Marcus Cromartie, Brandon Ghee, Steve Williams, Crezdon Butler, and Brandon Jones

[Millionaire Wussy]

There are the starters, Marshall (maybe Williams) and Wright and then there's these other guys I don't know much about - if anything.

I like the fact that Marcus is another Cromartie (I'm guessing that means he can run and has talent for corner work...he's just untested at this point - yes?)

Brandon Ghee sounds interesting (all-purpose sort of corner who can cover and play the run) but he's been kind of injury-prone it seems - yes?

I LOVED what I saw in preseason and what I continue to hear about Steve Williams from high Chargers sources (i.e.- Telesco seems to love him)

Crezdon Butler - no fricken idea. Anyone have anything? He does have some size to him but can he cover?

Brandon Jones - same as butler. Don't know anything.


The reason why I do this is to gain some perspective on the need to draft a corner. And haven't we played Gilchrist at corner in spots? Do we really need to take one high? And I believe our defense improved once Derek Cox was benched. Is anyone taking that into account (addition by subtraction)?

[Millionaire Wussy]

03/07/2013 - 2013 Wisconsin Pro Day: Another pair of recently graduated UW players, cornerbacks Marcus Cromartie and Devin Smith, also participated in Wisconsin's Pro Day. Cromartie, who wasn't invited to the NFL combine, surprised everyone but himself when he ran a 4.35 40-yard dash for the NFL scouts, the best of any of the Wisconsin players that participated in Pro Day. He also recorded a vertical of 34 inches. "I was satisfied, my goal was to run a low 4.3, and a 4.35, I can work with that," Cromartie said.

With the 40 time in the books, Cromartie appears to be an intriguing prospect to NFL teams. With attractive height and size for an NFL cornerback at 6-foot, weighing in at 195-pounds, the speed may help elevate the corner from a tryout invitation on an NFL squad to seeing his name drafted in the later rounds. Cromartie trained with Pittsburgh Steelers' cornerback Ike Taylor and former first round pick cornerback Favian Washington, who played most recently in 2011 with the Saints, in Orlando, Fla. - Nick Korger, The Badger Herald

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1631173/marcus-cromartie

[Guest]

I wasn't really impressed with what I saw out of Butler last season when he was in the game. Steve Williams is promising, but we haven't seen him in an actual NFL game.
I don't know anything about Brandon Jones, and Ghee seems like he could be a pretty good corner, based on his stats from when he did play, but seems about as fragile
as DX. I will never hold out hope for anyone named Cromartie.

[Steve]

There are the starters, Marshall (maybe Williams) and Wright and then there's these other guys I don't know much about - if anything.

I like the fact that Marcus is another Cromartie (I'm guessing that means he can run and has talent for corner work...he's just untested at this point - yes?)

Brandon Ghee sounds interesting (all-purpose sort of corner who can cover and play the run) but he's been kind of injury-prone it seems - yes?

I LOVED what I saw in preseason and what I continue to hear about Steve Williams from high Chargers sources (i.e.- Telesco seems to love him)

Crezdon Butler - no fricken idea. Anyone have anything? He does have some size to him but can he cover?

Brandon Jones - same as butler. Don't know anything.


The reason why I do this is to gain some perspective on the need to draft a corner. And haven't we played Gilchrist at corner in spots? Do we really need to take one high? And I believe our defense improved once Derek Cox was benched. Is anyone taking that into account (addition by subtraction)?

First, I think the press conference yesterday by TT was kinda clear on something. They are trying to keep from being forced to draft for need. But if one of the CB they like is there, they will probably draft him, although the same can be said for several other positions.

Gilchrist has started at CB in several games. The way Pagano explained it last year (Darren Smith on 1090), they moved him to S because he was too good a player to leave on the bench when there was an area of need. Now, he is already the starting NCB, so do they really want to play him outside or not. He already has a starting spot, and they will want to upgrade the outside CB, but whether it is him or not, I don't think anyone knows.

Williams is viewed mostly as a slot guy, but as TT said yesterday, they don't just consider big guys, or you could be waiting a while. Plenty of small CB play well, so you consider them. Is Williams going to be considered outside? The conventional wisdom is that he is too small. But he is a perfect fit in the sense that he is far better as a man or zone off cover guy. It's tough to disrupt timing patterns inside, if you don't chuck the slot WR, and Gilchrist does that well.

