Pros: Good speed and quickness for the position. Has smooth hips and can turn and run with the receiver easily. Has good enough speed to cover receivers on vertical routes, has good leaping ability and good ball skills. He adjusts very well to poorly thrown balls, and he got the majority of his 11 career interceptions from doing just that. He reads the QB’s eyes well when in zone and has a good enough burst to make a play on the ball. Shows some ability to wrap up as a tackler. He is a threat to gain yardage after he gets the ball in his hands on an interception or fumble because of his experience as a return man.
Cons: Doesn’t have great size for the position and doesn’t have elite straight line speed. He gives up throws underneath and doesn’t have the closing burst I expected him to have. He also will attempt a lot of arm tackles or will try to tackle high. He doesn’t take very good angles to the ball either, and seems reluctant to offer support against the run. He is solid or well-rounded in a lot of areas, but not spectacular in any one area.
Overall: Wilson is a solid corner prospect. I personally think he is overrated because of the publicity he is getting as a potential top 20-25 overall selection, but that is my own opinion. He can play man and zone coverage and does a good job of mirroring receivers in man and of reading the QB’s eyes in zone coverage. I expected him to close faster on receivers after they made the catch in front of him, because he shows the ability to close quickly to make an interception, but seems less interested in flying to the ball when he needs to make a tackle. I think Wilson’s ceiling is a quality #2 in the NFL though. He doesn’t have a lot of flaws outside of his issues supporting the run, taking some bad angles and tackling too high, but he doesn’t do anything very well either. He is well-rounded and can improve some of the things he does with coaching, but even if he polishes up his issues versus the run and tackling a bit he will be a good man corner and a good zone corner, but I don’t think he will be great even with additional coaching and development. His fundamentals are sound in coverage and he has good ball skills. I think he is being pushed up because he doesn’t have any problem areas in coverage and because he has had some pretty stellar workouts. But he just doesn’t look like a top 20-25 overall draft pick when I watch him. Like I said, I think he can be a quality #2 and maybe even a decent #1 in the NFL, but I don’t think he will ever be a great corner. His floor is a nickel corner in my opinion because he is too fundamentally sound in coverage to not get reps in passing situations, even as a rookie. He could contribute early, potentially as a corner in the slot, but I don’t think he will ever develop into anything more than a quality corner who can make some plays on the ball and end up with a few interceptions a year. That’s why I was ok with drafting him in the late 2nd or the early 3rd, that would be a good pick for a corner who could potentially play as a rookie in nickel or dime packages and could develop into a quality #2 with some coaching and development. But I just don’t think he’s worth a top 25 draft selection.
Projection: Top 25-30: I don’t think he is worth this high of a selection, but after Joe Haden there is a drop-off in this corner class and Wilson is being pushed up because of it. That combined with some stellar workouts have helped him out a lot, but I don’t think he will ever be a quality #1 corner in the NFL.
SKILLS
1-poor, 2-weak, 3-above average, 4-very good, 5-elite
SPEED: 3.5
MAN COVERAGE: 3.5
ZONE COVERAGE: 3.5
TACKLING: 3.0
BALL SKILLS: 4.0