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MVN writers mock draft: 11. Buffalo Bills - CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Tennessee State

By Dan Goldman

With the eleventh pick in the MVN NFL writers’ mock draft, the Buffalo Bills select CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie out of Tennessee State.

The Bills are entering the draft with big needs at wide receiver and cornerback. But, after Oklahoma’s Malcolm Kelly ran a slow 40-yard dash, there are no wideouts worth taking this high. Buffalo may look to trade down, but if they can’t, Rodgers-Cromartie is a great fit.

In 2007, Buffalo’s pass defense ranked 29th in the league, allowing 238.4 yards-per-game. This came after the team lost it’s No. 1 corner, Nate Clements, to free agency. Terrence McGee is a solid starter and Jabari Greer showed signs of being a good cover corner, but the team needs someone to compete with the likes of Randy Moss.

The current Buffalo corners aren’t very big, McGee is 5-9, Greer and Ashton Youboty are 5-11 and newcomer Will James is supposedly 6-0. Rodgers-Cromartie is 6-1 and ½ and had the best vertical among corners at the combine with a leap of 38.5-inches. He also possesses great speed, as Rodgers-Cromartie showcased a 4.33 40-time in Indianapolis.

You may recognize the name, as he is the cousin of Chargers Pro Bowl corner Antonio Cromartie. The big knock on Rodgers-Cromartie is that he comes from a Division 1-AA school. However, Rodgers-Cromartie showcased his ball skills at the Senior Bowl against top talent and was named defensive MVP.

In 44 career games, he finished with 11 interceptions, averaging 28.5 yards a return and brought back four for touchdowns. Of the 161 passes thrown his way, only 55 were completed (34.16 percent) making for an average of 3.54 yards per pass attempt, which is the best for any college corner over the last three years.

Buffalo special teams coach Bobby April has to love the fact that he blocked eight kicks.

Troy corner Leodis McKelvin is also a viable option, as is Florida’s Mike Jenkins, but I think Rodgers-Cromartie’s athleticism is a good fit for the cover-2.

Dan Goldman is a columnist for MVN’s Buffalo Bills site, Circling the Wagons.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 7:42 am and is filed under Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Mock Drafts 2008, 2008 NFL Draft. 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.