Marcus Peters 2015 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Position

Cornerback

School

Washington

Size

6'0, 197 pounds

Strengths

Peters has just about everything you could possibly want in a corner prospect.  He's long and he knows how to use it. He's fantastic down the field going up for the football.  Peters is an outstanding athlete that is fluid in and out of breaks. He's smooth and can change direction quickly.

Peters fits in a man scheme best, but he can excel in a zone scheme as well.  Check out the play below.  It's a zone look and Peters finds himself five yards off of the man entering his portion of the field, yet he finds a way to close immediately.  He arrives at the perfect time, swatting the ball away easily.

Peters plays very strong.  He's a physical guy and he takes pride in it.  The NFL will love his ability to jam at the line. He sends a jarring punch into opposing receivers coming off of the line of scrimmage.  This throws off timing and cripples offenses.  Peters then has the ability to turn and run after the jam.  His transition is seamless and fluid.

Here's Peters going up against Jaelen Strong.  Peters flat eats him up.  He gets his hands on him and pushes him out to the sideline.  Peters then glances back at the quarterback and nearly grabs the interception. I'm assuming that this was supposed to be a back shoulder throw, but Peters' jam was so good that it threw off the timing of the play.

Weaknesses

Marcus Peters has a decorated off the field history that you've probably heard about by now.  He was dismissed from Washington's football team mid-season for undisclosed reasons.  Despite the dismissal, Peters is still going to participate in Washington's pro day, which is a good sign.  We as outsiders only have so much information to go on, so I'll let the NFL do the digging there and focus on the on field stuff.

As a football player, there isn't much missing from Marcus Peters.  He doesn't have the long speed that NFL teams seem to covet, but he's physical enough to make you forget about it.  He can be over-physical and too aggressive at times.  You'll have to live with some interference calls and a few personal fouls here and there, but that's who Peters is.

Summary

Peters will be a risky pick no matter how high or low he goes, but the potential payoff is huge.  No other corner is this class matches Peters size, strength and fluidity.  He's a plug and play day one starter.  Projecting his draft slot is nearly impossible due to the off field concerns, but he's a top 15 talent at worst.

Draft Projection

Mid to late 1st