2013 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State

The New York Giants are likely considering dumping cornerback Corey Webster and his $7 million contract, which could leave them a large hole at the cornerback position to fill in the off-season. Even if the Giants decide to keep Webster the secondary is in need of improvement.

With that in mind oday we're going to use our 2013 NFL Draft prospect profile to look at talented Florida State cornerback Xavier Rhodes.

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Pros

Rhodes is built like a safety (he's listed at 6-foot-2, 217 pounds) but has the athleticism of a cornerback. Rhodes is a cornerback who is very willing to get physical. Rhodes has good instincts and loads of confidence. Rhodes does a good job of playing the football in the air, but needs to make more plays. Rhodes does a good job of flipping his hips and running with wide receivers.

[Big Blue View 2013 NFL Draft Big Board]

Cons

Rhodes is physical, but he can get grabby at times. He has battled through injuries at times during his college career. Even though Rhodes has good athleticism he does not possess elite straight line speed. Needs to improve his tackling.

Player comparison: Brandon Browner (NFL.com), Ladarius Webb (Mockingthedraft), Aqib Talib (CBSsports)

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Does He Fit With The Giants?

Rhodes is at his best when he is able to play press coverage, but people will argue that he won't fit in Perry Fewell's read and react scheme. Rhodes would be best in press coverage.

Prospect Video

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Big Board Rankings

CBS Sports-24th

National Football Post-56th

Mocking the Draft-22nd

Sports Illustrated-30th

Big Blue View Board-13th

Final Thought

As you can see from the big board rankings I'm higher on Rhodes than other people. Most believe he'll be a top 20 pick because of his positional value. Rhodes might be scheme dependent, he's not a nickel cornerback and he's not at his best in a zone. He is very physical and he plays a lot like Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner on the Seattle Seahawks. Rhodes is built more like a safety than Sherman and looks like a better athlete entering the NFL as well. Rhodes has the potential to line up against the X receiver (Hakeem Nicks' role) and be a guy who can consistently take him out of the game.

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