MVN - Most Valuable Network

Chargers Select Antoine Cason

When the time came to make a selection, the Bolts A.J. Smith did something he has done a lot of lately… he ignored pure numbers and chose a football player.

Antoine Cason faced questions about his speed (some were silenced by his performance at the NFL combine) but the cornerback from Arizona obviously had not fallen far enough in A.J.’s eyes to leave him on the board.  With the departure of Drayton Florence, cornerback is one of only a handful of positions on the Bolts where it made sense to invest a first round pick.  With the Chargers first choices on the offensive line already gone and no need to select a back up running back so high, the defense got the pick and Cason fit.

Cason was rated fourth or fifth at his position on most boards. He may have lasted into the second round if unchosen by the Bolts, but if so he wouldn’t have been there long.  The senior from Arizona  finished his career with 15 interceptions and 253 tackles and was a pick as one of AU’s five best cornerbacks of all time. Although he doesn’t time well, he has that intangible often referred to as “football speed”, meaning he plays faster than the tests.

A smart and polished player with good footwork but lacking some strength and a demonstrated burst, Cason may need to gain strength at the next level.  There has been talk of moving him to safety.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 26th, 2008 at 4:50 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.