BUSTER SKRINE, CB, UT-CHATTANOOGA
Triangle Numbers: 5-10, 186, 4.29
Scouting Reports:
Skrine had another very good practice, staying low in his back-pedal, cleanly opening up his hips and generating a real burst when asked to click and close. Now, he was/is raw and his footwork seemed to get a choppy at times and he would waste some motion when trying to close. However, the natural fluidity, balance and overall skill set to play corner in the NFL was there. Plus, when asked to turn and track the football vertically, the guy displayed impressive initial explosion, had a good get off and reached top-end speed quickly, making it really tough for receivers to get behind.
He did look narrow framed and because of some wasted steps/motion when trying to click and close he did have a tough time getting around bigger receivers and could be boxed out away from the ball. However, you expect a small-school corner to be raw and there is still some upside to his game from a technical standpoint.
Fast forward to this past week where Skrine ran the fastest unofficial 40 time of the defensive back group at 4.29 (which was later said to be in the low 4.4 range on the “official clock”). Either the way guy can straight-out run. Plus, he displayed quick feet, natural bend and balance during position drills.
He’s going to need some time to develop both physically and mentally. However, he’s a guy who has the talents to come in and compete for a spot in nickel situations and eventually could fight for playing time on the outside. But overall, he’s made a nice jump up draft boards in the past couple weeks and at this stage I would certainly take a long look at Skrine during the 5th-6th round range.
Skrine caused a bit of a stir with an unofficial time of 4.29 40, but the official time is 4.48. That’s a little too large of a discrepancy. Watching him run, he looked closer to the 4.3 mark than the 4.5 he’s quoted at. Either way, he definitely will have some teams going back and checking his tape with that speed. He wasn’t polished in the drills but showed good ability making him a possible sleeper come draft day
SI:
Skrine leaves Indianapolis as the fastest man from the 2011 combine. His first 40 time was clocked as low as 4.27 seconds on a number of watches. His second was slightly slower, primarily due to a bobble at the 20-yard mark which knocked Skrine off balance. Though he still needs a bit of work on his position skills, Skrine showed enough to make people think he can contribute at the next level as a rookie.
[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2jksB_vrsM[/pro-player]
GiantsGab Thoughts:
Obviously, he is undersized. But, man, is he fast. Super fast. He can contribute on special teams, kick and punt returns, while learning how to be a corner. All the tools are there, just needs a little molding. I think this kid has tremendous upside, and will be a small school sleeper who will surprise. I’ve already mocked him to the Giants. I really like his speed, obviously, but he’s tough, aggressive, and as a third corner covering quick slot receivers, he may be very, very good.
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KJ Wright, LB, Mississippi State
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