The Cornerback Situation

[Roebling]

Our depth behind Bradberry, Worley and Munnerlyn is pretty awful. In fact, I would have liked to see us draft someone to compete with Worley. He has a lot of great tools, but 4.64 wheels is something that you have to worry a little bit about. I'm thinking of WR's in our division, and I think just about every starter is considerably faster. G-man loves his big guys, but this year we saw him accept that sometimes you need to get a guy with speed on the field.

Don't get me wrong, I think we had a good draft and you can't get everything you want. There was a run on CB's in both the second and third rounds, and we just weren't in a position to grab one of them.

Luckily, or perhaps G-man thought about it all along, there is still a good crop of CB's available on the FA market. Courtesy of Walter Football, here are the ones that stood out to me:

 Jason McCourty, CB, Titans. Age: 30
Jason McCourty was once an excellent cornerback for the Titans, as they got the most out of their sixth-round pick from the 2009 NFL Draft. However, McCourty struggled through a groin injury in 2015 and never fully recovered last season. He didn't perform poorly this past year, but he wasn't back to pre-2015 form either. It's possible, however, that McCourty could rebound. He may have a couple of decent seasons remaining in the tank, as he's 29 until the middle of August. 

Note: If Courtland Finnegan can come over and be serviceable, this guy can do just as well. 
 

 Leon Hall, CB/S, Giants. Age: 32.
There's so much cornerbacking talent on the Giants that Leon Hall didn't get to play very much at the position. Hall should still be a decent corner, though he'll turn 33 in December. He can also play safety. 

Note: Leon Hall is a great corner. He's aging, but he doesn't need to make it through the wear and tear of 16 full games. He could cycle in and out with Worley, and play both inside and outside if we were to be hit by injuries. 

 Tracy Porter, CB, Bears. Age: 31.
Tracy Porter has played well in the past - especially on the NFL's biggest stage - but has declined recently. He had some bright moments last year for Chicago, but struggled mightily at times as well. 
My Note: He has fallen off, but I think he could still be serviceable and probably pretty cheap.

Edit: a word

 

 

 

[Seltzer]

We definitely need depth at CB, but it is some much better right now than last year it's unreal. As people noted, there will be FA options available after draft. In the end we only carry 9-10 DBs. Bradberry, Worley, Munnerlyn, Coleman, and Adams are locks. Tre Boston and Teddy Williams probably are as well. Add in Marlowe/Sanchez and you're potentially there. Not saying that's how it will shake out but it's not like there are a ton of spots up grabs. And Rivera/DG obviously believe more in investing in the Front 7 so there you go.



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[Seltzer]

Also, Steve Wilks is one of the best guys in the league at developing DBs recently when you look at what he's done with Norman, Coleman, and in general putting together decent secondaries when we didn't have a lot invested draft wise in them. I trust them on our secondary

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[Seltzer]

Last year was able learning curves and and injuries early on as much as anything. Bradberry, Worley, and Munnerlyn is not elite but it's WAY better than what we have had in many years.

If our Front 7 can bring it like we should, the back end will be fine

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[Roebling]

1 hour ago, Seltzer said:

Last year was able learning curves and and injuries early on as much as anything. Bradberry, Worley, and Munnerlyn is not elite but it's WAY better than what we have had in many years.

If our Front 7 can bring it like we should, the back end will be fine

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Our situation is much much better than last year.... But we also were all thinking what the hell and we got absolutely wrecked the first few weeks. 29th to end the year. 

If you go watch the pressers on panthers.com, they talk about creating competition at positions and how it makes them better. I don't think we really did that at the corner position. Noone is going to push Worley, Bradberry and Munnerlyn for those top 3 spots. They just don't have the talent.

Our safeties are solid. Boston, Coleman and Adams pushing both of them. You probably end up with Boston rotating in with old man Adams. It will need to be addressed once Adams leaves in a year or two, but next year we are fine. 

[Roebling]

Speaking of... there is the CB pick. 

[KillerKat]

We  have 2 outside CBs on our team and everyone else are nickel CBs. We could still use an outside CB.