The Adam Jones Show's 2015 NFL Draft List: Cornerbacks
BOSTON (CBS) - Each week night leading up the 2015 NFL Draft, 98.5 The Sports Hub's Adam Jones and Rich Keefe break down the biggest needs of the New England Patriots.
On Monday night, the guys focused on cornerback prospects. With Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner leaving Foxboro by way of free agency, finding players to shut down the league's top playmakers is of utmost importance. You could argue the cornerback position is New England's most glaring need.
Jones and Keefe look at all the prospects and break them down into three groups:
Group 1: Off The Board - These players are the best of the best, prospects who the Patriots have no chance at picking 32nd overall.
Group 2: The Targets - These are prospects who could be available to the Patriots.
Group 3: The Pick Is In - Jones and Keefe each reveal who they want to see the Patriots pick.
Off The Board
CB Trae Waynes - Michigan State
Jones: He absolutely tore it up at the Combine. He's projected to go as early as pick No. 10, or somewhere in the early-to-mid teens for sure.
Keefe: Waynes has emerged as the clear-cut, no. 1 cornerback in this draft. Look at the teams ahead of [New England], he seems to be the one guy who's definitely off the board.
The Targets
CB Marcus Peters - Washington
Jones: He's a physical guy that can play press coverage and off coverage. When you pop on his tape he's probably the most productive of these cornerbacks. I think he's a guy who has the potential to be available at 32, and look, he could go a long way to being that Darrelle Revis type of replacement because of the physicality.
Keefe: I've read comparisons to Aqib Talib with Marcus Peters, both on and off the field. He's a guy who's a bit of a wild card, and you've got to hope maybe he comes in and fits the system. It's nothing off field in terms of violence when you're talking about his character issues. A lot of it is on-field. Did he just not get along with the [Huskies] coaching staff? Is he going to buy in at the next level? I think he is, with the exception of Waynes, the best all around cornerback. He's also a sure tackler, which you don't always get from the cornerback spot.
CB Jalen Collins - LSU
Jones: 6-foot-2, 203 pounds. The question with him isn't physicality, length or frame -- he only had 10 starts in three years at LSU. For some reason he was not a starter throughout his time in Baton Rouge.
Keefe: LSU has a history of this. Sometimes these guys don't play a lot of games, but for some reason they project well at the next level. I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's [head coach] Les Miles or what, but they can recruit good athletes and they have these guys that shoot up draft boards. They may have three first rounders, and they weren't even necessarily a great team last year. Jalen Collins could be there at 32, and maybe even their second pick (64th overall). He's not the guy who's best in coverage, but if the Patriots are going to play a lot of zone next year -- which I think they might -- he might be pretty good there.
CB Kevin Johnson - Wake Forest
Jones: A lot of mocks have the Patriots getting him at 32, or at least that area of the first round. I think the question with Johnson is his frame, and if it'll hold up at the next level. I think he's more of a zone guy than a press-man type of guy.
P.J. Williams - Florida State
Jones: He just got busted for DUI. Earlier in his career at Florida State he fled the scene of a car accident. He's another great athlete at Florida State, but he may slip because of character concerns.
Jones: He absolutely tore up the Combine and set what would have been the world record in broad jump. Before you roll your eyes at that, [Patriots linebacker] Jamie Collins tore up the Combine with his broad jumps, so maybe the Patriots look at the measurables of this local kid and say he's a very projectable athlete.
Keefe: He's sort of come out of nowhere after the season with what a crazy athlete he is. He's another guy with the size and skill. I know a couple of mock drafts have the Patriots taking him at 32, so he could definitely be there on the board for them.
Ronald Darby - Florida State
Jones: He's a physical kid and a guy who teams didn't really throw at when he was at Florida State.
Quinten Rollins - Miami (Ohio)
Jones: He was a four-year basketball player at Miami of Ohio before he played his first year of football last season for the RedHawks.
Eric Rowe - Utah
Jones: He's a corner/safety kind of hybrid who's got a lot of helium this time of year.
The Pick Is In
To find out who Adam Jones and Rich Keefe desire most out of all the cornerback prospects, listen below!
Later in the evening, DraftInsider.net publisher Tony Pauline checked in with Adam Jones to discuss the upcoming NFL Draft class, which way the Patriots may be leaning and a whole lot more.
Listen below!