Cromartie is pretty raw but he had a pretty good preseason, and has gotten a lot of practice reps. I suspect he is in the mix, but I don't think that would prevent the Chargers from drafting someone they like. Pretty much the same for Butler.

Ghee has more experience and practice time and a lot more injuries. Certainly has the talent, but can he stay healthy. Of course if he was healthy, he wouldn't be available.

I think the only other thing that needs to be mentioned is the fact that Wright struggled for most of last season, in addition to Cox. He didn't get beaten silly like Cox did, but he really needs to step his game up. I think in the back of your mind, you have to have the idea is that if we draft a CB high, even if someone else steps up out of our list, you might need the rookie to start on the other side. Yet another reason to draft a CB.

The one thing is that I don't necessarily think we have to draft one high. There is a pretty good cluster at or around the 1st round, with none of them really showing the elite characteristics to propel them into the top 10. Most of them would be a good fit for us, and if there isn't a pass rusher, it would seem the obvious move.

There are some good players available later on, so we don't have to, just that if one is there, we shouldn't shy away.

[Millionaire Wussy]

Thanks Steve. We seem to have some talent at corner although t still seems somewhat murky.

[Steve]

That is what happens on a deep draft and you draft down low. You can't say with any certainty that you know what the people ahead of you will do, so you guess.

The good thing is that I think TT positioned us pretty well based on what we did in FA. We hit our #1 need, but signing Johnson to be our blocking TE. After that all of our other signings mean that we can live with who we have. Not that I am in love with guys like Marshall maybe being our starting CB, but we can get by. Now we can just go hunting for good players in the draft, not worrying about being forced to sign a guy who has to start on the 1st day. It gives us the flexibility that will hopefully help us avoid reaches because of need.

[Panama]

I wasn't really impressed with what I saw out of Butler last season when he was in the game. Steve Williams is promising, but we haven't seen him in an actual NFL game.
I don't know anything about Brandon Jones, and Ghee seems like he could be a pretty good corner, based on his stats from when he did play, but seems about as fragile
as DX. I will never hold out hope for anyone named Cromartie.

I doubt Butler makes the final roster.

Williams looked very good last preseason. I wouldn't be surprised if he beat out Marshall for the starting job opposite Wright (assuming we don't draft a CB at 25).

I don't know anything about Jones either.

Ghee and Cromartie seem like guys with potential. I've heard a lot of positive about Ghee when healthy. It'll be fun to watch these two develop.

That said, I hope we take a CB in the first 3 rounds to add to the mix.

[Mister Hoarse]

Wright could be a #1 CB. He has the skills, just really needs to improve wrapping up when tackling, and not bounce off the receivers going for the big hit. I saw him improving in that regard during the season.

[TTThunder]

(Sorry I do not follow College football...)

Which top CB in this draft fits our scheme well?

Go TT!!!

[Millionaire Wussy]

Guys, when I say "need" I mean do our existing corners suck...or are they lower in proficiency than other positional groups on the team (at least currently).

[Steve]

Wright could be a #1 CB. He has the skills, just really needs to improve wrapping up when tackling, and not bounce off the receivers going for the big hit. I saw him improving in that regard during the season.

I'm not saying he won't. Just that in the grand scheme or things, since he isn't a good player yet, you keep that in the back of your mind.

Marshall did a solid job for us down the stretch last year. Not as good as you would like a starter to play, but there are a lot of guys who play at his level. And he was a huge improvement over Cox. But that doesn't mean you don't want to get better. And when we get better there, we will work on another position. and when all the position we feel we need to upgrade now are improved, we will upgrade some other spots, which become the new weakness. It never ends.

None of the CB in this years draft are really exactly what you look for in a press CB. Desmond whatever his name is being labeled a press CB, but he doesn't get a good shot on the WR very often. He likes to line up tight, so people tend to think of him as a press guy, but he is really playing off coverage without giving himself a cushion. Same with Gilbert out of Oklahoma State, except they like to mix up their coverage more. Since we don't play much press coverage, I think they could all fit our D pretty well. With some technique development, some of the top guys could even turn into good bump and run guys.

[Panama]

(Sorry I do not follow College football...)

Which top CB in this draft fits our scheme well?

Go TT!!!

I don't follow college ball either (so perhaps I shouldn't be answering this), but from what I've read of the guys who might be there at 25, Verrett probably fits our scheme best.