Will The Kansas City Chiefs Draft A Cornerback In The First Round?
Nov 22, 2014; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans cornerback Trae Waynes (15) stands on the field between plays during the1st half of a game at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Trae Waynes – Michigan State – 6’0″ 186 lbs
4.31 forty, 19 bench press reps, 38″ vertical, 4.19 20 yard shuttle
Trae Waynes is widely (but not universally) considered the top CB in the 2015 draft class. Most mock drafts have him going in the 10-20 range, so of all the CBs that we’ll look at he is the most likely to be off the board when the Chiefs pick.
What Others Are Saying:
"Excellent size and length for the position. Experienced working on an island and plays with confidence. Does an excellent job using his body and length to gain inside leverage and keep outside receivers from getting comfortable vertically."
"He’s a bump-and-run cornerback with the length, deep speed and confidence to handle himself down the field against speed. Waynes plays too handsy for NFL officials and that could show up on Sundays."
What I Saw On Tape:
Before I talk specifically about Waynes, let me take a second to plug draftbreakdown.com for any “armchair scouts” out there that want to watch game tape on prospects. They have multiple video cut ups on all the top prospects. That’s where I watched tape on all of these CBs. Now back to Waynes…
I watched his games against Nebraska, Ohio State, Baylor, and Oregon. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed. That’s not because I think he’s a bad prospect or didn’t show real ability, but considering the fact that I’m seeing him mocked as high as pick 11 to the Vikings, I was expecting more. For a CB to go that high I would expect him to be an absolute lock down CB in college. While Waynes has the size and speed to compete on the outside at the NFL level he’s definitely not a finished project technique wise. The Baylor game in particular wasn’t very impressive. That having been said, he’s clearly comfortable on an island against good WRs and guys with his size/speed/man to man coverage skills are hard to come by.
I think Waynes is definitely a first round prospect but I have a problem saying that he’s clearly the best CB in the class as some are saying. After watching all five guys I think the only thing Waynes has over the other four is straight line speed. I think Waynes would be a great pick where the Chiefs are picking, but if they were picking ten spots higher I’m not sure I’d feel the same way.
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