Month: February 2015

The Sports Quotient’s annual NFL Draft Preview series has returned. Each week, we will analyze the top NFL prospects at each position. This week, the focus is on cornerbacks. Today’s prospect is Quinten Rollins, out of Miami (OH) University.

College Career

Prior to the 2014 season, Quentin Rollins was known more for his play on the hardwood than on the gridiron. He started at point guard for the Redhawks basketball team for four seasons and was a key contributor throughout his career. Rollins decided to play football as a fifth year senior, after not playing football since his senior year of high school in 2009. His success after such a considerable layoff was extremely impressive. Rollins tied for third in the nation with seven interceptions and was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year. 

Pros

The quality that separates Rollins from the rest of the pack is his excellent ball-handling skills, evidenced by his seven interceptions in 2014. His experience handling the ball as a point guard certainly helped his development in this area. 

He has good size for the cornerback position, at 5’11” – 195 pounds, and he is a willing tackler and does not shy away from contact. The fact that Rollins was so successful after not playing football for over four years will entice many teams, with the idea being that he is only scratching the surface of his potential. Rollins’s ceiling is very high.

Cons

Many scouts doubted his long speed prior to the combine, and his 4.57 second 40-yard dash time is not going to alleviate any of these concerns. Rollins’s lack of experience playing football at an elite level is also a big question mark, and even when he did play collegiately, he was not playing in a Power 5 conference against top-flight competition.

Draft Grade

Rollins certainly has his flaws, but his upside will make him an attractive mid-round prospect come draft day. Currently, I have him ranked as the #8 corner and have him slotted in the middle of the 3rd round.

Mike Mayock, my personal favorite draft analyst, believes Rollins will go higher than many people think, and I tend to agree. After the first tier of cornerback prospects is off the board (Trae Waynes, Marcus Peters, Jalen Collins, Kevin Johnson, among others), many teams will take a long look at Rollins because of his untapped potential. 

Best Fit

Rollins does not have elite long speed and shouldn’t be left on an island without safety help. However, he would be a great fit in a system that allows him to be aggressive on short, intermediate routes and fully utilize his outstanding ball-handling skills. 

The San Diego Chargers would be a nice landing spot for Rollins with the 83rd-overall pick (3rd round). They have Eric Weddle at safety to help over the top, giving Rollins the freedom to be aggressive underneath. 

This is another edition of our new daily feature: a look at NFL prospects ahead of the 2015 Draft. Each week, we will analyze our top-five prospects at each position, one per day. This is the second week of this series, and we will be looking at cornerbacks. Today’s corner is Trae Waynes out of Michigan State University.

College Career

Despite being only a two-year starter at MSU, Waynes established himself as one of the best cover corners in the nation that will be worthy of a first-round pick this spring. After being redshirted his freshman season and primarily playing special teams a season later, Waynes got his opportunity in 2013 as a redshirt sophomore. The defensive back would start in every game, recording 50 tackles, three INTs, and five passes defended. His good work earned him honorable mention on the All-Big-Ten team. After star corner Darqueze Dennard left for the NFL following the 2013 season, the defensive backfield was now led by Waynes. His finale as a Spartan this past year would not disappoint: he totaled 46 tackles, eight passes broken up, and three more interceptions. Waynes would receive several accolades in 2014 that included second-team All-American honors and first-team All-Big-Ten honors. He also was named a Thorpe Award semifinalist, given to the nation’s best corner annually. 

Pros

With today’s NFL game being pass oriented, corners like Waynes are extremely valuable. Waynes is a big corner in terms of height (6’0″, 186 lbs), and his size is well represented in the way he plays. This is a physical corner that has no fear of hitting opposing players and getting his hands on opposing receivers. Waynes flourishes as a man-to-man corner due to the fact he played a lot of press man in college under defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi. Rarely do you see this kid give an inch when it’s one on one; he does a tremendous job of mirroring defenders and using his speed to run stride for stride. As we saw at the Combine, Waynes can fly. He ran the best 40 time of any defensive back last weekend, clocking in at a 4.31 official time. 

