Overview Death, taxes and David Long sitting under a receiver's chin waiting to jam and bully the release – all three are inevitable. He lacks height, length and makeup burst, but it is hard to find tape where those areas came back to haunt him very often. He's patient from press, stays connected to routes underneath, but may have to adjust to off-man and prove he can withstand vertical challenges against taller targets. He's not as long, loose or fast as teams like, but he's a consistent cover man with the talent to find reps early in his career.
Strengths
- Weather-tested
- Quarterbacks rarely tried him and rarely completed those attempts
- Compact and physical
- Plays with cozy coverage in receiver's chest underneath
- Strength and footwork to grind through the release
- Plays with excellent focus on the route
- Has speed to pace hip-to-hip downfield
- Parks under opponent's chin from press
- Patiently waits out release fakes
- Rarely gets over-extended and out of balance
- Quick interchange of routes from short zone
- Tenacious competitor in all phases
Weaknesses
- Short for an outside cornerback
- May need time to adjust if moved to slot
- Can be stacked by big bodies
- Lacks length to play around opponents and into passing lane
- Doesn't have big makeup burst to chase
- Could struggle to handle downfield jump balls
- Shorter target to throw over in Cover-2
- Not much tape to gauge ability to survive outside of press
- Teams may view him as scheme-dependent
By Lance Zierlein (NFL.COM)