The Other Cornerback

[Pazhoosier89]

Curious, what was it that caused Sherman to drop to the 5th? Was it his speed?

[ForJimmy]

2 minutes ago, Pazhoosier89 said:

Curious, what was it that caused Sherman to drop to the 5th? Was it his speed?

“No natural coverage ability, fluidity or bursts. He also ran a 4.54.” 

[ForJimmy]

The next question is can Shi Smith develop into a Doug Baldwin role for us? Baldwin went undrafted, but was also part of that 2011 draft that Fitts helped bring in his first year.

[BlitzMonster]

18 minutes ago, Pazhoosier89 said:

Curious, what was it that caused Sherman to drop to the 5th? Was it his speed?

Richard Sherman is a really interesting case study for the draft.   

He was a WR for 3 years at Stanford and then switched to CB for his last two.  So he had some position uncertainty among scouts.   

He ran at the Combine and really bombed the 40 at 4.56.  Which was ridiculous since in HS he was a track star.  Sherman was a USA Today All-American after winning the California state title in the triple jump.  Placed third in the California state finals for 110 hurdles.  So he was a great athlete.  He returned several punts for TD's in HS.   

Sherman re-ran the 40 at his school's pro day and had a 4.26, along with an 11 foot broad jump and other outstanding numbers.   Which showed the Combine numbers were just a really bad day.

All that mixed information led to a lot of questions about Sherman and he fell in the draft.  And then was selected by Seattle and became one of the best cornerbacks of his generation.  

FINAL TAKEAWAY:  if a guy has a long history of great athleticism, trust that and not one bad day at the Combine

Edited May 23, 2021 by BlitzMonster

[DaveThePanther2008]

 

Quote

Taylor represented a high-value selection at this stage of the draft. Carolina also had the luxury of going with the best player available after some substantial trade movement by general manager Scott Fitterer ....

I think what is good for us is that he has time to develop.  He doesn't have to be thrown in the fire.  He'll have time to learn and improve.  

[KatsAzz]

One area where Taylor particularly thrives is press coverage on the outside. This was an obvious problem for the Panthers in 2020 and something defensive coordinator Phil Snow went away from entirely at critical moments.

Adding Bouye, Taylor, and Horn to go with Jackson should instantly transform this.

Edited May 23, 2021 by KatsAzz

[kungfoodude]

27 minutes ago, KatsAzz said:

One area where Taylor particularly thrives is press coverage on the outside. This was an obvious problem for the Panthers in 2020 and something defensive coordinator Phil Snow went away from entirely at critical moments.

Adding Bouye, Taylor, and Horn to go with Jackson should instantly transform this.

Yeah, if we don't improve on the outside after the offseason moves, it would be an absolute disaster. On paper that unit should be much better, deeper and more versatile.

[MHS831]

Taylor has concerns, but he will be on the #2 WR here.  His speed is not an issue because he recovers well.  If he is given man responsibilities with a burner, he will be given safety help.  He is in proper position a lot.

When you see a guy play much better at the SR bowl, you have to think that the new scheme is working to his advantage. Taylor is better than and CB we had last year--and he is our second best CB this year.

And I did not see much evidence of a lack of ball skills--I saw the QB throwing it so he could not catch it--a press cb has his back to the QB more, so the ball is not the object as much as the man, so I think we can develop that.

I still say we may take a look at Pride at S. 

But with Horn, Bouye, Jackson and Taylor, with Melvin, Hartsfield and Pride---we are ok now.

[ForJimmy]

12 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

Taylor has concerns, but he will be on the #2 WR here.  His speed is not an issue because he recovers well.  If he is given man responsibilities with a burner, he will be given safety help.  He is in proper position a lot.

When you see a guy play much better at the SR bowl, you have to think that the new scheme is working to his advantage. Taylor is better than and CB we had last year--and he is our second best CB this year.

And I did not see much evidence of a lack of ball skills--I saw the QB throwing it so he could not catch it--a press cb has his back to the QB more, so the ball is not the object as much as the man, so I think we can develop that.

I still say we may take a look at Pride at S. 

But with Horn, Bouye, Jackson and Taylor, with Melvin, Hartsfield and Pride---we are ok now.

I keep forgetting about Melvin. Low key solid vet depth at that position.

[Prowler2k18]

19 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

Taylor has concerns, but he will be on the #2 WR here.  His speed is not an issue because he recovers well.  If he is given man responsibilities with a burner, he will be given safety help.  He is in proper position a lot.

When you see a guy play much better at the SR bowl, you have to think that the new scheme is working to his advantage. Taylor is better than and CB we had last year--and he is our second best CB this year.

And I did not see much evidence of a lack of ball skills--I saw the QB throwing it so he could not catch it--a press cb has his back to the QB more, so the ball is not the object as much as the man, so I think we can develop that.

I still say we may take a look at Pride at S. 

But with Horn, Bouye, Jackson and Taylor, with Melvin, Hartsfield and Pride---we are ok now.

I’m looking forward to seeing if last year’s newbies Pride, Robinson and Stantley Thomas-Oliver take steps forward after a full offseason. Both seem to have potential to at least provide good depth in the secondary. 

Edited May 23, 2021 by Prowler2k18

[LinvilleGorge]

19 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

 

I still say we may take a look at Pride at S. 

I hope we have something up our sleeves at FS.

[ForJimmy]

2 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I hope we have something up our sleeves at FS.

Hartsfield, Robinson, Franklin, Burris (more of a SS), and Pride. May the best man win! Also I’m sure we are on the lookout for vets getting cut as rosters are trimmed down. The good news it we actually have legitimate CBs now so the position isn’t as dire as it has been.

[LinvilleGorge]

3 minutes ago, ForJimmy said:

Hartsfield, Robinson, Franklin, Burris (more of a SS), and Pride. May the best man win! Also I’m sure we are on the lookout for vets getting cut as rosters are trimmed down. The good news it we actually have legitimate CBs now so the position isn’t as dire as it has been.

I think the more accurate statement is that we HOPE that we have legitimate CBs now. We're long on young talent but we're still very short on proven NFL ability.

 

[ForJimmy]

Just now, LinvilleGorge said:

I think the more accurate statement is that we HOPE that we have legitimate CBs now. We're long on young talent but we're still very short on proven NFL ability.

 

Agreed, but even a healthy DJ, Melvin, and Bouye brings some experience. Pride should be better and Horn should be at least average this year with some growing pains. We are in way better shape than previous years. Just last year we were reliant on 5th round Pride and 7th SOT getting a lot of playing time pretty early... Oh and Brown, Burns, and YGM should all be better with the addition of Reddick and Jones plus experience. Better pass rush makes life so much easier for these guys. I’m excited to see what Snow can do with a more complete roster!