Press man Cornerbacks
Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther likes his outside cornerbacks to have length and the ability to play press man. This is a draft class that is not littered with first round talent, and after guys like Jeffrey Okudah from Ohio State, and C.J. Henderson from Florida, the class drops off a bit.
Looking at the class as a whole, there is no way Okudah falls to the Raiders, as he is slated to go within the top-5 picks. Alabama’s Trevon Diggs is being mocked in the first round in some mock drafts, as is A.J. Terrell from Clemson.
The pre-requisites for a press man corner in the draft have historically been:
- At least 6’0 190lbs
- Run a 4.51 40 yard dash or better
- Played press-man in college
- Good tacklers
The corners in this class who fit this description are as follows:
- Jeffrey Okudah, Ohio State – Round 1
- Trevon Diggs*, Alabama – Round 1-2
- AJ Terrell, Clemson – Round 2
- Bryce Hall*, Virginia – Round 2-3
- Lamar Jackson, Nebraska – Round 3
- Reggie Robinson, Tulsa – Round 4-5
There are great cornerbacks who fit one or two of the above criteria but not all such as Henderson and LSU’s Kristian Fulton. The Raiders definitely should consider them but it would be outside of their current method of doing things, so I didn’t include them in this predictive piece.
CB Trevon Diggs, Alabama. Potential draft target for the Raiders in 2020 pic.twitter.com/2C09VmXC6Q
— BD Williams (@BDWilliams18) January 28, 2020