No shortage of quality defensive backs
As many as 20 could be selected in first or second round this year
This is the deepest and most talented group of defensive backs in the last 10 years, according to draft experts from coast to coast.
What sets this NFL draft apart is that safety is just as strong at the top as cornerback.
Because so many college teams are throwing more passes than any time in history, NFL teams are utilizing larger, faster and talented wide receivers. That means they have to load up
on defensive backs.
Over the last five drafts, teams have selected an average of 6.4 defensive backs in the first round, including seven last season.
In the previous five drafts (2007-11), they chose an average of 4.8 defensive backs in the first round.
The consensus among NFL teams is that as many as 20 defensive backs — evenly divided between cornerback and safety — have first- and secondround grades.
As many as 27 defensive backs could be selected in the first three rounds.
For the first time since 1998 when Oakland selected cornerback Charles Woodson with the fourth overall pick, a defensive back could be among the top-four selections.
Chicago and Tennessee, drafting third and fifth overall, need defensive backs.
The leading candidates are Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore, LSU safety Jamal Adams and Ohio State safety Malik Hooker.
Lattimore and Hooker, multitalented athletes who didn’t get a lot of starting experience in college and have injury issues, could leave Adams as the No. 1 defensive back to be taken Thursday.
“I think Adams is the more secure of the two picks of the two safeties, and I have no reservations about his game whatsoever,” NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said on a conference call last week. “I just don’t think he’s going to get his hands on as many footballs in the middle of the field as Hooker would have.
“So can you take the safety at two? Of course. I think Jamal Adams is a top-five pick.”
Safety a safe pick
The last time a safety was taken as high as fifth was in 2010 when Kansas City drafted Eric Berry, who has become one of the best in the NFL.
Some scouts believe Hooker has more upside than Adams.
“I love Malik Hooker,” Mayock said. “I think he’s the best center-field free safety I’ve seen in a while on tape. But he’s a one-year starter. He’s coming off two surgeries after the season, and you’ve got to worry about his durability.
“He’s an inconsistent tackler. And if you’re going to play him at single high safety, one of his main jobs is going to be tackling. He’s the last line of defense, and he’s highly inconsistent, which worries me.”
Like every position, defensive back can be a gamble.
In 2014, the first defensive back drafted was cornerback Justin Gilbert, who went eighth overall to Cleveland. Like cornerback Dee Milliner, selected by the New York Jets ninth in 2013 — the first defensive back chosen — Gilbert was a bust.
Analyzing the last 10 drafts, taking a defensive back fifth overall is a sure thing. Berry, Arizona cornerback Patrick Peterson (2011) and Jacksonville cornerback Jalen Ramsey (2016) have been terrific.
“It’s a very unique position, and it calls for a mentality before the physical part of it,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “We’re looking for the guys who have the right mentality and are willing to be challenged and know they’re on the hot seat and going to have to bounce back and be very resilient and have a very good mental state for that.”
Carroll, who coached defensive backs and was a defensive coordinator before becoming a head coach, has been blessed with what is regarded as the best secondary in the NFL in recent years.
There is no secret to the success Carroll and general manager John Schneider have experienced with the Seahawks.
“We’ve been through so much over the years, coached so many different styles and great players that have been such individuals in their makeup that I can’t tell you there’s one way,” Carroll said. “There are certain aspects we look for, and it just depends what kind of player he is, what kind of athlete he is.”
Ability to do it all
In today’s NFL, coaches like versatile defensive backs.
Can a cornerback play inside and outside? Can a strong safety play outside linebacker? They have to be fast and tough to keep up with receivers and tight ends who keep getting larger and faster.
Michigan’s Jabrill Peppers was incredibly versatile and might be in the NFL, too. He played safety and linebacker in college. He also contributed on offense and on returns.
Peppers is expected to be a first-round pick, despite admitting he failed a drug test at the combine, claiming he drank too much water to hydrate, which counts as a failed test. It shouldn’t affect his status.
“I do find him fascinating in terms of where you play him,” Kansas City general manager John Dorsey said. “He’s a very unique athlete. At one time, people thought he was a top-10 running back.”
The team that takes Peppers — or any defensive back capable of playing more than one position — better have a plan for him.
“I think it’s important to have hybrid players at all levels,” Arizona general manager Steve Keim said. “When you do things like we do — multiple fronts, multiple coverages — you have that position flexibility where you can play inside (and) you can play outside.
“The more flexibility you have, the more you can do. Those guys have become so valuable because this game has become a matchup situation.”