Prospect Profiles: CB Joe Haden (Florida)

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Prospect Profiles: CB Joe Haden (Florida)

March 12th, 2010

Jesse Bartolis

Posted in Main

From: http://www.gatorzone.com/football/honors/images/2008/haden.jpg

Measurables

5’11. 193 pounds. 18 Bench Presses. 4.57 40 at the combine. Born April 14th 1989.

He has nice size and weight ratio he didn’t show great strength with 18 reps (not terrible though), and he had a VERY slow 40 time for an elite Corner Prospect.

Stats

Career: 197 tackles, 2 FF, 8 INT (3 years) and 3 sacks.

2009: 57 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 FF, 4 INT.

Big Games: 8 tackles vs Tennessee and an INT

@ LSU 5 tackles, 1 INT, 2 passes defensed

@ Miss State 7 tackles

@ South Carolina 10 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT, 1 pass defensed

@ Alabama 3 tackles, 2 passes defensed

Joe Haden was Super Productive in college, and in 2009. 3 sacks from the CB spot and 4 INT is impressive in the S.E.C. as you can see vs quality teams he had good games. South Carolina, LSU Alabama are all pretty good to very good teams and he played well in all of those games.

Stats

Scouting Reports

ESPN’s Scouts Inc. (1 exceptional, 3 average, 5 marginal)

Production	1	“2007: (12/12) 63 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 12 PBU, 1 INT, 1 FR; SEC All-Freshman selection. 2008: (14/14) 87 tackles, .5 TFL, .5 sack. 12 PBU, 3 INT, 1 FF, 1 FR; Second-team All-SEC. 2009: (14/14) 68 tackles, 5 TFL, 3 sacks, 10 PBU, 4 INT, 2 FF.”
Height-Weight-Speed	1	Prototypical height with adequate bulk and excellent top-end speed.
Durability	2	2007: Misses Florida State game with an ankle injury.
Intangibles	2	None available

Defensive Corner specific Traits
Fluidity	1	No information available at this time
Closing Burst	1	Shows elite burst out of pedal and can make up a lot of ground when the ball is in the air. Times blitzes well and can get to the quarterback in a flash.
Ball Skills	2	Can snatch the ball out of the air and a dangerous open field runner. High riser that can high-point the ball and compete for jump balls with bigger receivers. Times jumps well and gets hands up when asked to blitz and isn’t going to get to the quarterback. Can run through receiver when trying to get hand on the ball and vulnerable to pass interference calls. (See 2009 Vanderbilt game)
Instincts/Mental Toughness	2	Competitor that consistently matches up with the opponent’s top receiver and doesn’t appear to dwell on mistakes. Can line up on the perimeter or in the slot. Reads quarterbacks’ eyes and can bait them into throwing in his direction. Has improved in this area but still gets caught gambling on occasion and is vulnerable to double moves (see 2008 LSU game). Can be late recognizing routes in off-man and zone coverage.
Run Support	3	Solid in run support for elite cover corner but certainly can improve. Excellent range and can make plays in pursuit. Is chippy at times but not always interested. Adequate open field tackler that flashes the ability to deliver big hits in space but can slide off tackles trying to lower shoulder into the ball carrier. Doesn’t square up and launch body into bigger ball carriers.

Draftboardinsider.com

Scouting Report:: The more I watch Haden the more I love his game. He’s got great size. Keep in mind I have never been a big fan of corners over 6′ tall so for Haden at 5’10” that’s just right. He’s got a strong physical build and long arms. In terms of a skill set Haden is the top CB in this draft, and no.2 whoever you want to plug in, is a distant 2nd. Haden excels in Man coverage. he can maintain his backpedal, hips stay low, and has great instincts. And like most Florida players, he’s a superb athlete with impressive closing speed and fantastic ball skills. But perhaps the most impressive thing about Haden is just how physical he is. He’s physical in coverage, he’s nasty in the run game, he’s an excellent blitzer and a rock solid tackler. If he has a shortcoming, it’s his ability to play zone. He has a tendency to get pulled off in zone, losing his assignment. But really this is nitpicking. Haden is a great player and seems to get better week after week.
Draft Status: Great cover corners, especially ones who can defend the run, tackle and with great ball skills are rare in every draft, but especially so in this one. I suspect if he declares(and why wouldn’t he?) he’s the first CB off the board, and when you consider the drop in talent after him, he’ll end up in the top 15, and the next corner not until the end of the round.Reminds me of: Terrance McGee, CB Buffalo Bills-Both with short stout frames, and are super physical in coverage and in run support.and is an even better blitzer. Haden has a chance to be a special player in this league, just like McGee is.

Final Analysis: I entered the season with a list of 4 corners I expected to have as first round grades. Haden wasn’t one of them, and that’s my bad. Haden is a superb athlete, and a great football player. There’s very little he needs to improve in his game, other than possibly play recognition and his assignments in a zone defense. Of course his physical style of coverage will probably cost him a flag or two early but the number of big plays he will make will far outnumber those.Big Board Rankings

Haden was a starter upon setting foot in Gainesville. He missed only one game in his career due to injury and started 40 games for the Gators.

Clearly the top cornerback available in the 2010 NFL Draft. Has the strength, tackling ability and closing speed to play free safety as well.

ESPN Scouts Inc 6th

Draftboardinsider.com 5th

Walterfootball.com 8th

Drafttek.com 8th

Where the Mocks Have him Falling

Mel Kiper Jr. 1st round pick 13, San Fran 49ers

McShay 1st round pick 7 Cleveland Browns

Draftek.com 1st round pick 11 Denver Broncos

Walterfootball.com 1st roun dpick 13, San Fran 49ers

Bartolis Summary and Final Verdict

Joe Haden is THE top Cornerback in this draft class and has been for quite a while. Joe Haden was almost a sure fire top ten pick before the combine and is probably still a guranteed top 16 pick now (no way he makes it past the Titans at 16).

Haden is physical in run support, a very good blizter from the cornerback position, and great in coverage. Haden plays well in big games and is a very good cornerback prospect who is still young, yet exeprienced at the same time.

Bartolis Final Verdict

If Joe Haden is still available at 15th overall he will be the best player available (minus some freaky happenings). Haden is a very good cornerback prospect who plays FAST on TAPE and so is combine time is not really all that concerning to me….but a player like McClain who looks a little slow when you watch him play and then runs a little slow at the combine has legetimate speed concerns.

Haden not so much. A lot of people (including Deion Sanders) believe that haden had Terrible 40 form and that is low time is more indictative of a bad form than it is his speed becuase he plays fast on tape and he looked pretty fast after he got started.

I like Joe Haden a lot as a prospect and have absolutely no qualms if the Giants race up to the stage to select Joe Haden at #15 overall in the upcoming draft, even though we have a lot of young talent in the secondary…you can never have too many good cornerbacks.

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