As I have been watching the combine and studying the players that are available for the 2011 NFL draft I have noticed something different about the DB's, and the cornerbacks in particular. They are HUGE! Seriously, the top 5 cornerbacks in this draft are all a lot bigger than in years past, for example:
2011 Top 5 CB's
Patrick Peterson - 6'1/4" - 219lbs - 4.32 40 yard dash (WOW!!!!!)
Prince Amukamara - 6'0 - 206lbs - 4.37 40 yard dash
Jimmy Smith - 6'2 - 211lbs - 4.38 40 yard dash (athletically off the charts, character concerns hurt)
Brandon Harris - 5'10" - 191lbs - 4.43 40 yard dash
Aaron Williams - 6'0" - 204lbs - 4.52 40 yard dash
Aside from Brandon Harris they are all 6' or above which goes against the norm in the NFL (until recently) of corners being small, quick, agile, jumpers. I am not saying that there are no tall/large CB's in the NFL because there are, but now you are starting to see a lot more of them and they are becoming a very high priority. It was only abut 5 or 6 years ago when Anthony Henry was a rarity as a 6'2" cornerback. He was signed by the Cowboys specifically to match up against Terrell Owens of the Eagles and Plaxico Burress of the Giants. Now you are starting to see every team have a 6'+ cornerback to take on the other teams "Randy Moss" style WR. Everybody knows that you cannot have enough CB's in the league nowadays especially with so many teams consistently running out of 3 and 4 WR sets, but as the size of #1 WR's has increased (look at Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Dwayne Bowe, etc) the need for a CB that can jump with them has increased. Look at this years Super Bowl Champion Packers, that tells you all you need to know about the need for big physical cornerbacks. Look at last years Super Bowl Champion Saints, another perfect example, so now you are seeing corners bred and developed to counter those teams.
There is still a need for the shorter, quicker, uber-agile CB's in the league and their main role will be the nickel back taking on the other teams slot receiver who tends to be similar in size (look at Wes Welker, Santana Moss, Percy Harvin, etc). These WR's are great at the quick cuts and getting the ball quickly and in space where the smaller size works to their advantage, and that is where the smaller CB's excel (especially when they have fluid hips). And since most NFL teams almost always run out of a minimum 3 receiver set then these 3rd corners are almost always on the field, unless the offense splits out one of the "do everything" tight ends that are invading the league (Jason Witten, Antonio Gates, Kellen Winslow, Vernon Davis, etc). Currently in those situations you will see either a LB split out and attempt to cover them (to slow) a safety move down (leaves the center of the field open) or a traditional corner lined up (to small to be a factor). With these larger corners invading the league, now they can move into the slot to cover the TE (if he is the main receiving threat). Another advantage of the larger corners is their careers will be much longer, these guys coming into the league have safety body's, so when they lose a step after 10 years it will be an easy transition to safety (probably FS) where they can become the ball hawking leader of the secondary who is big enough to be able to tackle.
The advantages to these larger corners are endless, while the structure of my articles is lacking currently, once I get a few followers and see if this is worthwhile (doing it to inform people and because I like it, not for money) then I will work on structure more. Please let me know what you guys think about this.
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