which is what you would expect from a Virginia Tech defensive back and has a really good change of direction and terrific instincts for the position, the biggest question is if he has the speed needed to play corner at the NFL, if he can show he is quick enough he will continue to move up the draft boards, because on film his play is very impressive. One of the names that really interests me is Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Tennessee State), he played like a first round pick at the senior bowl but he’s a very raw talent, he is naturally very athletic and much like McKelvin is a smooth fluid runner. For me he is a pure playmaker, breaks on the ball at speed and just has great natural instincts for the game of football. He will however need a lot of refinement in his game, he also has played against very weak competition. I worry as I do with McKelvin that he is not physical enough to play the position and may need to bulk up to play in the NFL, how this will affect his speed would be a question for me. A few months back he would have been a sleeper, however following his play at the senior bowl and that he expected to test well at individual workouts, he will be a name to watch on day one of the draft. Two prospects who could quite high in the draft would be Aqib Talib (Kansas) and Reggie Smith (Oklahoma). I really like Talib, he is a tall athlete with long arms, making him a great body type for a corner in the NFL, he is best suited to playing in zone coverage. The biggest knock of Talib will be that he doesn’t possess top end speed and therefore probably wont test well at the combine, I think that he has al lot of the skills required to be a very good corner but he needs to be more disciplined with his play as he tends to be lazy at times. Reggie Smith could actually end up playing safety but has played both positions in colleges, he is best suited to playing in zone coverage and is a threat to score if he gets his hands on a turnover. As with Talib he doesn’t have elite speed and therefore could be exploited by the faster wide receivers in the NFL, with his ability to support that run some will be eager to move him to safety but he has shown enough at corner to be given a chance at that position. In the middle rounds of the draft, three prospects look interesting to me Justin King (Penn State), Trae Williams (South Florida) and Patrick Lee (Auburn). Justin King was an all-star recruit coming out of high school with every major program wanting him. He is a junior who has come out too early but he has plenty of talent and could prove to be a good pick up in the mid-rounds of the draft. He is a great athlete who has the tools to be an elite corner but his production at Penn State was not at the level expected, will need to work on his technique but the raw materials of a top corner are available in King. Williams is a very physical corner who is probably a bit on the short side, he isn’t the athlete or the prospect that his team mate Mike Jenkins is but he has shown to be a ballhawk who can make game changing plays. I like what I have seen from Partick Lee out of Auburn, he looks to have many of the traits that are looked for in a corner but with really only one year of starting experience it’s difficult to get a clear indication of how good he really is. We do know that he’s a physical corner who is fast and at corner that is at a premium in this draft, he would contribute on special teams from day one. Some later round prospect that are intriguing include DeJuan Tribble (Boston College) and Jack Ikegwuonu (Wisconsin). Tribble is a physical corner that will fight for every ball, he might lack some of the physical skills that are looked for but he just makes plays, he also has some value as a return man. Ikegwuonu is a late round prospect that breaks well on the ball and can support the run, lacks great speed and has some character issues that will need addressing but I can see someone taking a chance on him. Safeties This year’s safety class is just poor, only one true safety prospect looks like he could go in the first round. With the improved play of the Tampa’s safeties, thankfully it is not a great need this year because there’s not much talent to pick from. Kenny Phillips is the latest in a long line of high quality safeties to come out of Miami following on from Sean Taylor and Ed Reed, he has the size, speed and athletic ability that most NFL defensive coordinators desire. Phillips has a tendency to be too aggressive at time and at the next level his athletic ability will not be enough to stop big plays resulting from this over aggressiveness. He has a great combination of skills for the free safety position and because of this should be a late first round pick. With the play of Jackson last year this is a luxury the Buccaneers can’t afford. After Phillips the drop off in talent is huge, names that will be worth watching in the run up to draft day would include Thomas DeCoud (Cal) who is a big hitter who has good speed, he’s great in run support but really struggles in pass coverage. Jonathan Hefney (Tennessee ) could be one of the better prospects at this position available has good natural instincts for the game but at safety his lack of size will probably count against him. Quentin Morgan (UTEP) is an interesting prospect, great instincts with excellent range but he lacks speed and just really isn’t a great athlete like some other prospects, hard worker who could help on special teams. Tom Zbikowski (Notre Dame) will get mentioned with the safety class but he’s not a prospect I really like, he is short and slow which isn’t a good combination for the NFL, very hard worker but I’m not sure that will be enough. Marcus Griffin (Texas), his twin brother was drafted by the Titans last year, Griffin is the next off the production line out of Texas. His physical skills are not at the top end of the scale, he is a tough tackler who at a minimum will help on special teams, while he is nowhere close to the prospect his brother was I think he is currently underrated. Summary: This draft is deep and talented at corner, but a number of these corners might suffer from lack of speed, the safety class is one of the most disappointing aspects of this draft, if you want a defensive back this year a corner is the best option. Defensive Back Draft Pick I would like: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, his raw skills are just exciting, get him with a good coach and he could be an excellent corner. Defensive Back Draft Pick I would hate: Any safety taken on the first day. Defensive Back I like more than most: Justin King, has the physical tools, after spending time at wide receiver needs to focus on corner and sort out the mental approach to playing the position. Defensive Back I dislike more than most: Antoine Cason, if you draft a corner in the early rounds I don’t want him to need safety help over the top against fast wide receivers.