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2013 NFL Draft: CB Big Board 2

Could the Titans grab at least one?

Streeter Lecka

The Titans still are very thin at the corner position besides the starters after a hectic free agency period that saw them court one corner (Keenan Lewis) who went to the Saints. It is of the utmost importance that they find one or two to at least bolster the lackluster depth behind starters Jason McCourty and Alterraun Verner. Fortunately for them, the corner class is very deep this year should they not address the issue in the first round. You can find my previous rankings here.

Alabama's Dee Milliner is still the unquestioned leader of the pack even with having shoulder surgery after the Combine. There's some speculation that he'll end up going within the top six picks. Milliner showed the world that he wasn't some slow footed corner by running a spectacular 40 at the Combine (as if there was any doubt that he isn't the best corner already). Xavier Rhodes, Desmond Trufant, and Johnthan Banks are all interchangeable behind Milliner and could go in any order. Rhodes wins out after ending the speculation that he couldn't run a fast time (ran 4.4s). Banks and Rhodes have the size to compete at the Pro Bowl level as boundary corners. Trufant had an awesome Senior Bowl to boost his stock even more. The next trio could go in any order as well but Jordan Poyer gets the nod at 5 over Jamar Taylor because Poyer made more of an impression at Senior Bowl. Taylor did have a good Senior Bowl himself but it's just that Poyer outshone him. The high riser of the group is Robert Alford after coming onto the scene in Mobile for the South team. Another pair that rounds out the top 10 and showed well during the Senior Bowl and Combine is Blidi Wreh Wilson and Leon McFadden. McFadden could be a second rounder if not for his height (closer to 5'9 than the listed 5'10). Wilson fits the Titans zone scheme very well as a big boundary corner. Darius Slay often outplayed fellow Bulldogs teammate Banks at times last year and blew up the Combine with a blazing 4.39 40. David Amerson rounds out the top 15 after testing well in Indy but having a poor season. He's the most confusing to grade after watching him getting burnt nearly every game last year and taking into account the Combine numbers.

Why is Tyrann Mathieu so low on my board? The off field issues are so glaring that if you add up the red flags, the flag could cover the entire Southeastern United States. There's a report out that he failed a whopping 10 or more drug tests while at LSU. When John Lucas (the NBA version of Tony Dungy's image rehab boot camp) doesn't want anything to do with you, you have some major issues. Another thing is that he doesn't have the required height (5'9) to play outside and will likely be relegated to slot duties if teams are smart. I'm not buying what he's trying to sell on the media tour he's doing. He proved the lazy work ethic reports right when he put up a measly 4 reps on the bench press at the Combine. If he was serious about coming clean and being on point, he would have trained harder for the biggest job fair in sports. The poor number on the bench shows me that he didn't take it seriously and focused on his media image instead. Mathieu needs to be undrafted just like Vontaze Burfict last year so he can get a severe dose of a reality check. I sincerely hope that the Titans avoid the temptation of drafting him at any point.

Name H/W School Class
1. DeMarcus Milliner 6'0 191 Alabama Junior
2. Xavier Rhodes 6'2 210 Florida State Junior
3. Desmond Trufant 6'0 190 Washington Senior
4. Johnthan Banks 6'2 185 Miss State Senior
5. Jordan Poyer 6'0 191 Oregon State Senior
6. Jamar Taylor 5'11 192 Boise State Senior
7. Logan Ryan 5'11 191 Rutgers Junior
8. Robert Alford 5'10 188 SE Louisiana Senior
9. Blidi Wreh-Wilson 6'1 195 UCONN Senior
10. Leon McFadden 5'10 193 San Diego State Senior
11. Darius Slay 6'0 192 Miss State Senior
12. Tharold Simon 6'2 202 LSU Junior
13. Dwayne Gratz 5'11 201 UCONN Senior
14. Tyrann Mathieu 5'9 186 LSU Junior*
15. David Amerson 6'1 205 NC State Senior