Cornerback options for Falcons at 16th pick
Cornerback may be the Falcons most pressing need along with pass rush. The Falcons will need either young, highly drafted Isaiah Oliver to improve over his 2019 performance or Kendall Sheffield to step into the spotlight as a real option to take over for the potential decline/injury concerns surrounding Desmond Trufant. Trufant finished the season on injured reserve and it is fair to ask how much good football he has left as he knocks on the door of 30-years-old. The Falcons will be forced to look for a young heir/upgrade in this year’s draft regardless of whether Trufant is playing well or not, and Sheffield performs better as a nickel corner.
Jeffrey Okudah, CB Ohio State 6’1 200 pounds
Okudah has the skillset of a potential shut down corner. Longly regarded as the best cover man in the draft, Okudah lived up to it in his junior season at Ohio State. His athletic ability and length allows him recover when initially beaten in coverage. On Okudah’s tape there’s few times where he isn’t in arms’ distance of his mark and still makes a play on the ball. The Falcons could plug and play Okudah at the right or left cornerback spot and change the way teams look to attack them in the passing game. Okudah will likely be gone by the time the 16th pick rolls around, however, but should he fall the Falcons will need to run to the podium with his name on a card.
Probability of selection: 15%
Fit: A+
Potential: Pro Bowler
Kristian Fulton, CB LSU 6’0 200 pounds
Fulton is instinctive at his strength seems to be breaking on the football and attacking the wide receiver once a pass is in the air. Has a few acrobatic interceptions in his highlight package. Playing at LSU it is assumed he’s been well coached. The Falcons will for sure consider the New Orleans native at 16.
Probability of selection: 85%
Fit: A
Potential: Starter
Trevon Diggs, CB Alabama, 6’2, 207 pounds
Diggs looks like something out of a wide receiver’s nightmare and the dream of Falcons’ head coach Dan Quinn’s dreams. A tall framed corner back with long arms is what Quinn’s secondaries have been built at every stop along his journey.
Probability of selection: 45%
Fit: A+
Potential: Starter
C.J. Henderson, CB Florida, 6’1, 202 pounds
Henderson is a playmaker. Coverage skills can improve with coaching, but the ability to be around the football and take it away from the other team just seems to come naturally to Henderson. Henderson had six interceptions in his career at the University of Florida including two touchdowns as a result of those takeaways. Could be an option outside and as a nickel corner should the Falcons select him.
Probability of selection: 15%
Fit: B
Potential: Starter
Cameron Dantzler, CB, Mississippi State, 6’2, 185 pounds
See Trevon Diggs. Dan Quinn loves tall, long and athletic corners. Drafting Dantzler at 16 may be a reach to the mock draft gurus, but when the Falcons identify a player they like, they get them when they can. Dantzler looks like a Quinn type of player.
Probability of selection: 85%
Fit: A+
Potential: Starter
