It was a blended bag for cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, the previous University of Miami standout, in 1-on-1 go protection drills Tuesday at follow for the Senior Bowl.
But Stevenson, an enormous, bodily cornerback at 6-foot-2, 204 kilos who’s projected to go anyplace from the late first spherical to the third spherical within the NFL draft, most likely did properly sufficient in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills to maintain the curiosity of the native workforce, the Miami Dolphins, and each different NFL workforce, particularly when it come to utilizing his physicality.
“I’m a linebacker at heart,” mentioned Stevenson, who was projected because the No. 23 decide of the primary spherical by the Minnesota Vikings in a mock draft by NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah about two weeks in the past.
Stevenson, who had 25 tackles, two interceptions and 7 passes defended final season with the Hurricanes, is amongst plenty of cornerbacks the Dolphins shall be scouting at this week’s practices on the University of South Alabama in addition to Saturday’s Senior Bowl.
The Dolphins have one second-round decide and two third-round picks within the April draft, they usually have a necessity for mid- to lower-round cornerbacks.
Aside from Stevenson, the Senior Bowl options Illinois’ Jartavius Martin, Stanford’s Kyu Blu Kelly, Kentucky’s Keidron Smith, Iowa’s Riley Moss, South Alabama’s Darrell Luter Jr., and Oregon State’s Rezjohn Wright, to call just a few.
Stevenson, nonetheless, is likely to be one of the best of the bunch and the previous Miami Southridge High star who attended Georgia his first two years, confirmed a few of his greatest stuff Tuesday.
“I felt like I did pretty good,” Stevenson mentioned of his day.
Princeton huge receiver Andrei Iosivas beat Stevenson for a landing on one play, however Stevenson had such good protection on TCU huge receiver Derius Davis on a crossing sample quickly afterward that TCU quarterback Max Duggan didn’t even hassle to throw the go, a rarity in 1-on-1 drills.
On one other play, Stevenson lined SMU huge receiver Rashee Rice so properly there was no room for a accomplished go.
“I felt like all my 1-on-1 reps were pretty decent,” Stevenson mentioned.
And in 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills, Stevenson represented himself fairly darn properly.
“I’m physical so sometimes at the line of scrimmage I like to use my hands, or just down the line when we get to the top of the route I sit it down and use physicality and my weight and not them throw me by,” Stevenson mentioned.
Cornerback was once a energy for the Dolphins protection. When they’d Xavien Howard and Byron Jones as a tandem in 2021, they virtually dominated the world on that facet of the ball. That wasn’t the case this previous season.
At greatest, the cornerback place held its personal. That wasn’t ok for the best way the Dolphins needed to play. We noticed all of it season.
The Dolphins can have a brand new defensive coordinator subsequent season, however the backside line within the NFL hasn’t modified — you want lock-down corners.
The query is whether or not their protection will begin with cornerback energy because it did in previous years.
The Dolphins return Howard, a Pro Bowler, and fellow starter Kader Kohou, the undrafted rookie standout. And, sure, they’ll get nickel/slot Nik Needham (Achilles) again.
But at this level, it’s unclear whether or not starter Jones (decrease leg surgical procedure) returns after lacking the 2022 season. Beyond that, the 2022 season confirmed high quality depth is a necessity. Injuries robbed them of their skill to manage video games with their cornerbacks.
The Dolphins can be ok with their skill to seek out cornerbacks after discovering current undrafted gems reminiscent of Kohou and Needham.
Martin, projected as a third- or fourth-round decide, additionally had a very good day, notably in 11-on-11 drills. His versatility may very well be a bonus for the Dolphins contemplating he’s performed boundary cornerback, slot/nickel and security. The long-armed Martin (5-11, 193) performed a number of zone as a freshman however extra man-to-man the previous two years.
“I’ve got a little bit of all of it [in my game],” Martin mentioned.
So does Stevenson.
He was coached in highschool by Sedrick Irvin, the previous Southridge and Michigan State standout working again, somebody Stevenson known as “a great running back, a great alumni for Southridge.”
But Irvin higher be glad he by no means performed towards Stevenson. The physicality, Stevenson mentioned, would have been an excessive amount of.
“I would have lit him up,” Stevenson mentioned with a smile earlier than pounding his chest. “I’d have put these pads on him.”
()
Source: www.bostonherald.com