Chargers 5th Round Pick: Desmond King, DB, Iowa

[RTPbolt]

I for some reason thought he was gone after our 4th pick....he is who i wanted based off your input Fleet and reading up on him. Good tackler and good hands for INTs ....some shortcomings but he may get a chance to start with our weaker safety group.

VERY happy to see him picked so late in our spot.

[Bolt-O]

Cornerback Desmond King displayed the kind of ball skills throughout his college career that can’t be taught, hauling in 14 interceptions for Iowa. The Los Angeles Chargers bet on those skills Friday, selecting the former Hawkeye in the fifth round with the 151st pick of the 2017 NFL draft.

King made a name for himself with a prolific 2015, punishing quarterbacks who dared test him by recording eight interceptions and breaking up 13 passes as Iowa enjoyed one of the finest seasons in program history.

He earned a boatload of accolades — consensus All-American, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the Jim Thorpe Award, bestowed upon the nation’s best defensive back— but he turned down an almost certain first-round NFL draft selection that spring to earn his degree in Iowa City, fulfilling a promise to his mother in the process.

Sure, his numbers dipped in 2016, but that is more a result of teams avoiding his side of the field than any significant on-field decline.

The questions now are how effective he can be as a cornerback, in what sort of role, or if he’s best suited sliding over to safety. King’s FBS production was unparalleled, but his size (5’10, 201 pounds) and athletic ability dropped him to the middle of a stacked class of defensive backs.
King may be the draft’s most dangerous defensive back — as long as the Chargers can find a place for him

The Iowa standout has an innate ability to read quarterbacks and understand where the ball’s going and how to get there. Quarterbacks throwing to targets he was covering had just a 42.3 passer rating last fall, thanks to his ability to break on the ball and crash through a receiver’s hands.

He spots the ball well and adjusts on the fly to underthrown or overthrown passes, making him a threat on traditional routes and broken plays alike. He closes out his coverage with a quick burst to undercut receivers and make big plays.

He’s also a heady tackler who offers plenty of value near the line of scrimmage. King has a compact frame and is strong enough to shed receiver blocks with few complications. That frees him to make big stops on screen passes and other tosses outside the tackle box.

He has good hip movement that added value as a special teams player despite his lack of elite speed or quickness. The Iowa corner averaged 11.5 yards per punt return in his final two seasons with the team.
If he’s that good, why did he fall to the 151st pick?

King’s ability to create turnovers was a godsend against NCAA offenses, but that skill may not translate to the next level due to questions about his athleticism. He spent most of the previous summer trying to answer those questions.

Abdominal and hip injuries kept him from running the 40-yard dash at the combine, but a 4.51 time at Iowa’s pro day helped assuage some of those concerns. While that’s solid, his struggles to contain the NCAA’s top wideouts at the Senior Bowl suggests he won’t be a true No. 1 cornerback in the league.

King’s aggressive style means he bites hard on double moves, necessitating help over the top against faster, shiftier receivers. He’s much better in zone coverage, and his ability to track quarterbacks and move to the ball may necessitate a shift to safety in the NFL. He’s a versatile player with unteachable gifts, but he may be more suited to impress in a supporting role rather than as a top guy — resulting in his drop down the draft board.

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2017/4/29/15342254/2017-nfl-draft-los-angeles-chargers-desmond-king

[Bolt-O]

[Iowachargers]

Hawkeye fan here. Very happy the Chargers got him. Watching the draft last night and I couldn't believe his name was never called. Teams didn't test him last season due to his previous season. Probably should've came out last year, but wanted to be the first to graduate from college in his family. Best of luck to this guy. I remember him starting when he was a freshman and knew he was something special.

[Bolt-O]

pff:

Name: Desmond King

School: Iowa

Position fit: Cornerback, best in zone coverage, or safety

Stats to know: Allowed just 24 receptions for 271 yards and one touchdown in 2016.

What he does best:

At his best in zone coverage, understands his positioning and responsibilities.
NFL passer rating allowed dropped over each of the past three years, from 59.6 in 2014, to 48.6 in 2015, to 42.3 in 2016.
Great ball skills. Had 14 interceptions and 24 pass breakups over the past three seasons, including eight interceptions in 2015 alone.
Plays the run better than any other cornerback in this draft class, registering 11 tackles resulting in a defensive stop in that regard this past season.
Solid tackler, missed just 11 of the 176 solo tackles he attempted over the past three seasons.
Reads screens, to both wide receivers and running backs, really well. Comes up to make tackles for short gains and losses.

Biggest concern:

Long speed is a legitimate concern. Was beaten deep on occasion and didn’t run the 40-yard dash in Indianapolis at the scouting combine so as yet we don’t have a timed speed on him.
Susceptible to being beaten on double moves. Saw it on film, and East Carolina wide receiver Zay Jones had a highlight rep against him at the Senior Bowl where he left him for dust on a double move for a touchdown.
Much better in zone than man. Looks much more comfortable with the play in front of him than when he has to turn and run. Completed lost the ball on a 19-yard touchdown against Penn State for that reason.
At 5-feet-10 he might not be short, but he is shorter than he was listed at Iowa.

Player comparison: Logan Ryan, Tennessee Titans

Like Ryan, King is a smart tackler who excels when the play is in front of him. King has missed a tackle once every 16.0 attempted over the past three years in college, while Ryan missed one every 20.3 attempted since arriving in the NFL.

Bottom line: King is an awkward player to place in the NFL. On one hand, he looks like a top-tier corner when in zone coverage, breaking on balls and laying big hits on opposing receivers. When he’s asked to cover man-to-man downfield though, the flaws in his game are evident. That’s probably a big part of the reason why NFL teams reportedly view him as a safety at the next level, but in the right scheme he can be a very good cornerback in the NFL. More so than many other cornerbacks in this class, it’s going to be really important where King lands on draft day when it comes to determining his success.

[Bolt-O]

No. 151 is much later than many thought Desmond King would get drafted. King: "I actually thought my phone was broken, something like that." - Jack Wang

[Formula 21]

SCORE

[oneinchpunch]

Will King also be up for KR/PR? Or is that job Barner's?

[Coachmarkos]

I mocked him to us in the 3rd in the day 2 draft game.

- does this mean I win?

He's definitely worth a shot at FS. Fell because he isn't big and rangy like Hooker is.

I love this pick. Who knows if it pays off?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Bearded14YourPleasure]

Will King also be up for KR/PR? Or is that job Barner's?

Barner is probably the primary KR, but I think he will battle Benjamin and King for PR duties. King doesn't really have the high end speed needed to be successful on KR but has that short range suddenness that helps him consistently pick up yardage on PR.

[Steve]

There are lot of similarities between Ronde Barber and King. Both are small, quick guys who ran poor 40 times, don't have great stopwatch speed, but are terrrific players.

I think he will play as a nickle CB as a rookie (which is almost like an in the box S) and then figure in as more of a long term S. That is unless he has a lot of success as a CB initially, and then we may just have to leave him at CB, which for a smart guy like King is entirely possible.

The thing with King is you can't put him out on and island, and ask him to run and chase as a press CB, where he has to run all over the field. But stick him in a zone, or allow him to drop off some so he can read the eyes of the QB, and he is pretty strong in coverage.

[Formula 21]

Gill Byrd was slow. And he won with smarts and film study.