Tennessee Titans dueling 2017 NFL Mock Draft: Safety or Risk
By Will Lomas
Risky mock draft 1st round, pick 5: Marshon Lattimore CB, Ohio State
Forget hamstring injuries, forget his limited time as a starter, just watch the tape. Marshon Lattimore has all the traits and athletic ability to be a true stud at cornerback for a long time in the NFL.
Lattimore reminds me so much of Richard Sherman in that he is so smooth down the field. He covers receivers deep with ease and he can deal with breaking routes very well too staying in the back pocket of receivers.
Maybe one of my favorite things he does is that he seems to play cat and mouse with QBs a lot. One play in particular stands out where against Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma he intentionally played a step behind on a post route. As soon as the ball was in the air he hit a 5th gear, tracked the pass and effortlessly caught an interception.
Imagine this team with Lattimore. If he is what I think he is, you get a true CB1 to deal with the big receivers of the NFL like Nuk Hopkins.
This slides Logan Ryan to a high-end CB2 who can play against guys like T.Y. Hilton and move all around the field. In fact, you can even give him bracket coverage with great receivers using Kevin Byard over the top. That would really make offenses test Marshon Lattimore.
All in all I think he is THE guy in this draft in the defensive backfield. But injuries could impede and in fact prevent his development into a top-end CB.