National Football League

Billick on defensive back hopefuls

Published Mar. 25, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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Tyler Sash | Davon House | Brandon Harris Patrick Peterson | Prince Amukamara | Jimmy Smith Aaron Williams | Ahmad Black | Rahim Moore

Sash needs more seasoning

Iowa safety Tyler Sash is a mid- to late-round selection who may have done well to stay in school for his senior year. In an already weak class of safeties, he could be the fifth to seventh safety taken.

If he were to stay in school, he would have had another year to develop his technique in man coverage and his consistency as a tackler. As it stands now, Sash looks much more comfortable in zone schemes. In man, he looks awkward in his technique and allows his cushion to be eaten up quickly. He is a little slow in his transition coming out of his backpedal which makes the target area for the quarterback much more favorable.

Sash often plays overaggressively and gets caught taken too hard of an angle and overrunning tackles. He does read run quickly and flies downhill and attack in the run game allowing for an additional presence in the box.

Sash has good size at 6-foot and 211 pounds, but without knowing his situation and reasoning for coming out early, I believe he would have helped his draft stock tremendously having an additional developmental year.

House could be draft steal

Davon House out of New Mexico is a similar prospect as Kyle Wilson was one year ago. Wilson was able to contribute to the New York Jets immediately as a nickel back and also filled it adequately during the absence of Darrelle Revis.

I can see House having a similar impact in this upcoming season. House has 11 career interceptions, returning three for touchdowns.

The tape backs up the stats. It is clear that he has elite hand/eye coordination and ball skills. He maintains contact (legally) and uses his quickness to stay with receivers in man coverage. Similar to other corners in the draft, he will need to continue to improve his zone technique to be an all-over corner in the NFL. I would also like to see House play a little more physical with his 200-pound frame.

He is also an attractive prospect because of his durability. He didn't miss a game in his four-year college career, a total of 50 games. House could be the steal of the draft for all of the defensive back prospects.

Harris anticipates well

Miami cornerback Brandon Harris will be clumped in with Aaron Williams and Jimmy Smith for the "next best" corners in the draft. Harris is the smallest of the three and ran the slowest 40-yard dash time at 4.53. That is interesting considering he also ran track at Miami, although it was the 400 meters.

On the field, he shows elite athleticism and loose hips making for a wide receiver difficult to shake him in man coverage. He shows the ability to anticipate routes based on down and distance and body language, which allows him to cut off routes and make plays on the ball. Because of that ability, he was tied for second in the nation with 1.31 passes defensed per game in 2009 and had a total of 28 over the past two seasons. Similar to Aaron Williams, I would like to see him convert some of breakups into interceptions as he had only four in his career.

For as good as Harris is in man coverage, he needs to work on his zone drops and ability to cover in space. He appears to get flat footed while sitting in his zone and look a little uncomfortable passing off receivers as they leave his specified zone. Like other true cover corners, Harris uses a duck and swipe tacking technique that may be exposed in the NFL in yards after catch or edge rushes.

Peterson could go No. 1 overall

Peterson is going to be an elite player in the NFL, I am just not sure that it will be at corner. While I think he could be an impact cornerback who has the potential to shut down a team's No. 1 receiver each game, he may even be more impactful as a playmaking safety. With his size and 4.34 speed, he has the range to make plays from sideline to sideline and playing safety wouldn't limit that ability to just one half of the field.

Peterson shows great awareness and anticipation in pass coverage, both man and zone. He easily flips his hips and shows an elite explosive burst to make a play on the ball. He has the athletic ability to control his body at full speed which allows him to track the ball flight and make plays at its highest point in the air. Additionally, Peterson is going to make an immediate impact in the return game as well. Last year, only returning kicks and punts (not any offensive plays), Peterson had the fourth most total yards in the SEC.

The only question now is, will Peterson be the first defensive back ever taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft? If not, look for him to land in San Francisco or Dallas.

Amukamara needs to make more plays

Prince Amukamara is also garnering top-10 consideration in April's draft. His combine numbers were fairly similar to that of Patrick Peterson — 6-foot, 206 pounds, 38-inch vertical and 15 reps in the bench.

One thing that scares some scouts about Amukamara is that he did not record an interception in 2010 — his five career interceptions all came in his junior year. He did have 13 pass break-ups as a senior, but in the NFL you are going to want to create more of those into turnovers.

Prince plays more physical than Peterson, but may not be as good of a slot cover corner. He has smooth, quick hips that allow him to burst out of his T-step and break on the ball. He plays with a good overall awareness and jumps routes with pretty good timing. He can read and react to the flat quickly and disrupt the screen game and quick bubbles. He is also a sure tackler who rarely ever gives up extra yards after the catch.

When Prince gets in trouble, it is typically because he is high and leaning back in the his backpedal. If he can play with the same consistent technique throughout an entire game, he will have a very successful career.

