Wanted: Safety and Corner— Eagles will accept young trainee…

One of the fun things to do while watching the Defensive Back drills at the Combine is to try and read the expressions on the faces of coaches as they observe individuals work out.  Sometimes you can catch an unguarded moment of enthusiasm for a certain player if the camera pans a coach's face at just the right time. 

I looked for such a tell-tale key when Calvin Pryor (Louisville), possibly the highest rated Safety in the group, was doing his thing. Alas, all I saw were poker faces.

Maybe it was because Pryor did not exactly put out a stellar workout on Tuesday morning—at least compared to expectations from his career game tapes.

Okay, maybe that bodes well for a solid safety prospect falling into Eagles draft range in the 2nd round?

Justin Gilbert, the cornerback from Oklahoma State, on the other hand, put on a great performance and probably moved up the board at CB. Dang it !! I was hoping to keep that guy a "secret"!

Going into Tuesday's trials, SB Nation's Jon Benne had advised us to keep a close EYE on these prospects:  

Darqueze Dennard: Widely regarded as the top cornerback in the draft, Dennard breaks the mold of the size-obsessed NFL. There's little doubt he's a top player, even though at 5'11, he's below the ideal height teams are looking for. He made up for his lack of size numerous times with his play on the field at Michigan State. Speed will be something to watch for Dennard. He's usually believed to be a good but not great runner, which could factor into where he's selected.

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix: There are few more contentious positions in the 2014 draft than free safety, with two top prospects sharing near-parity. Clinton-Dix will need to excel in the bench press as well as the position drills in order to convince teams he can be a more physical tackler than he showed at Alabama. The physical tools are there for him to be a force, but that wasn't always obvious in his final year of college.

Calvin Pryor: Here's who's up against Clinton-Dix. Flip a coin and these two keep flip-flopping in the pre-draft process. While Pryor isn't quite as gifted at playing the ball in the air, he is seen as an aggressive and physical tackler — sometimes to his own detriment. He has shown a tendency to lead with his shoulder, which scouts will watch for during position drills.

Justin Gilbert: The second cornerback to watch in this class is the multi-talented Justin Gilbert from Oklahoma State. He boasts slightly better size than Dennard, but isn't as polished at the position. A team selecting him will need to work on his technique. While he may be a work in progress at corner, he should be an instant contributor on special teams.

This incoming cornerback class is looking more diverse than most, with players that fit nearly every style of play teams are looking for these days. Mocking the Draft currently has TCU's Jason Varrett No. 1 on the cornerback board, followed by Michigan State's Darqueze Dennard and Ohio State's Bradley Roby. The safety class appears to be more top-heavy — Alabama's Ha Ha Clinton-Dix is the consensus top player, with Louisville's Calvin Pryor second on the board. Northern Illinois' Jimmie Ward, Baylor's Ahmad Dixon and Washington State's Deone Bucannon are other safeties to watch in these drills.

Here are the UPDATED Result Charts from Walter Football.com. As you can see, Pryor ran a decent 4.58 official time after a relatively slow 4.60 first heat in the '40, and didn't look especially smooth in the speed turn drill. The safety lottery just opened up with a lot of new possibilities moving up and down the board.
 

Safeties and cornerbacks are lumped together in the above chart—

Charlie Campbell of Walter Football.com put together a "Field Drills" Highlight review for the DB's… here are some brief capsule summaries:

Oklahoma State cornerback Justin Gilbert dominated the Combine and secured his spot as the top-ranked corner. He led all of the defensive backs with a 4.37 official time in the 40-yard dash. Considering Gilbert (6-0, 202) is a big corner, that is a tremendous time. To top it off, he was excellent in the field drills. Gilbert was fluid in his backpedal and veering across the field. He also had loose hips to flip and turn. Gilbert made a great, leaping hands catch, too.

Alabama safety HaHa Clinton-Dix ran the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds officially, which is a good time for a safety. Clinton-Dix (6-1, 208) looked even better in the field work. He moved well in the field with smooth hips to turn and good feet. Clinton-Dix showed that he is a natural center fielder who covers a lot of ground. Teams that are looking for a safety to lock down the deep part of the field will probably rate Clinton-Dix as their top safety.

Michigan State cornerback Darqueze Dennard was surrounded with speed concerns entering the Combine, and he did his part to erase them. In the 40-yard dash, Dennard had an official time at 4.51 seconds. The 5-foot-11, 191-pounder was faster than expected, however he was tight in the field drills. His hips weren't fluid and his change of direction was awkward. Dennard showed that playing off-man coverage is a real weakness. He was a press-man corner in college, so he's going to need development to be a complete player for the NFL.

Ohio State cornerback Bradley Roby had an ugly junior season, but he did well at the Combine to help himself. Roby (5-11, 194) ran the 40 in 4.40 seconds and looked good in the field work. There is no doubt that Roby has a good athletic skill set, but he needs to improve his cover skills for the NFL. Roby looks like this year's David Amerson.

Florida cornerback Marcus Roberson was a potential late first-round pick entering the Combine, but he damaged his stock. After putting up only eight reps on the bench press, Roberson ran slowly in the 40 with a time of 4.61. The 6-foot, 191-pounder is a man-cover corner, but after an injury-plagued 2013 season, he should have returned for his senior year.

Virginia Tech cornerback Kyle Fuller was playing like a first-round pick during the 2013 season before injuries limited him down the stretch. Sources told WalterFootball.com they liked Fuller as a second-round pick whose speed is the only thing keeping him out of Round 1. At the Combine, Fuller addressed those concerns with a 40 time of 4.49 seconds. Unofficially, it was a 4.40. Fuller was moving a little high in some of the drills, but he showed nice feet and length.

Roberson wasn't the only Florida corner who hurt his stock at the Combine. Loucheiz Purifoy had the lowest total on the bench press with six reps and followed that up with a bad showing on the field. He was slow in the 40 at 4.61 and looked stiff in the field work. Purifoy made a mistake coming out as well, and he could have a draft day fall.

TCU cornerback Jason Verrett excelled at the Combine, but that wasn't a surprise. He is a fast and athletic corner, so the Combine is well suited for him. Verrett had an official 40 of 4.38 seconds and looked fluid on the field. He is very agile and changes direction quickly. Verrett's size (5-9, 189) is his biggest detriment, and some teams have told WalterFootball.com that they couldn't take Verrett in the top two rounds because of that.

Utah cornerback Keith McGill (6-3, 211) will benefit from that [big Seattle corner] trend. As a big corner with length, he showed nice athletic ability in the field work. McGill ran the 40 in 4.51 seconds and did well in the field drills for such a large corner. He has really helped himself between the Senior Bowl and Combine.

Rice cornerback Philip Gaines was another star of the Combine who used the opportunity to really help his draft stock. The 6-foot, 193-pounder blistered the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds. Gaines did well in the field drills, too.

Another player who seized the opportunity of the Combine was Florida State safety Terrance Brooks. The 5-foot-11, 198-pounder ran the 40-yard dash in 4.42 seconds, which is very fast for a safety. Brooks did well in the field work and gave NFL teams evidence that he could be used as a free safety and nickel corner who matches up against slot receivers.

In college, Virginia Tech defensive back Antone Exum was a safety and cornerback. There was a time when some were talking about him as a first-round prospect, but injuries killed his senior year. Scouts finally got a look at Exum (6-0, 213) at the Combine. He ran the 40 in 4.59 seconds and looked a little tight in the field drills. Exum looks more like a safety for the NFL, but he could require a "redshirt" season to get completely healthy and back into the groove.

Thanks to WalterFootball.com and Charlie Campbell for their generous contributions to this Combine series…