Detroit Lions Draft 2017: Players Who May Fall to Lions’ Second Round Pick
By Ash Thompson
TreDavious White: CB, LSU
White is among the better college football players I have ever seen at maintaining coverage. In the second round his value to the Lions would be incredible. Most players lose their man for a moment on a break, leaving a minute window. Others bail immediately off the line of scrimmage rather than engage receivers immediately. White is all over his man from the snap until the ball hits the ground. His short and choppy steps give him incredible ability to react. He mirrors the receiver flawlessly in press coverage.
If anything White is even more impressive in tight zone coverage. He stays with a receiver until he can legitimately pass the responsibility over to the player in the next zone. Even in professional football, players very often fall off when they believe the receiver is moving over to another player. When White does it, you can be sure that he does so because another receiver is entering his zone deeper than the one he passed off.
When the ball is in the air White shines. He has elite ability to find and track a ball in flight. His ability to mirror receivers puts him in a place to contest catches. He can read a receiver’s body language very well, and get his hands in the way. As he is turning his head to look, he is often in the midst of extending his hands to the exact place the ball will be.
White also has punt return ability, having returned punts for touchdowns in each of the last three seasons. He is experienced as a gunner and will be able to contribute on every special teams team as a rookie. That is an underrated trait in a young cornerback. Corners can take a year or two to adjust to the NFL’s size and speed before they step into a full time role.
White does have downsides, and I believe they will keep him out of the first round. He is not the biggest corner available at 5’11” 192 lbs. He also is not the most physical corner against the run. While that is not the defining characteristic of his position, it is noticeable even on that scale. His lack of run ability may limit his ability to play on the inside in nickel situations, where he is likely to tight ends rather than receivers. In the second round his value is immense.