Greg Cosell's Mock Draft Has Stephon Gilmore (!) Going 3rd to the Vikings
By Jason McIntyre
Amid much hype (in the nerdy world of mock drafts), Cosell released his “mock” draft Monday. I have mock in quotes because he didn’t do it based on what teams SHOULD do, but rather based on film study, team needs and he did NOT include “documented off-field problems, character issues [and] anything that is not a function of on-field play.”
There’s no point in going through every pick, but my focus will be on the guy he had going 3rd, Stephon Gilmore, a cornerback from South Carolina. (Other things you may care about: He had RG3 first, troubled Janoris Jenkins 5th, Michael Floyd one spot ahead of Justin Blackmon, and Boise State’s Doug Martin sneaking in the first round at 32.)
But back to Gilmore. He was Mr. South Carolina coming out of high school (where he played QB, too), and started at corner as a freshman. He had two solid seasons, and coming into last Fall, Gilmore was considered a big-time stud. He’s got great size (6-foot, 190 pounds) and speed (he ran a 4.4 40 at the Combine).
But in the season opener, Gilmore ran into trouble with East Carolina receiver Lance Lewis. Gilmore was “torched” by Lewis (who is now considered a late-round draft pick) a couple times. Here’s video (he can’t locate the ball at the 1:10 mark and gives up a TD; he’s beaten again in the air at the 2:42 mark):
Gilmore settled down after the first-game jitters and had a strong season. The SEC wasn’t exactly loaded with receivers – SC didn’t face LSU and Rueben Randle – so we never got to see Gilmore against any elite receivers last season. But here’s one thing Gilmore did have in his favor – two of the best end pass rushers in college football, 1st round lock Melvin Ingram, and freshman sensation Jadeveon Clowney. That’ll make life easy for any cornerback.
Here’s some more tape on Gilmore, if you’re interested:
I liked Gilmore all season. Had him 14th in an October Mock Draft (4th cornerback), and 27th in December (4th cornerback). The consensus seems to be Dre Kirkpatrick – another corner who had a beastly defensive line terrifying the QB – is better in zone coverage, and Gilmore is better in man-to-man. Claiborne, who most scouts have as the best corner in the draft, also had a ferocious defense around him. All three could go in the Top 20.
In my last mock draft (well, there could be another Thursday), I had Gilmore going 15th.