Top 5 CB tandems in the NFL

[Heatmiser]

King is my most pleasant surprise pick of this draft, because of the value where the Chargers got him. He can return kicks and punts and he was a fantastic corner in college and I thought he would be a 2nd round pick of someone. But Steve, you ready to anoint him beating out Mager and Trevor Williams? The Chargers have invested a lot of time in Mager and he is just starting to look like he gets it. Williams was such a great street free agent signing. He has a lot of potential. And the other kid obtained from the Seahawks has a lot of talent. I am not sure King beats out all three of these guys as a rookie. I do think he will play (like Weddle did as you mentioned) but won't beat out the incumbents. At least not this year.

TG

[Formula 21]

Mager needs to step up his game, the d backfield is looking crowded with a lot of "just guys."

[foreigner]

More proof of my Conspiracy Theory about the NFL and the Chargers...

[Steve]

Mager did some good things last year, but he spent most of his time outside, not in the slot. I do think Mager has the skill set to be a slot guy, and he played inside some in college, but so far he has not spent much time inside. Same with the others at CB (Williams, Reed).

King is a much better player coming out of college and has as much or more time inside.

Nickle back is not just another CB position. The nickle DB has the gap responsibilities of a LB too. In fact, most defenses ask their interior DB to learn to play LB, then by alignment and call just minimize their run stuffing responsibility. To just compare all the CB together and say they play the same position is ignoring the fact that there are inside (nickle and dime) and outside CB positions.

All the players listed have talent, but talent means very little, especially since none of them has an edge in it. Position skills and fundamentals King was not far behind and he was among the top CB in college football last year. If you just look at production, he was in the top few.

We are also going to need Williams, Reed and Mager at the outside CB spots, since Verrett is probably going to be hurt at some point. Better to have a specialist playing the position then ask all the young CB to play both spots and not play either of them well. You might as well ask the DE to play ILB. The differences in the skills needed are comparable.

[Heatmiser]

So you think Reed makes the team? I liked the little bit I saw of him, Seattle signed him so he must have the skill set they seek, and he played in a Gus Bradley style defense. All seem to be in his favor.

TG