Chase Minnifield will likely continue Virginia's run of corners taken in the 1st and 2nd rounds. He will follow in Dowling and Cook's footsteps and I think he is better than Dowling.
Chase Minnifield Player Profile
Chase Minnifield, CB, Virginia
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 185
Class: Senior
Player Comparison
- Asante Samuel: Minnifield, like Samuel, excels in zone coverage. Samuel is the best zone corner in the NFL so this is high praise but Minnifield definitely has the potential to be as good as Samuel in zone coverage.
Player Bio:
- As a freshman in 2008, he played in every game and started one because of an injury to Ras I Dowling. He contributed mostly on special teams and had a total of 25 tackles, 4 passes broken up, and 1 interception. He also led the team with 21 kickoff returns while averaging 23.3 yards per return. 2009, he took big steps forward. He still played in every game and started one of them but he looked much better in coverage. He was a huge contributor on special teams and as a returner. He finished the season with 29 tackles and ranked third on the team with 601 all purpose yards. 2010 was when he came into the national picture. He started all 12 games, finished the year 7th in the nation with 6 interceptions. He was an honorable mention for the Jim Thorpe Defensive Back of the Week. He finished eighth on the team in tackles with 48 and had four pass break ups.
Career Stats:
- 101 tackles, 10 pass breakups, 10 interceptions, 1003 kick return yards, 23.3 yards per return, 172 punt return yards, 5.2 yards per ruturn
Projected Draft Status: 1st to 2nd round
- Minnifield’s stock is all over the place. Some have him in the top 15, others have him in the 2nd round. My belief is that Minnifield will end up in the top 20 of the draft.
Video Highlights:
- Highlight #1: Chase Minnifield vs. USC (2010): Shows every play Minnifield was involved in.
- Highlight #2: Chase Minnifield Highlights: Just a bunch of Minnifield's best plays.
Minnifields’ Strengths and Weaknessess
Final Thoughts
- Minnifield appears to be the best zone coverage corner in the 2012 draft. He is probably the best zone cover corner in the past two years. He has great instincts and knows where to be.
- Minnifield is one of the best athletes in the draft. When I was on youtube looking for those highlights, I was a video of him clearing 5’8” with ease as well as him throwing down an incredible dunk in a HS game. It is pretty impressive.
- He would be the perfect fit in an aggressive, zone-blitz scheme that would allow him to use his great instincts and ball skills to his advantage.
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