Atlanta Falcons mock draft with a nice surprise in round two

Jeff Gladney, CB, TCU

Here is another corner that fits the mold of what head coach Dan Quinn is looking for. He is long, quick and very good ball skills.

At 6’ and 185 pounds, he will be big enough to match up with most receivers in the game, but most importantly, he is quick off the line and can recover well too. The Falcons are need of good starting cover corner and Gladney fits all the areas that they are checking for.

This pick could become very important if the Atlanta Falcons decided to move on from Desmond Trufant this offseason as well.

His Draft profile:

"PROS: He brings very good reactive athleticism to the CB position. In the run game, he is a willing tackler against RBs and TEs. He also displays good tackling efficiency on the perimeter, where he rarely misses. In the passing game, he’s extremely good. In soft press, he displays very strong foot quickness to stay on top when he doesn’t get a good reroute. He displays good play speed upfield and easily stays in phase on 9 routes. In off-man, he displays very good footwork and hips in coverage. He is usually efficient at the top of the route in his transition. He then displays good closing quickness and ball skills to get his hands on the football. In coverage he does a good job mirroring the WR, putting himself in a good position to finish the play with the ball in his hands. He clearly understands leverage from the cornerback position and is rarely outflanked on the edge against the run. He projects well as an inside/outside corner who will also excel as a vice/gunner on special teams. CONS: He has good length, but should be a better rerouter at the line of scrimmage. When he’s in cover 2 from an off position, he also needs to reroute better and limit the pressure he puts on his safety. He displays good balls skills, however, I’d like to see him take advantage of offensive mistakes more often with more interceptions and less PBU’s. He’s usually in a good position but has a few instances of panicking when the ball is in the air. He can also get a little grabby downfield and will need to be cognizant of this at the next level."