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Wallace/Johnson make Football Outsiders "Top 25 prospects who could breakout"


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https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/27236248/the-nfl-top-25-prospects-young-players-break-2019 …. So this is basically a list of low profile draft or undrafted finds that didn't get a ton of burn on the field last year but look poised to breakout based on the limited time on the field. Pretty fair assessments of each guy IMO.

 

 

16. Levi Wallace, CB, Buffalo Bills

Age: 24 | Draft: Undrafted in 2018
Defensive snaps in 2018: 415

An interesting player because of his background, Wallace somehow managed to not draw enough attention to get drafted. Imagine somebody dominant at football. Now imagine that they're dominant at football on the highest stage of college football. They get invited to all-star games, play well at them, and ... nothing. That's what happened to Wallace after leading the SEC in pass breakups and interceptions at Alabama. Scouts criticized his 6-foot frame and were not thrilled with his 4.63 40-yard dash at the combine. Wallace, a former walk-on, also didn't start at Alabama until his senior season.

In his first season with the Bills, injuries put Wallace into the lineup and he performed well, breaking up three passes and allowing just 4.6 yards per pass. To be fair to scouts, they did say he'd struggle with stronger, taller NFL wideouts because of his frame. Wallace did not face many of them. His only game against top-notch competition was when Buffalo went to New England in Week 16. The best receiver he played against was Kenny Golladay, and Golladay torched him on a broken play. The rest of the schedule he defended against was full of players like Keelan Cole, Donte Moncrief and that type of receiver.

That doesn't mean that Wallace can't be an effective corner -- he showed he could be one, and his background is intriguing. But the lack of top-tier athleticism and the weak schedule could be something that indicates how well he performed was a bit of a fluke. Either way, the instincts should keep Wallace as a capable NFL player.

 

20. Taron Johnson, CB, Buffalo Bills

Age: 22 | Draft: Fourth-round pick in 2018
Defensive snaps in 2018: 405

Slot cornerback is not a position where the results have a strong year-to-year correlation. Kendall Fuller, for example, was one of the best slots in the business in 2017, and in 2018, after being a big part of the Alex Smith trade, he dropped to 47th among qualifying corners in success rate. But it's worth recognizing how great Johnson was for the Bills last season. Johnson finished with a 67% success rate on his 24 targets. He picked off Marcus Mariota and sacked Aaron Rodgers.

Johnson is a pure slot cornerback, checking in at 5-11, 192 pounds at the NFL combine. Coming out of tiny Weber State, where he starred starting as a true freshman, Johnson plays bigger than his size in the running game. He isn't afraid to get physical and in fact can often get downright grabby in coverage. There's not a lot of upside in Johnson -- he already is all that he can be -- but good slot cornerbacks are valuable in the current NFL.

Coming into this year, Johnson appears to be the favorite for slot snaps and Buffalo has only signed old or injury-prone depth at corner, so he should get a chance to demonstrate his talent again.

Edited by Stank_Nasty
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42 minutes ago, MJS said:

Taron Johnson was a beast last year. They should have mentioned that he was injured in the first game and played through it most of the year.

i thought their summation of him was sort all just a backhanded compliment. i mean the dude played well while playing hurt the whole time. i would disagree thats he's all he can be now and that there's not upside there.... but they did include him i guess. so whatever.

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I def would have Taron above Wallace. That being said, I'm a little tired of hearing Wallace is so limited athletically. The kid showed he can play despite that moniker. Granted it may be a indication to what his ceiling might be, but players break conventional norms every single season. 

 

Weve seen guys with all the tools/measurables fail, and those without flourish...

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1 hour ago, Stank_Nasty said:

well the premise was low key guys that had put it together for a full season...

 

True, it was about guys who weren't immediate starters.  But that would be wrong in Johnson's case (he was a starter at nickel and playing great before having surgery).

Edited by Doc
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1 hour ago, Stank_Nasty said:

i thought their summation of him was sort all just a backhanded compliment. i mean the dude played well while playing hurt the whole time. i would disagree thats he's all he can be now and that there's not upside there.... but they did include him i guess. so whatever.

He probably is limited in what he can achieve given his size and measurables. I don't think he'll ever be a #1 CB in the NFL. But slot corners are extremely valuable and he could develop into one of the best slot corners in the league. I think his physicality and willingness to stick his nose in there and thump running backs is what sets him apart from many slot guys.

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37 minutes ago, MJS said:

He probably is limited in what he can achieve given his size and measurables. I don't think he'll ever be a #1 CB in the NFL. But slot corners are extremely valuable and he could develop into one of the best slot corners in the league. I think his physicality and willingness to stick his nose in there and thump running backs is what sets him apart from many slot guys.

 

TJ has decent size (5'11" and 192#) and speed (timed as low as 4.44 at Combine).  I don't know why he couldn't be a #1 CB but he's an excellent slot.

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8 hours ago, Doc said:

I'd say they already broke out.

You usually need more than a 12 game sample size to actually breakout

 

They have played some good ball but we need to hope the best is yet to come for them

 

If they both ball this year than they have made it.

 

I like both a ton BTW, Taron was my favorite sleeper pick of the draft

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2 hours ago, Buffalo716 said:

You usually need more than a 12 game sample size to actually breakout

 

They have played some good ball but we need to hope the best is yet to come for them

 

If they both ball this year than they have made it.

 

I like both a ton BTW, Taron was my favorite sleeper pick of the draft

 

LOL!  You need a 12 game sample?  Eleven is not enough?

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6 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

LOL!  You need a 12 game sample?  Eleven is not enough?

I honestly prefer sustainability over a flash in the pan

 

You can always tell who a baller is but im not one to annoint a guy best in the world after 1-2 years

 

I like 3-4-5 years of success

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