Chiefs portfolio: the corner on corners

Round Four- #126

Maurice Canady, 6-1, 193, Virginia

Zack Sanchez, 5-11, 185, Oklahoma

Ken Crawley, 6-0, 187, Colorado

Jonathan Jones, 5-9, 186, Auburn

D.J. White, 5-11, 193, Georgia Tech

Here, the three prospects I like are Maurice Canady, Ken Crawley and Jonathan Jones.

Ken Crawley ran a 4.43 40 yard dash at the combine and which got much attention including mine. After watching his tape, he’s someone I’d like to see in Red and Gold if it comes to that. He mirrors well and sometimes plays too far off his man as if to

bate the QB into throwing his way. His field awareness is excellent and he will drop off of his own man to step up and make a play on the receiver with the ball. I can even see him moving to safety if he were to bulk up a bit. More combine information on Ken Crawley here.

Maurice Canady is another favorite of mine. He had an excellent Senior Bowl week. Lance Zierlein of CBS Sports said, “Virginia’s Maurice Canady had people talking about his aggressiveness in one-on-one coverage.” It’s not insignificant that Canady came in the Senior Bowl week and shined because after watching his tape you can see that they had him playing a ton of “off-man” coverage and it very difficult to tell much about a corner playing in such a system. Mike Mayock of NFL.com said,

"“I really enjoyed watching Maurice Canady, the cornerback from Virginia. I really thought he stepped his game up in press coverage.”"

His .4.49 40 speed keeps him in consideration as a potential starter in the NFL but his ability to transition to the NFL game is the key. Now, I’m not talking about game speed. What I’m referring to is similar to a QB who has been in the shotgun his whole college career and he needs to learn the footwork, and be comfortable with the footwork while taking the ball from under center. Here, Canady needs to learn the mental toughness (habit) and the footwork of playing man coverage. The hard part for teams considering taking him is… will he be willing to make that transition once he begins to play that way… and sees first hand how hard it is. He has the physical tools and talent. Does he have that drive? More combine information on Maurice Canady here.

Jonathan Jones has it all… except size. His speed and quickness make him ideally suited to play the slot. He could hold up for a few plays outside because of his excellent man coverage skills. However, his size will be a disadvantage against most NFL wide receivers with any size at all.

My Fourth Round Pick:

Maurice Canady is my choice here. He was the prospect who honored the fallen police officer on his first day on the job by writing his name on his cleats when he ran his 40 at the combine… then sold his cleats on eBay to raise money for the family. Dorsey likes players with heart, and so do I.

Next: Do Chiefs take one of these corners in the 5th round?