One cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys to watch in each round
Michigan State 5'10 185 LBS. ShakurBrown. player. Pick Analysis. CB. 805. Scouting Report. 5
It seems as if undersized cornerbacks are on the rise in the NFL. Ironically, this one is not the most athletic, much like Jean-Charles. Michigan State’s Shakur Brown has the football IQ that the Dallas Cowboys’ coaches will love.
Standing at only five feet and ten inches tall carrying 185 pounds, no one is scared of Brown. That is okay because he doesn’t want you to be.
Test him, cut, and get the quarterback to throw you the ball. I’m sure the ball will end up on the ground or in his hands. He is yet another undersized cornerback to catch people’s eyes.
If you want a freakish athlete, Brown is not the guy for you. Relative Athletic Scoring gave him a grade of 2.75 out of 10. All Brown has to show for himself athletically is his strength.
The corner bench pressed 225 pounds 17 times, which is a lot considering his size. The issue is, he isn’t agile, fast, or explosive.
How can someone that is so unathletic perform at the NFL level? Well, you aren’t going to draft someone that is not athletic for their athletic abilities. You are going to pick them because they have a high football IQ.
Brown falls into that category. Despite all the advantages wide receivers have over him, Brown finished the season with 25 tackles, five interceptions, and four passes defended in only seven games.
Michigan State is not the competitive university it once was. Nevertheless, Shakur finished the season on a positive note. By positive, I mean getting an 82.2 rating from Pro Football Focus.
The impressive rating is due to his work in coverage. The corner held quarterbacks to a 61.9 percent completion percentage and a 52.4 passer rating.
Any team that drafts Brown should understand that they need to put him in the best position to be successful. That means he will likely play off-the-line zone coverage. Let him make his reads and make a play.
In the fifth round, he is not a bad option. I don’t think it is as much of a home run as Jean-Charles or McPhearson in the seventh and sixth-round, respectively, but it is still a solid pick. The training staff better get to work and improve Brown’s athleticism, though.