The former Spartan also understands how to use that speed to finish plays. Getting out of his backpedal, Waynes knows how to close and break on the football. This ability shows he can anticipate routes thanks to superb play-recognition skills. Again, playing under one of the finest defensive coaches in the nation in Narduzzi (now the head coach at Pittsburgh) cannot be emphasized enough. What you have to love most about Waynes’s game is his ball skills—he just has a knack for finding the football in the air and being in the right place to make a play. That’s the kind of reputation you want to have going into the next level. If you get the chance, watch what Waynes did against Penn State this year. I think the footage from that game is a good representation of what he brings to the table. This play was a personal favorite of mine:

Cons

The San Francisco 49ers are expected to release WR Stevie Johnson in the coming days. Cutting Johnson would save the 49ers $5.5 Million in cap space, potentially freeing up money to invest in free agent WRs. Michael Crabtree is a free agent this off-season, though it is possible they would not want to continue to invest in Crabtree.

Johnson found his way to San Francisco via a trade with the Buffalo Bills on draft day last season. After selecting Sammy Watkins with the #4 overall pick, the Bills traded the slot receiver to San Francisco for a conditional 4th-round pick. Johnson did not meet performance thresholds which could have made the pick a 3rd-rounder. 

Pro Football Focus ranked Johnson 22nd of all wide receivers that took at least 25% of snaps this season, good for a score of 6.0. Only Anquan Boldin (18th and 6.6) preformed better for the 49ers. Michael Crabtree ranked 95th with a score of -7.3. 

Johnson caught 35 passes on 49 targets, including 3 TDs, for 435 yards this season for San Francisco. He only dropped 2 passes, good for the best catch percentage on the team. 

The Atlanta Falcons cut defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi after three seasons.
He was drafted in 2012 out of Troy.
Massaquoi had two sacks last season and has six sacks in three seasons.
Massaquoi’s work habits last season drew rebukes from the old coaching staff.
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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun
 

The Miami Dolphins are overhauling their receiving corps.
They cut Brian Hartline. Now, they’ve cut Brandon Gibson.
Gibson had a $3.26 million salary and a salary cap figure of $4.3 million.
Gibson caught 29 passes for 295 yards and a touchdown last season, but he was trumped by rookie Jarvis Landry on the depth chart.
The Dolphins are open to trading, restructuring, cutting or keeping disgruntled wide receiver Mike Wallace.
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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun

The Cleveland Browns signed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears quarterback Josh McCown.
The 35-year-old also visited the Buffalo Bills and met with the Bears and New York Jets.
He went 1-10 as a starter last year in Tampa Bay.
“Josh is your consummate professional,” Browns general manager Ray Farmer said. “He’s known to be a great guy in the locker room and will be great for the quarterback room. He knows how to get an entire offense on the same page and get a team to rally behind him. He has been exposed to a lot of different types of offenses and we think still has the drive and skill set to be a successful quarterback in this league. We are excited to get him and believe he will help continue to move us in the right direction and help us build the type of team that will bring winning football to Cleveland.”
“I just want to serve our team and help everybody in that locker room, do my best to help everybody in the locker room be better at their job and they’re going to help me, too,” McCown said. “It’s a two-way street. In my room, I want to be able to help those young guys and pass along my knowledge and experiences I’ve had and help them grow.”
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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun

The Arizona Cardinals cut defensive tackle Darnell Dockett heading into the final year of his contract.
Dockett was due $6.8 million in his final season.
He was one of the highest paid players on the team.
Dockett is a three-time Pro Bowl selection.
“We have been very clear about our feelings for Darnell and our desire to have him back,” Cardinals general manager Steve Keim said in a statement. “After speaking with him and his representatives, we decided that this move today makes the most sense for both the team and the player and allows each to keep all of its options open.”
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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun

The Washington Redskins cut defensive end Stephen Bowen and nose tackle Barry Cofield.
They re-signed restricted free agent offensive tackle Tom Compton.
Bowen had an $8.02 million salary-cap figure. Cutting him saved $5.52 million against the cap.
By cutting both defensive linemen, the Redskins saved $9.72 million.
The Redskins signed defensive end Ricky Jean-Francois to a three-year, $9 million contract on Thursday.
Follow me on Twitter: @RavensInsider
Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun