Cornerback/Free Safety

Virginia

6-2 212

40 time: 4.43

Draft board overall prospect rank: #120

Draft board cornerback rank: NR

Overall rating: 65*

            3/21/10: Chris Cook was regarded as a tweener, cornerback and free safety, going into the draft Pre-Season, but he has been a perfect example of a prospect who has won over scouts in the months before the draft and significantly increased his draft stock and earned himself some money. The biggest issues with Cook coming into this draft Pre-Season were his lack of speed, his inability to mirror athletic wide receiver one-on-one, and his lack of elite fluidity. However, he came into the Senior Bowl, an event that I even said he did not deserve to be invited to, and showed some very good man skills and great athleticism and fluidity. Then he came into the Combine and, in addition to impressing once again in the drills, ran a 4.43, roughly .15-.2 seconds faster than projected, dispelling all beliefs that he was slow and all of a sudden, he is being looked at as a 3^rd round prospect. I normally am weary of guys who shoot up this fast in the draft Pre-Season because I think it’s a helpful way to get scouts to forget about your lack of production last year, but I kind of like Cook as a prospect and I love his upside. He has experience in a zone style scheme, and he would probably best served in a zone style scheme, but he could play in a man or man press scheme as well. He has good size and uses it well to frustrate even some of the larger wide receivers. He hits hard. He’s fundamentally sound and he can play some free safety, if necessary, because of his size. His hands are very poor and he only had 7 picks in his career, but other than that, he has very few weaknesses. Of course, the things about him that I didn’t like last year are still there. He’s a bit stiff in back pedal, and, though he has elite recovery speed, his backpedal speed isn’t great. He’ll still have trouble with more athletic and crafty receivers and isn’t a future #1 corner. His tape overall was very inconsistent and he had some ugly plays and got burnt far too often to be considered an elite draft prospect. However, his upside, with his speed, his size, and what he has shown this draft preseason, is very good. I could see him as a future #2 or, possibly, a #1 in the right scheme. I might use a 3^rd rounder on him, and the 3^rd round is probably where he’ll go, but I’ll still give him a high 4^th round grade. I think the tape was too inconsistent last year for him to be anything more, even with his strong draft Pre-Season.

NFL Comparison: Ike Taylor

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here