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Scouts take on Cornerbacks from Keim's report:

Eyeing the draft: Cornerbacks

With no first-round pick, the Redskins won’t have a chance to grab one of the elite players at a position. But they still can find a solid player in the second. Considering cornerback is a position of need — even if they keep DeAngelo Hall and re-sign Cedric Griffin — we’ll take a look at this spot with the help from ex-NFL scout Russ Lande, currently in charge of scouting for the National Football Post. These are not Lande’s official rankings but rather grouped by projected rounds.

The top corners in the draft are easy to identify: Alabama’s Dee Milliner and Florida State’s Xavier Rhodes. Lande said Milliner is a “real athletic kid, powerful. Willing to play physical, which NFL teams love because most corners are not. He’s the whole package.” And of Rhodes, Lande said, “Very good size. Well-built kid. He can run. He’s been a dominant guy since he stepped on the field at Florida State. He’ll play, and he’ll play early.”

A couple high-round guys we did not discuss: Rutgers’ Logan Ryan and Southeastern Louisiana’s Robert Alford, both of whom project as second-rounders. Ex-Redskins safety Matt Bowen likes Alford: “He’s 5-9, but Tim Jennings had nine picks for the Bears, and he’s about 5-2. It doesn’t really matter. Alford competes.” Ryan, at 6-feet, 190 pounds, has good size and plays physical. But he only runs the 40-yard dash in the 4.5s.

Here’s what Lande has to say about the other corners who could tempt the Redskins in the second and third rounds (if they’re available).

Desmond Trufant, Washington

“A lot of scouts see him as a third- or fourth-round player off film, but at the Senior Bowl he was awesome. I’ve heard a lot of scouts say, ‘I don’t like him.’ He’s 5-11 and will run in the mid to low 4.4s, and he had a great week in front of the coaches. He’ll be a first-round pick, and he’ll get picked on. He’s athletic and willing to play physical. He is tough. The question is can he become a more consistent corner. He’ll get picked higher than his production warrants because he’s so gifted.”

Range » Late first-early second. He’s unlikely to fall to the Redskins’ pick at 51.

Jamar Taylor, Boise State

“He’s a well-built kid, and he is explosive. He can close on the ball in a heartbeat. He really impresses me. He’ll be a very good player. He’s a tough, physical aggressive corner. He has very quick feet. He has a nice backpedal. He can change directions easily. He’s a little aggressive trying to make plays, and that will lead to him biting on receivers when they make a fake or when a quarterback pump fakes it. He’s the type of guy physically who can stay with most receivers. He has good size. He’s an intriguing kid. He’s a guy I wouldn’t be shocked if a month from now people are talking about him as a late first-round pick. When you’re 5-11 and explosive, which he is, those guys tend to zoom up the draft boards.”

Range » Late first-second.

Johnthan Banks, Mississippi State

“He’s one of the most interesting corners in the draft. When you look at him physically and watch him play, there are many similarities to Jimmy Smith in terms of pure talent. He’s a long linear kid who can run and has loose hips and great coverage skills and instincts. He’s just real thin. He gets pushed around at the point of attack, and receivers get open because they shove him off. But it’s hard to find 6-2 corners with great feet and natural hips and good coverage skills. That’s the type of guy you want to take a gamble on. He’s a smart kid; he’s already graduated. He has a lot of positive traits in terms of character and intangibles, which leads me to believe he’ll keep getting better. There are a lot of scouts that like him.”

Range » Late first-second.

Jordan Poyer, Oregon State

“He’s very instinctive, a little thin. Great break on the ball. Poyer was also at the Senior Bowl. He’s a good player, but he’s not a blazer. That will be the thing that leads him to being there in the second round. I’ll bet he runs in the mid 4.5s at the combine, but he’s a really good player. He has a good feel for what’s going on. He’s one of those guys who gets in the league without a lot of pub and two years later when he’s a good starter you’re like, ‘How did he end up being drafted in the second round?’ He has a feel you can’t teach. He reads the route combinations, the quarterback. He reads all of that well.”

Range » Second-third round.

Leon McFadden, San Diego State

“He’s a kid that three years from now people will say, ‘Son of a gun, he’s another guy we overlooked.’ If you just watched film and never worried about 40 times, you’d say his production warrants a first- or second-round grade. He’s 5-10. He’s physical. He’s aggressive. He’s so smooth and athletic, and his technique is great. He’s just not a fast kid, so premier fast guys will run by him. But the bulk of receivers, he’ll stay on their hip and disrupt their route. He reads the route, he closes and he makes plays on the ball. Then you add in the fact that he’s not only willing but he loves to come up and make hits and tackle. He’s a really good player. I don’t think he’ll run well; I’d say high 4.5s. But every scout I speak to is saying, ‘I hope my team snares him in the third round; I think he’ll be a starter even though he runs bad.’ ”

Range » Third-fourth round.

Darius Slay, Mississippi State

“He’s not as well-known as the Banks kid, who is obviously a premier prospect. But he’s a really good player. You watch film on this kid, and he’s the type of guy who gets overlooked because Banks is playing across from him. But he’s a good sized kid — 6-1 or 5-11 and a half. A good athlete. He’s a quick twitch kid who can explode and close on the ball. Definitely as a slot corner he’ll play, and he has potential to be a starter.”

Range » Third round.

Terry Hawthorne, Illinois

“Talk about a kid who should be a first-round pick. He’s 6-foot, and he can run with anybody. He’s a tremendous athlete. But I don’t know what it is. … I spoke to a bunch of different scouts, and they think it’s a lack of football instincts with him because he has no real awareness where the receiver is or when the ball is coming. He’s often right there, right on the hip, and then the guy turns and catches the ball, and he has no idea it’s coming. But he’s a gifted kid who I think will work out tremendously well. It’ll lead to some team taking a gamble on him way higher than his production dictates.”

As a possible safety: “A big part of that is because he’s not great when his back is to the quarterback. When you’re in coverage and he can’t watch the quarterback, he struggles. When he can watch the quarterback, he’s more effective. I don’t think he’s consistently physical as a tackler, and he doesn’t fly up to make tackles. Those guys make me nervous putting them at safety.”

Range » Fifth round.

More corner chatter

» Is Chase Minnifield a realistic option for 2013? Difficult to say, but there’s a definite sense that the Redskins would not have kept him around after the ACL surgery on his knee last summer otherwise. It marked the second time in six months that he needed surgery on that knee, the first being a microfracture surgery in January. The problem with microfracture surgeries is that it increases the likelihood of more surgery for that knee.

But the point is this: If the Redskins did not think Minnifield might help them, they would not have kept him around. He’s working out at Redskins Park and said to be running fine on the treadmill. Of course, cutting is another matter. It’s uncertain when the Redskins would let him return to full-time work in terms of offseason practices.

There’s still a risk of him incurring further injury because of the surgeries he’s had, so fingers must be constantly crossed with him. Still, the Redskins are telling people that he’s rehabbing well. Eventually we’ll find out how well.

» So Pro Football Focus suggested Bills corner Leodis McKelvin as a potential target for the Redskins? Here’s what one Bills insider said in an email about McKelvin: “1 of 10 most physically gifted CBs in the league, but … relies solely on physical ability, and that gets him in trouble. Rarely in position to make plays on the ball. Inconsistent with his leverage, doesn’t have a feel for his coverage assignments week to week. Just kind of goes out and plays. … Dynamic returner because his physical ability can take over, but when he has to read plays and make quick decisions, he’s late to the party on defense.”