Every season, NFL GMs are faced with a dilemma. Should they spend a draft pick on a player based on his ability to immediately contribute, or should they go for broke and select someone based on pure potential?
Nowhere is this more apparent on Draft Day than when clubs select the all-important position of cornerback.
Many scouts will tell you that it really does matter where a player goes to school. Sure, not in the long run, but a player coming out of the Big 12 or SEC has a much better shot at getting used to the speed of the NFL than someone coming out of the Big Sky conference. Still, other scouts will tell you that line of thinking is hogwash. Players are players.
But what’s the right call?
Thankfully, you and I won’t have to make a decision on Draft Day 2008. We’ll be posted up somewhere, maybe a bar or just a living room, glued to the set as the draft unfolds, scratching our heads as the real NFL Draft makes our mock drafts look like a randomly selected list of names from a phone book.
This year, 2 players in particular will be hoping NFL GMs are prescribing to the ‘players are players’ doctrine. If you haven’t heard of Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie and Leodis McKelvin, then you probably haven’t been watching the NFL Network (or reading our site). Both of these small school stars impressed scouts with their play in college, and both impressed scouts even more at the recent NFL Combine.
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (6’1″, 184) is a lightning fast cover-corner from Tennessee State. He’s tall, athletic and has good hands. Rodgers-Cromartie ran a dazzling 4.28 in the forty yard dash at the combine. Senior Bowl representative praised his ability to play both safety and cornerback, and while he only had 2 picks last season as a senior, he returned both of them for touchdowns. Rodgers-Cromartie was praised at the I-AA level, making almost every All-American team in the nation. Additionally, Cromartie returned 33 kick-offs for 806 yards and 1 TD, and 4 punt returns for 16 yards.
But there’s another small school wonder that is rated even higher.
Leodis McKelvin(5’10″, 190) is a ball-hawking burner from Troy. McKelvin makes most observers’ lists as one of the top 2 cornerback prospects in the draft. He wowed scouts with his 33.5″ vertical and 4.38 forty at the combine. He also just flat-out knows how to cover. McKelvin also had only 2 picks his final season, but he returned kicks regularly, averaging over 23 yards per attempt. He’s equally adept at punt returns, as he scored 3 TDs on punt returns last season and averaged over 17 yards a try.
One thing McKelvin has going for him is that he played at a school known for recent NFL success stories. Dallas Cowboys linebacker Demarcus Ware and New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora both played football for Troy, and both players have become stars for their respective teams. Whether this will sway GMs who still doubt McKelvin’s small school credentials remains to be seen.
One thing is certain: Dominique Rogers-Cromartie and Leodis McKelvin should be drafted in the first 2 rounds of this year’s NFL Draft, regardless of where they played ball. Whether one or both goes in the top 10 is uncertain, but both are legitimate talents capable of becoming the next great cover corners in the NFL.
