1. Darqueze Dennard, Michigan State

Notes: Naturally sticky, aggressive press corner with excellent functional strength. Confident and has a high football IQ, reads wideouts well and seldom gets fooled. Uses his hands a great deal which could cause issues. Lacks great long speed (4.51) and length (just under 5’11”), though he really does play bigger than his size. Has a chance to be elite if he cleans up the grabby-ness.

Projection: Late 1st-2nd

2. Jason Verrett, TCU

Notes: Incredibly fluid and instinctive, naturally sticky man-cover corner with active eyes and great hands. Elite quickness, bundled with fast-twitch muscle. Short (5’9”) and short-armed with a small, maxed-out frame, coming off shoulder surgery.

Projection: 2nd round

3. Kyle Fuller, Virginia Tech

Notes: Long (6’), long-armed athlete with two brothers in NFL already. Best in off-man and zone, lacks functional strength in press-man and has tight hips that cause struggles vs. quicker receivers. Natural fit and immediate starter for zone-heavy teams, though he’s not great vs. the run. Confident and professional.

Projection: Top 25 pick

4. Bradley Roby, Ohio State

Notes: Top CB entering ’13 but didn’t play to expectations, was more passive and guessed too much. Outstanding, explosive athlete with elite long speed and good short-area quickness. Hyper-aggressive, tries to jump routes and bait QBs; get his hands on a lot of throws. Very hit/miss but highest upside in class.

Projection: Late 1st round

5. Bashaud Breeland, Clemson

Notes: Late-blooming athlete with good instincts and eyes in coverage. Quicker-than-fast but has chase gear. Needs to fill out his frame and continue to evolve. Opponents speak highly of him. Fits best in zone. Arrow pointing up. 

Projection: 2nd-3rd round

6. Pierre Desir, Lindenwood

Notes: Long, lanky small-schooler with great size/speed. Older (will be 24 as rookie) and must adjust to major jump in level of competition. Smart, mature, and hungry, with decent instincts and drool-worthy athletic metrics. A higher-end Darius Slay who might similarly struggle early.

Projection: 2nd round

7. Justin Gilbert, Oklahoma State

Notes: Outstanding athlete who dramatically improved as a football player in ’13. Has great length and speed, also an accomplished return man and special teams cover unit fixture. Doesn’t play big until the ball is in the air and is often weak vs. run. Struggles badly when receivers break inside or cross him, his hips are a tight mess. Won’t be able to recover as quickly against NFL talent, but arrow is pointing up.

Projection: Top 15 pick

8. Jaylen Watkins, Florida

Notes: Versatile, smart cover man who predominately played safety for the Gators despite being hands-down the most instinctive corner on the roster. Has quick feet and big, soft hands. Lacks great size/speed and can be passive at times. Should blossom if given one fixed role, something he never got at UF. A vastly superior football player to more celebrated Gator mates Robison and Purifoy, both of which will be mistakenly drafted before him on better athletic metrics. 

Projection: Late 3rd-4th round

9. Lamarcus Joyner, Florida State

Notes: Innate playmaker with exceptional closing burst and big pop for his size (5’8”, 184). Very smart, very aggressive. Not exceptionally quick laterally or fast in chase situations, relies on positioning and reading the QB. Might be best in hybrid safety/slot nickel role, cannot play outside in the NFL. Has some Tyrann Mathieu to his game, but smaller. 

Projection: 50-75 overall

10. E.J. Gaines, Missouri

Notes: Functionally strong thumper with excellent route recognition and pre-snap reading skills. Plays at his best vs. big (literally) NFL competition like J. Blackmon and Mike Evans, who he erased from the field (2 catches, 4 yards). Average athlete, better pre-throw than with ball in air. Strong vs. run. Outside press-man corner in a slot corner body. Bonus for strong special teams experience. 

Projection: 2nd-3rd round, could slide due to injury that forced him to miss Combine workouts

11. Nevin Lawson, Utah State

Notes: Cat-quick ballhawk with long arms and excellent burst in any direction. Steadily improved his route recognition and technique thru his four years, shows savvy and coachability. Productive with 24 PDs and 9 TFLs in ‘12/13. Stood out in both Shrine and Senior Bowl weeks for his quickness and ball skills, although he doesn’t catch well. Ideal slot corner with rare experience pressing and blitzing from there already.

Projection: 4th-5th round sleeper you want on your team

12. Philip Gaines, Rice

Notes: Lanky, long, experienced man-cover corner that projects better to zone or off-man in the NFL. Better with ball in the air than before throw, average instincts but quick reactions. Slight frame that will always lack strength and missed games in 4 of his 5 seasons at Rice with injuries. Opportunistic and smart.

