JoJoBoxer
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http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/nfl-draft-preview-2015-cb-trae-waynes/
Pros
With today’s NFL game being pass oriented, corners like Waynes are extremely valuable. Waynes is a big corner in terms of height (6’0″, 186 lbs), and his size is well represented in the way he plays. This is a physical corner that has no fear of hitting opposing players and getting his hands on opposing receivers. Waynes flourishes as a man-to-man corner due to the fact he played a lot of press man in college under defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi. Rarely do you see this kid give an inch when it’s one on one; he does a tremendous job of mirroring defenders and using his speed to run stride for stride. As we saw at the Combine, Waynes can fly. He ran the best 40 time of any defensive back last weekend, clocking in at a 4.31 official time.
The former Spartan also understands how to use that speed to finish plays. Getting out of his backpedal, Waynes knows how to close and break on the football. This ability shows he can anticipate routes thanks to superb play-recognition skills. Again, playing under one of the finest defensive coaches in the nation in Narduzzi (now the head coach at Pittsburgh) cannot be emphasized enough. What you have to love most about Waynes’s game is his ball skills—he just has a knack for finding the football in the air and being in the right place to make a play. That’s the kind of reputation you want to have going into the next level. If you get the chance, watch what Waynes did against Penn State this year. I think the footage from that game is a good representation of what he brings to the table.
Cons
Sometimes Waynes’s physicality gets him in trouble and leads to holding or pass interference. However, this might be expected for a corner who played as much man coverage as he was asked to at MSU. While he looked fine in zone when he had to play it, there wasn’t a big enough sample size to make a call on that area of his game. Either way, he is going to have to play a lot more zone in the NFL, so he will need to continue to develop in that aspect. Playing against the run could use some work too; Waynes had a hard time shedding blocks on the outside and making open field tackles. At times, he struggled at pursuing the football correctly.
Pros
With today’s NFL game being pass oriented, corners like Waynes are extremely valuable. Waynes is a big corner in terms of height (6’0″, 186 lbs), and his size is well represented in the way he plays. This is a physical corner that has no fear of hitting opposing players and getting his hands on opposing receivers. Waynes flourishes as a man-to-man corner due to the fact he played a lot of press man in college under defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi. Rarely do you see this kid give an inch when it’s one on one; he does a tremendous job of mirroring defenders and using his speed to run stride for stride. As we saw at the Combine, Waynes can fly. He ran the best 40 time of any defensive back last weekend, clocking in at a 4.31 official time.
The former Spartan also understands how to use that speed to finish plays. Getting out of his backpedal, Waynes knows how to close and break on the football. This ability shows he can anticipate routes thanks to superb play-recognition skills. Again, playing under one of the finest defensive coaches in the nation in Narduzzi (now the head coach at Pittsburgh) cannot be emphasized enough. What you have to love most about Waynes’s game is his ball skills—he just has a knack for finding the football in the air and being in the right place to make a play. That’s the kind of reputation you want to have going into the next level. If you get the chance, watch what Waynes did against Penn State this year. I think the footage from that game is a good representation of what he brings to the table.
Cons
Sometimes Waynes’s physicality gets him in trouble and leads to holding or pass interference. However, this might be expected for a corner who played as much man coverage as he was asked to at MSU. While he looked fine in zone when he had to play it, there wasn’t a big enough sample size to make a call on that area of his game. Either way, he is going to have to play a lot more zone in the NFL, so he will need to continue to develop in that aspect. Playing against the run could use some work too; Waynes had a hard time shedding blocks on the outside and making open field tackles. At times, he struggled at pursuing the football correctly.
