FanPost

Drafting the SEC: Cornerbacks from UF

As a current student at the University of Florida I've seen a whole lot of Gator and SEC football over the last few years. So I figured I could provide some useful perspective on some SEC players in this year's draft.

I'll try to write one each day leading up to the draft. If you're curious about any specific players write a request in the comments and I'll try to write one for that player.

I'll start with the three corners from the University of Florida

Marcus Roberson

Roberson is a physical cover corner who should have the most immediate impact in the league. He definitely has the ability to negate elite receivers but he is not without flaw. He has been somewhat injury plagued throughout his career at UF, while none of these injuries were serious they are definitely cause for concern. He has a tendency to pick up small injuries like ankle sprains. The other concern is that he is overly physical, leading to a lot of pass interference calls. However, this is something that he appears to have improved upon this past year. In my opinion he is the best of the three corners entering the draft from UF. Some character concerns.

Louchiez Purifoy

Louchiez Purifoy is an enigma. He has demonstrated the ability to be a game changer but at this point he is not ready to be a reliable starter in the NFL. I don’t doubt his upside, but the team that drafts him will need to be patient and give him sufficient time to develop. Also, despite having a tendency to make big plays he is not a ballhawk and he only had 2 interceptions during his college career. He makes a lot of plays forcing fumbles, recovering fumbles, and on special teams. Biggest upside of the three, most fluid hips and longest arms.

Jaylen Watkins

If I was an NFL GM Jaylen Watkins would be the corner from UF that I would target. He is a very versatile player, having played both safety and corner at Florida. Going forward I would say he is most comfortable at corner. He is a good athlete and has learned to play the ball much better (this was the knock on him early in his college career, he couldn't locate the ball in the air). He is the best tackler of the three, and has shown good coverage skills. Interesting fact, he's Sammy Watkins' half-brother. In the third or fourth round I think he would be a great value pick, that provides a lot of versatility. Even if he never becomes a starter he'l provide depth at multiple positions and is a high character guy.