With a little more than one week to go until the 2014 NFL Draft takes place, there’s a new leader in the cornerback clubhouse as far as rankings go for one well-known draft analyst.
In the fourth edition of his position-by-position prospect rankings, Mike Mayock of the NFL Network now has Virginia Tech’s Kyle Fuller listed as his top cornerback with Michigan State’s Darqueze Dennard now ranked second.
We should have seen this coming from Mayock as he’s been in love with Fuller dating back to his February conference call with the media.
“The Fuller kid I really like,” Mayock said back in mid February. “I have got him as my third ranked corner. I think he’s a first round talent. He’s long, he tackles, he has ball skills. I think the key for him is what he runs that 40 in. If he comes in as a sub four, five, I think he’s a first round lock.”
Fuller just so happened to run a 4.49 40-yard dash at the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine, so Mayock has since been able to check that box next to his name.
Also back in February, Mayock said he thought Fuller would be a good fit for the Pittsburgh Steelers at 15th overall.
“Kyle Fuller makes a lot of sense for what they do and how they do it,” said Mayock. “He plays a lot like the kid [Keenan Lewis] they lost to New Orleans as a free agent. Fuller makes a lot of sense.”
The Steelers were reportedly scheduled to host Fuller for a pre draft visit last week, so we assume that meeting actually took place even though it was never confirmed by the local media.
Last season, Fuller was credited with two interceptions, 10 pass breakups and 24 total tackles in 10 games played.