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Jarryd Hayne at cornerback? Let's see what an NFL draft scout has to say

Roar Guru
16th October, 2014
23

I applaud NRL superstar Jarryd Hayne on departing the league and his beloved Parramatta Eels in pursuit of his dream despite vast riches on the table.

Although Hayne was about to become the highest paid player in the NRL, the dual Dally M Player of the Year winner told a packed press conference that it was the challenge of breaking into America’s game he valued more.

With no contract – despite rumours Hayne had joined reining Super Bowl Champions Seattle Seahawks – Hayne will head to the US as a free agent.

If Hayne realises his dream, what position will he play?

Hayne could slot into multiple positions on an NFL roster – including running back, wide receiver and punt/kick returner.

However, I see Hayne being a member of a team’s defensive unit, as a cornerback.

NFL cornerbacks need to be agile and quick, have great instincts for the game, specifically how to cover, read and adjust. They also need to be able to tackle and be physical. The cornerback’s effectiveness greatly influence the success of the overall defence.

At 6’2” and 100 kilograms, Jarryd Hayne has the size. He is one of the NRL’s most talented and intelligent players. The Bleacher Report’s NFL writer Matt Miller, broke down how scouts analyse NFL cornerback prospects.

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I have broken down Hayne’s skill set into a range of different areas: speed and burst, instincts, agility and technique, size and tackling.

Speed and burst
“The job of a cornerback depends on numerous traits and characteristics, but in my book, no one trait is as important as speed.”

“The wide receiver explodes off the line of scrimmage into his route, and the cornerback must be quick enough to turn and run with the receiver.”

“That leaves our cornerback tasked with changing direction and accelerating to catch up to the receiver. Having elite speed makes the difference between allowing a catch, breaking up a pass and getting to the ball before the receiver for an interception.”

Instincts
“Richard Sherman excels at reading and reacting to the wide receiver and the quarterback. Throughout the regular season, he was thrown at 87 times but allowed just 41 catches thanks to his ability to see the route and respond without delay. That ability to go from seeing it to processing it to reacting is what makes Sherman an elite NFL cornerback.”

Agility and Technique
“A pro-level cornerback must be agile enough to turn his hips and run with receivers when they make cuts in their routes. You’ll hear this called “flipping his hips,” and it’s genuinely a player’s ability to go from a backpedal to a run at an angle.”

“Outside of agility for flipping your hips, being a great cornerback means having the quick feet to change direction. That can mean transitioning from a backpedal and coming up to stop the run or being asked to run through a double move in a route. Quick feet are in my top five most important traits for any cornerback – along with speed, instincts, change-of-direction skills and tackling.”

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“It is always important to remember that technique can be taught, and for almost every player, there will be refinements made by NFL coaches after the draft. A big, strong, fast cornerback can be coached up in terms of technique and hand use.”

Size
“At 6’3″ and 88 kgs, Sherman is part of a new breed of cornerback being valued in the NFL.”

“A look around the NFL today shows that the best cornerbacks are often the biggest ones, as they are better equipped to take on the Calvin Johnson’s and Julio Joneses of the NFL.

“To combat a 6’5” wide receiver, you need a cornerback bigger than 5’10.”

Tackling
“Tackling in the NFL has become a lost art form, but there are still those cornerbacks who aren’t afraid to come up and take on the run or single-handedly pull down a wide receiver in the open field.”

“Tackling will never be a top-of-the-list trait for cornerbacks, but you can bet that I’m taking the better tackler every time two players ground out close to one another.”

That’s what a true expert had to say, anyway.

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Good luck Jarryd. The biggest challenge for Hayne isn’t just understanding the game and adapting. His biggest hurdle will be winning a position on the roster ahead of the highly talented Americans that have grown up playing the game.

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