:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/9048061/20121222_gav_al2_035.0.jpg)
Today we use our 2013 NFL Draft prospect profile to take a look at Washington cornerback Desmond Trufant. Trufant has two brothers in the NFL -- Marcus Trufant and Isaiah Trufant -- and has been a good player for the Huskies. Trufant had a good combine and could be selected in the first round.
[Complete SB Nation Draft Coverage]
BBV Draft Hub Page
Check out our complete 2013 NFL Draft coverage, including a Big Board, a growing list of prospect profiles, interviews with draft hopefuls and much more.
Pros
Good height/speed combination, he measured in at the combine at 6-foot, 190 pounds. Trufant had the second-best 20 yard shuttle of all players at the draft (3.85 seconds), which would have been faster than any player in the 2012 draft -- Casey Hayward had the best one. He was very durable in college and played in 45 straight games at one point. Trufant is at his best when asked to mirror receivers and likes to play press-bail coverage. Trufant competes for the ball in the air and in the run game, but he does not make a lot of picks and isn't a great tackler.
Trufant's best overall quality is that he is very fluid. He has very good change of direction skills (further cemented by his 20 yard shuttle score) for any player, let along a player who is 6-feet tall.
[Big Blue View 2013 NFL Draft Big Board]
Cons
Small hands (8 5/8 inches) and short arm length (31 1/4 inches), though those are similar to Prince Amukamara's measurements. Trufant, though is not anywhere near the technician Amukamara is. Trufant, depending on who you ask, is either great in zone coverage or clueless, I split the difference here. I think he has the tools and the mindset, but not the technique and has had too many lapses. He gets a little grabby which will cost him some penalties in the NFL, but that's just again nitpicking his technique.
Player comparison: Antoine Cason (NFL.com and NFLmocks.com)
Me: Jonathan Joseph
[Follow Big Blue View on Twitter | 'Like' Big Blue View on Facebook.]
Does He Fit With The Giants?
Yeah. He is not scheme limited and the Giants need cornerbacks. He is not a top 32 player on my own big board, but he's not a reach at 19 because there is only slim possibility he's available in the second round. He's a good player who is a pretty safe prospect because he can play both man and zone pretty well, and he has the right measurables, he doesn't have any lingering off the field concerns I'm aware of, and it can't hurt that he has two successful brothers in the NFL as well.
Prospect Video
This is @aaronaloysius video.
Big Board Rankings
CBS Sports-20th (this is post-combine...huge jump from before)
Mocking the Draft-60th
Sports Illustrated-24th
Big Blue View Board-39th
Final Thought
I like Trufant as a prospect, but to me him being talked about as a "first-round lock", as he has been in a few places now, has everything to do with how disappointing Johnthan Banks ran at the combine more than it has to do with Trufant's tape. I don't mean that Trufant is a bad player -- he's a very good player. I have a high second-round grade on him but I think he's getting bumped up because of positional value. Nineteen is a little rich for my personal taste for Trufant, but I feel as far as cornerback prospects go he's a safe cornerback prospect to the degree which any draft pick can be safe. I think he is definitely an option for the Giants at 19, but I think has to refine his technique a lot (he's grabby, he doesn't read his keys exceptionally well in zone, he needs use better leverage in press coverage, etc.) to be the type of number one cornerback he can become in time, but you have to love how effortlessly he can mirror wide receivers and his competitive nature. And I wouldn't be disappointed or thrilled with the pick, he's very solid at 19.
Follow me on twitter @NFLmocks