An interesting thing happened at the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine. It was Sunday afternoon. A majority of media members had packed their bags and left. Michael Sam's press conference was in the books. Every quarterback had already taken the podium. Sunday was for defensive backs and some other left over defensive players.
Justin Gilbert 2014 NFL Draft scouting report
Is there any substance beneath the flash for Justin Gilbert?
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sport
That's when nearly every cornerback made the claim that he was the best cornerback in the 2014 NFL Draft. Oklahoma State's Justin Gilbert did it with a bit of style. He stood at the podium in the back of the media room at Lucas Oil Stadium with his smile shining as bright as the diamond earrings flashing in each ear. Moments earlier Virginia Tech's Antone Exum had become the latest cornerback to say he was the best in this draft. Gilbert was asked about Exum's remarks and smiled.
“I don’t even know who that is,” Gilbert said.
There's something magnetic about Gilbert as both a prospect and a player. People gush over his combination of size and speed as well as his ability to make plays on the football. He's also has a loose but confident personality that keeps people entertained. Michigan State cornerback Darqueze Dennard even calls Gilbert "pretty boy" because of how many selfies he takes.
His off-the-field persona aside, the biggest question with Gilbert is how much substance is there beneath all of the flash? Yes, he’s physically gifted. Sure, he has great ball skills. But is he consistent and refined enough to be an impact player in the NFL? More importantly, has he shown enough flashes to be worth a first-round pick?
Ball skills: This is part of what makes Justin Gilbert an exciting player to watch and one of the most intriguing cornerback prospects in this draft. He looks like a wide receiver when the ball is in the air. He turns his head and tracks the football with ease while showing off the leaping ability and hands to make a ton of plays. Just look at him getting body position and high-pointing the football against Oklahoma in this photo below.
Coverage ability: Gilbert isn’t nearly consistent enough in coverage to be considered the best cornerback in this draft. His backpedal is still a bit of a mess. Gilbert doesn’t sink his hips enough, standing too upright and making it tough for him to change direction quickly. He also has a tendency to flip his hips the wrong way and lose track of the football on intermediate routes. Because of the wide base he plays with, Gilbert doesn’t get the most out of his athleticism and struggles to change direction as quickly as he could if he played with better technique.
Gilbert isn’t a total disaster in coverage, though. When he’s asked to play press coverage, Gilbert can be tough for a receiver to shake. He has the length and physicality at the line of scrimmage to jam receivers, but he also has the straight line speed to turn and run down the sideline. We already mentioned his ball skills, so Gilbert would make a lot of sense in a press coverage scheme. That being said, consistency will be key. He still gets too relaxed at times and lets his technique slip. In press coverage, that can be a big problem.
Instincts/recognition: For all of his shortcomings as a technician, Gilbert has a fair amount of instincts for the cornerback position. He reacts quickly and closes on the ball in a hurry when in zone coverage. It’s his technique that fails him when playing that role. As mentioned earlier, he has a knack for locating the football and making plays on the ball. If nothing else, Gilbert is confident and aggressive in coverage.
Run support: Gilbert’s run defense was a bit of a mixed back at Oklahoma State. He doesn’t have strong tackling technique, failing to wrap up too often. Like other areas of his game, Gilbert was inconsistent in his willingness to stick his nose in on run stops. At times, he looked like a physical player, but when defending the run he didn’t always take the most direct angles to the football.
Final word: Gilbert is being hyped as a first-round pick, and his skill set certainly warrants that. However, he has a long way to go in his development as a prospect. He will be over-drafted based on his size-speed combination. The talk of him being a top 10 player in this class isn’t warranted based on what we’ve seen. Gilbert needs a lot of work and hasn’t shown enough improvement over the course of his college career to inspire confidence in his development. It’s worth noting that Gilbert was a star return man at Oklahoma State and should contribute on special teams early in his NFL career. He presents value late in the first round because of his raw ability. He grades out as the No. 28 player on our big board.
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