The first prospect that Beane and company should have their eyes on is cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. Some may recognize the name because of his prolific pass defending father who recorded 4 interceptions and 9 passes defended against the Buffalo Bills during his 5 years as a member of the New England Patriots.
Samuel Jr. is similar to his dad in multiple ways, but what is crazy is that both are listed at the same height and weight, 5’10” and about 185 pounds. However, junior is more than capable of playing bigger than his listed measurements. He very aggressive when closing in on the catch point and in run support. Many draft analysts have said that he is too small and won’t be capable of holding up as a boundary corner at the next level, but I think his tenacity and competitive toughness will allow him to make up for those 2 inches and 15 pounds that keeps him from being a “prototypical outside cornerback”.
With all that being said, Samuel can provide extra value as a cornerback because of his positional flexibility to play in the slot or out on the corner. He played primarily man coverage at Florida State but appears to have the tools on tape to be successful in zone coverage. His ball skills, aggressiveness, and closing speed on the catch point are all traits that should enable him to translate into a solid zone coverage cornerback at the next level. He’s projected to be selected anywhere from late day one to day two of the draft.