Projection: 5th-6th round despite what Draft Twitter will have you believe

13. Walt Aikens, Liberty

Notes: Illinois transfer with excellent size/speed/strength. Plays fast and strong, but struggled badly during Senior Bowl week until final day. Lots to work with here, but he needs lots of polish and patient, supportive coaching and shouldn’t play other than special teams as a rookie. Love his long-term prognosis, eventual starting caliber. 

Projection: 4th-5th round

14. Victor Hampton, South Carolina

Notes: Hyper-aggressive, physical cover man with long arms and great functional strength. Great vs. run. Has major character flags including an April 6 arrest. A strong locker room with a tough-love coach could produce an above-average starter, but he’s got to grow up. The on-field skills are there. 

Projection: UDFA due to character

15. Keith McGill, Utah

Notes: Giant for the position at 6’3” and 211 but also has great explosive athleticism. Plays physical but is almost too big, struggles badly vs. agile receivers due to a long stride and tight ankles. Might be a better safety, though his instincts are only average. Poor hands. Overaged at 25. Needs to play press man or else he’s wasted.

Projection: 3rd round

16. Aaron Colvin, Oklahoma

Notes: Assertive, intelligent football player with good route recognition and active eyes. Strong tackler, plays big despite being only 5’11” and 177 lbs. Adept in both man and zone, better vs. bigger guys but can struggle against quickness. Shows stiffness as an athlete and that is exacerbated by tearing his ACL during Senior Bowl week, likely washes out his rookie year.

Projection: Pre-injury was a solid 3rd rounder, now likely late 4th at the earliest

17. Ricardo Allen, Purdue

Notes: Undersized playmaker with a very strong resume, 13 career INTs, 4 TDs and a 4-year starter. Outstanding closing burst vs. both the pass and run, one of the best hitters in this class despite being among the smallest guys at 5’9”. Has the lateral quicks to start right away in the slot, but long speed (4.61 is legit) is a real limitation. Compares to Detroit’s Bill Bentley, only slower.

Projection: 6th-7th round

18. Stanley Jean-Baptiste

Notes: Possesses outstanding size at 6’2” and a sturdy 218 pounds. Plays fast and has experience in all sorts of coverages. Fairly fluid mover, can turn and run though lacking in short-area burst. Lacks instincts. Was an underachiever most of his career, didn’t start full-time until ’13. Has tiny hands (8.5”) for his length. Other than about 5 games his senior year he looked nothing like a NFL prospect except for his size. Caveat draftor. 

Projection: 2nd-early 3rd round

19. Rashaad Reynolds, Oregon State

Notes: Inconsistently excellent, naturally sticky off-man corner with great hands and instincts. Not very strong and lacks deep speed, will need over-the-top help. Very good in the 5-15 yard range. Compares favorably to Denver’s Kayvon Webster.

Projection: 4th-5th round

20. Marcus Robison, Florida

Notes: Has some good tape and some awful tape. Better athlete than football player but has great length/speed package. Good hands & closing burst to ball. Has durability and character issues that persisted throughout his Gator career. Excellent special-teamer builds in some insurance. 

Projection: Tough call. Could go top 50, could fall to the 4th-5th round.

The Rest

21. Andre Hal, Vanderbilt

22. Shaquille Richardson, Arizona

23. Terrance Mitchell, Oregon

24. Bene Benwikere, San Jose State

25. Antone Exum, Virginia Tech

26. Qua Cox, Jackson State

27. Chris Davis, Auburn

28. Donate Johnson, North Carolina State

29. Travis Carrie, Ohio University

Notes: Would rank significantly higher (above Jean-Baptiste for sure), but a litany of injury and durability concerns severely limit his draftability. Big (6’0”, 210) playmaker with great special teams value

30. Louchiez Purifoy, Florida

31. Carrington Byndom, Texas

32. Ross Cockrell, Duke

33. Marcus Williams, North Dakota State

34. Dexter McDougle, Maryland

35. Bennett Jackson, Notre Dame

36. Deion Belue, Alabama

37. Ciante Evans, Nebraska

38. Keon Lyn, Syracuse

39. Jabari Price, North Carolina

40. Lavelle Westbrooks, Georgia Southern

41. Brandon Dixon, NW Missouri State

42. Jimmy Legree, South Carolina

43. Bookie Snead, Sam Houston State

44. Demetri Goodson, Baylor

45. Mohammed Seisay, Nebraska