HardcoreVikesFan wrote:One thing I don't understand is that if the analytics were pointing out that Trae Waynes wasn't the player everyone portrayed him to be, why did Minnesota draft him?
Maybe Zimmer scoffed at the analytics like he did with Kalil last year. Scouts, potential, Zimmer's track record, measureables...probably a combination. They think he potentially has the most upside thanks a lot to his size and (certain types of) athleticism. Just a point.
Who did PFF CFF grade as the best corner in the draft?
I don't know. I haven't seen their rankings (may be paid to see). But based on this:
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2 ... rnerbacks/
it really depends because not every corner is great in every metric. For example, Jacoby Glenn was "best" at lowest passer rating when thrown at. If you want completion percentage, that "title" belongs to Torovon Reed. Yards per coverage snap was Collin Brence. Tackling efficiency was Steven Nelson. Just looking at the tops of the coverage charts for repeat names, Garry Peters (Clemson), Antoine Lewis (Purdue) and Jacoby Glenn (UCF) make the list. Then they had these notes:
– Garry Peters from Clemson was a player that graded right at the sharp end of the CFF rankings, and his mark is the best among players we consider to be quality prospects.
– The best-placed ‘elite’ prospect was Wake Forrest’s Kevin Johnson who came in 25th with 0.89 yards per coverage snap.
– Oregon’s Troy Hill upstaged his more illustrious counterpart Ifo Ekpre-Olomu across the board in 2014, allowing a significantly lower yards per coverage snap figure (0.78 to 0.93)
– Garry Peters and Troy Hill again show well here, but this time Eric Rowe, and Kevin White are among other notable names with impressive figures.
– Trae Waynes, and Marcus Peters both allowed more than 50% of passes sent their way to be caught while Jalen Collins was at just 40.9%.
– Two players allowed more than 85% of passes sent their way to be caught. Neither, strangely, are considered top prospects.
– P.J. Williams allowed 59.6% of passes sent his way to be caught, giving him some ugly coverage numbers to go with his inconsistent tape.
– This is always my favorite cornerback metric (passer rating). It can of course be skewed and isn’t always entirely ‘honest’, but it is regularly an excellent reflection at the NFL level of cornerback play. When the threshold of snaps is lowered enough, UConn’s Byron Jones allowed a rating of just 26.3 on his targets before injury.
– Senquez Golson teams an excellent CFF grade with a passer rating of just 44.9 on his targeted passes this year, thanks largely to picking off 10 of them, though he did surrender four touchdowns, the most of any player in the Top 15.
– Garry Peters sneaks into the Top 15 in another category despite just one interception to his name. He did break up 10 passes and allow only one score all year while being beaten for an average of just 9.0 yards per reception.
– Trae Waynes (19), Marcus Peters (42) and Jalen Collins (46) this time all rank relatively lowly in this measure.
Well then.