Cornerback: Deandre Baker – Georgia
Georgia’s Deandre Baker entered the draft process as one of the top cornerback prospects on the market. After measuring just 5-foot-11 and running a 4.52 second time in the 40-yard dash, Baker began to see his stock slip. In fact, if you look up lists of the most overrated draft prospects, Baker’s name has become a trendy name to see. I’m here to tell you that they’re all crazy.
Look, I get it, he’s not 6-foot-2 and blazing fast, but you know what he does? He sticks to his man and takes him out of the play. Last I checked that’s the main goal for a corner. I keep reading about how he gets beat too often because of his lack of “long speed”. If someone was guilty of getting beat too often because of their speed, wouldn’t you expect them to give up a lot of yards and touchdowns? Because Baker was exactly the opposite of that.
Baker allowed one of the lowest numbers of yards per cover snap in the country and hasn’t allowed a single touchdown the past two seasons. Baker is a very competitive corner that covers really well and that’s why he’s at the top of my list of targets for the Chiefs in the first round.
The best CB in the country, Deandre Baker of Georgia pic.twitter.com/CSt18OOUij
— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) October 13, 2018
Runner Up: Justin Layne – Michigan State
This might have been my toughest call of this list. While Baker is my number one crush at cornerback, it was a dog fight for the runner up spot between Justin Layne, Rock Ya-Sin, and Sean Bunting. Ultimately, I think Layne may have the highest upside of those three so he gets the nod here. Layne is a corner with good length and movement skills. His time playing wide receiver has helped his ball skills and is likely a big part of why he had 16 pass deflections this past season (that’s more than Trayvon Mullen and Lonnie Johnson had combined). Layne may be a little raw from a technique perspective but he has the raw tools to become a really good starting cornerback down the road.
Finally, my safety crushes.