The Redskins’ 2012 draft will rise or fall based on the success of their picks in the third and fourth rounds. They are getting their quarterback of the future with their top pick, they traded away their second rounder, and anything you can get from the fifth round on is gravy. Those middle-round picks will be important, especially since the team is without its first-round picks in 2013 and 2014.
Between now and the draft, we’re going to identify some of the players who the Redskins might target when they come on the clock for those three picks (one in the third and two in the fourth). Yesterday, we looked at cornerback Dwight Bentley and today we continue to look at CB’s with Brandon Boykin.
Brandon Boykin
Georgia
Height/Weight: 5-9 1/4, 182 lb.
40 time: 4.45
Best attributes: Very athletic and quick, can return kicks
Needs to work on: Not an instinctive player
The Redskins are searching for a slot corner, which is becoming a critical and sometimes undervalued position in the NFL with all of the three wide receiver sets that are used every game. Boykin played the slot at Georgia and he has the skills needed to play it at the NFL level.
He will need some work on his tackling technique because he can be too aggressive and he takes bad angles. Any third-round pick is going to have flaws in his game and you can teach technique but not athletic ability. Boykin could be a great fit who could contribute quickly.
Boykin played for the South team at the Senior Bowl so Jim Haslett and Raheem Morris got several days up close with him. He sustained a leg injury in the game that kept him out of activities at the NFL Combine and at Georgia’s pro day. At the combine, Boykin said that he would schedule a pro day for April but that has not yet happened.
Boykin on Boykin
(on his Senior Bowl experience and what they told him to work on) I got a chance to play with some of the best [players] at the Senior Bowl. Of course there were some juniors who weren’t there. Some of the guys that people consider to be high picks. I feel like, me personally, for the most part that I’m right there in the midst of those top guys. I feel like what I offer is my versatility and the things that I can do on both sides of the ball and special teams. That might give me an advantage that I have that other people don’t . . . They just wanted to see me be more aggressive. They said that on film, with the type of scheme we played, it allowed me to play off a little bit. I wanted to go the Senior Bowl and show how aggressive I can be mainly by playing a lot of press technique and getting into the bigger receivers and trying to jam them. I got a lot of positive feedback from doing that. They told me that I did a pretty good job.
Summaries
Explosive, highly athletic, versatile cornerback with quick feet, short-area burst and outstanding leaping ability who offers slot experience and impact kick-return value. Has two concussions on record, and durability could be an issue, but has a terrific makeup.
Wes Bunting, National Football Post
Plays much bigger/strong than his frame would indicate. Has the ability to press on the edge, but might be better suited to play as a slot guy in the NFL. Either way can play a role on a defense in either a man or zone scheme.
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