HOF corner Woodson likes what he sees in Iowa’s Jackson
The great Rod Woodson had coin-flipping duties at the NFL Combine, but little else.
After three seasons, the Hall of Fame cornerback/safety was no longer the Oakland Raiders’ DBs coach, swept away with the firing of Jack Del Rio.
Woodson had hoped to catch on with the Steelers — the team name he had submitted to the Hall of Fame in order to be given his ring — but they hired Tom Bradley instead.
So Woodson was stranded with knowledge that he didn’t mind sharing with a reporter, who asked Woodson what he wanted to see in the DB workout that day.
“I want to see which Power-5 players interact with the lower-level players,” Woodson said. “Team unity is so important.”
Readers can check the tape on that one. But what about the players? Who did Woodson like?
“You have to like Denzel Ward. I know he can run,” Woodson said. “The guy I really want to see is Josh Jackson. I want to see him run. He looks like an NFL corner to me.”
Maybe it’s the black and gold, since Jackson played at Iowa, but the 6-0 3/8, 196-pound cornerback did lead Division 1-A with eight interceptions. He returned two for touchdowns and broke up 18 other passes. Jackson’s a ball magnet, and physical enough to have made 48 Big-10 tackles.
But Woodson wasn’t around for comment after Jackson ran a 4.56 40. That was the official time, after a seemingly sufficient 4.49 had initially been announced. But the 4.56 set off some alarm bells and no doubt dropped Jackson’s stock.
NFL.com’s best mock-draftor, Lance Zierlein, left Jackson out of the first round of his latest (March 27) mock. That was posted a day after Jackson had improved his 40 time to 4.52 at Iowa’s pro day.
The Steelers would certainly give an elite player such as Jackson first-round consideration, but they seem more interested in mid-round slot corners who are capable of playing outside in a reserve situation. M.J. Stewart and Duke Dawson have already visited and are tough and savvy inside players.
Dawson is a 5-10 5/8, 197-pounder with 4.46 speed and he’s strong enough for 15 bench reps. In his first season as starter at Florida, he intercepted four passes. He has great instincts but tight hips, thus he skipped the agility drills.
Stewart is about the same size (5-10 7/8, 200) and speed (4.54), but with 18 reps and a 38-inch vertical jump. His 4.28 shuttle time just gets him under the 4.30 threshold.
Another third-round prospect is blazer Parry Nickerson. The 5-10 3/8, 182-pounder had 16 career interceptions (six last season) at Tulane. He ran a 4.32 Combine 40 with 15 reps and is a sticky man corner who would help the Steelers continue in that philosophical direction.
Slot corners D.J. Reed (5-9 1/8, 188, 4.51) of Kansas State and Darius Phillips (5-9 7/8, 193, 4.54) of Western Michigan are the best return specialists.
Siran Neal (6-0, 206, 4.56) out of Jacksonville State is more of a slot hammer as a physical linebacker-cornerback conversion who might even play strong safety. He had 17 bench reps and a 40.5-inch vertical jump.
Sleepers include Pitt’s Avonte Maddox (5-9 1/8, 184, 4.39), Penn State’s pair of Christian Campbell (6-0 3/4, 195, 4.55) and Grant Haley (5-9 1/4, 190, 4.44), West Virginia’s Mike Daniels (5-11, 204) and Virginia Tech’s oft-injured Brandon Facyson (6-1 1/2, 203, 4.53).
My take
With two starters in place, and last year’s rookies Cameron Sutton and Brian Allen providing depth with Coty Sensabaugh, the Steelers are targeting slot corners who can tackle — like the guy they already have, Mike Hilton. Perhaps the Steelers want to make sure Hilton’s emergence last season wasn’t a fluke. I would disagree with the team’s thinking, only if I didn’t like the guys they’re looking at — Stewart and Dawson — as much as I do. The more the merrier, I guess. The key at this position will be snapping up any elite talent that falls their way.
Value board
First Round — Josh Jackson, Iowa.
Second Round — Mike Hughes, Central Florida.
Third Round — Quenton Meeks, Stanford; M.J. Stewart, North Carolina; Parry Nickerson, Tulane.
Fourth Round — Duke Dawson, Florida; Siran Neal, Jacksonville State.
Fifth Round — Christian Campbell, Penn State.
Sixth Round — Isaac Yiadom, Boston College; Brandon Facyson, Virginia Tech.
Seventh Round — Grant Haley, Penn State.