Prince stepped up against fellow draft prospect Jake Locker, when Nebraska held him to only 71 yards and forced two interceptions. He didn't play so well against next year’s top wide receiver prospect, Justin Blackmon from Oklahoma State. Blackmon posted five catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns.

Smith a physical corner

Jimmy Smith is another top-tier corner that has first round potential but may not be selected that high. On the field, he has flashes of brilliance but lacks overall consistency is his technique. Off the field, he has never been in trouble personally, but those close to him may be a detriment to his professional maturity.

Smith measured in at the combine at 6-foot-2 1/4 and 211 pounds. He ran a 4.46, jumped a 36-inch vertical, and completed 24 reps in the bench. You see this size and strength when you evaluate him as a football player. He is a physical "in-your-face" corner who looks most comfortable in press coverage.

He uses his long arm to get a solid jam at the line of scrimmage and stays physical with the wide receiver for the entire five yards allowed. He reads the body language of wide receivers well enough to jump routes and make plays on the ball, but he could improve on his pedal to break transition. Smith also shows up frequently in run support as he is a reliable tackler that reads pass/run and attacks. At times, Smith gets in trouble by playing too high.

Jimmy Smith matched up well against A.J. Green, which was a testament to how he will fare against NFL caliber receivers. Smith will be evaluated against Aaron Williams and Brandon Harris to be the third corner drafted.

Williams could be cornerback or safety

Aaron Williams is best defined as a defensive back rather than as a safety or corner. Right now, he is a tweener prospect who may add value by being just that; a versatile player that can contribute at both positions.

At the NFL Scouting Combine, Williams measured in at 5-foot-11 7/8 and 204 pounds. He jumped a 37.5-inch vertical and ran a 4.46 40-yard dash.

As a player, he draws comparisons to Cedric Griffin and Aaron Ross. He has a good short area burst but isn't overly physical. He is better in off-coverage than in press, and plays well in space. When in man coverage, he has shown that he is susceptible to the double move and can be a step late in his break.

Because of that ability in space and his slow backpedal to break transition, many teams like him better as a safety. But even playing there, the defensive coordinator would have the flexibility to walk him down and man up the slot receiver.

Williams reads run quickly and attacks the line of scrimmage aggressively. He keeps outside contain and forces runners back inside to the rest of the defense. He sometimes leaves his feet when making tackles which leads to a drop in consistently bringing down the ball carrier.

Florida S may not measure well, but will show up on the field

Many NFL scouts and talent evaluators will tell you that Ahmad Black is undersized and doesn't have elite speed or quickness. Black, measured at the NFL Combine at 5'9 1/2 and 184 pounds, only ran a 4.78 and jumped a 35.5 vertical. As of now, Black doesn't have a ton of people salivating at mouth.

Given his measurements listed above, he is obviously a smaller player playing a very physical position in the NFL.

But what I will tell you, is that despite his lack of size and speed, Black always seems to be around the football. On the field, he plays faster than what his 40-time suggests by playing smart and instinctive. You will rarely find him out of position in zone schemes and he reads wide receivers well in man coverage.

Before playing safety, he was a cover corner that has no problem manning up on the slot receiver. He displays a smooth and fluid backpedal with an efficient transition into his break on the ball. He is a reliable tackler, but gets in trouble when he leaves his feet in an effort to make a lunging hit.

While Black may not be physically intimidating, he shows up on the field and makes big plays against the best of competition. He intercepted Sam Bradford and Matt Stafford before they turned pro. In my opinion, Black may not be the best athlete, but he is an exceptional football player.

Don't be too high on UCLA S Rahim Moore

UCLA safety Rahim Moore is being mentioned as the top prospect at his position. While I agree that he is the best of the bunch, I am quick to point out how below average this group of safeties really are.

Rahim Moore measured in at the Combine at 5'11 3/4 and 202 pounds. He jumped a 35 inch vertical and posted a 4.62 in the 40-yard dash. These are very average numbers for a safety in the NFL.

In 2009, Moore accounted for 10 interceptions and an 11th pick was negated by a penalty, but in 2010, Moore only posted one interception with just four pass break-ups. Playing the safety position, you can't use the argument that they just threw to the other side of the field. With that said, he does show good athletic feet and balance in pass coverage with above average straight line speed.

Moore looks comfortable in zone coverage and positions himself nicely on the field. He wasn't asked to cover the slot receiver man-to-man very often, and that is where he could get exposed in the NFL.

With a safety, you want a secure tackler that will be your last line of defense on explosive plays of 20 yards or more. Moore doesn't show that consistency and often tries to tackle too high, wrapping around the shoulders/neck area rather than around the waist.

While Moore is a decent prospect, don't let the fact that he will be the first safety taken influence your opinion on how productive he will be early in his career.

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