Cromartie has a chance to be the first Corner taken in April
Cornerback Dominique Rogers-Cromartie's draft stock is shooting up the boards with another good showing at an NFL event. Cromartie first made a good impression on the scouts during the week of the Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, where he showed the scouts he was much more than a small school sleeper prospect from Tennessee State.
On Tuesday, Cromartie blew the scouts and NFL personnel away with his performance in everything he did at the Combine. Cromartie turned in the best time (6.74) in the 3 cone, the best time (11.06) in the 60 yd long shuttle, had the best (38.5) vertical jump, the best (10'11") broad jump measurement and ran the third best forty time being clocked at 4.33. To top it off Cromartie displayed outstanding footwork and was very fluid and impressive in the on field drills for the defensive backs.
Cromartie wasn't considered to be one of the top four cornerbacks for the upcoming draft when the college season ended, but more of a second to third round prospect with a chance to crack the first round with a good showing at the workouts. But that was then, and as of now, Cromartie is running neck and neck with Leodis McKelvin of Troy for the right to be the first corner to come off the board in April. The other top cornerback prospects were either shorter or slower than originally expected, or in Aquib Talib's case, a little too tight in the hips in the defensive back drills, which will hurt his stock when the NFL teams stack their boards in early April.
All in all, Dominique Cromartie has great blood-lines (the cousin of Antonio Cromartie), untapped potential and is considered to have a very high ceiling, which is exactly what NFL teams look for in the first round of the Draft. Since Cromartie has much better ball skills than Leodis McKelvin of Troy, it leads me to believe that Cromartie has a legitimate chance to be the first corner to come off the board in the upcoming Draft.
One thing is for certain, Cromartie made himself a ton of money with his performance on Tuesday.
-Al Fronczak
