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It’s just weird
Maybe “weird” is a strong word to use here, but the Isaiah Dunn situation is somewhat perplexing.
In a league starving for cornerback talent, why did he go undrafted?
Even by the Jets.
Remember, the Jets signed him as undrafted free agent. Yes, they guaranteed his $185,000 salary for 2021, quite a bold move for an undrafted free agent, but still the Jets and 31 other teams didn’t draft him.
Look, the cornerback situation in the NFL is bad.
There are players who were with the Jets, who didn’t distinguish themselves in Florham Park, who keep getting jobs other places.
Because there is a shortage of quality corners.
In the spring, there was a lot of hype about Dunn at Jets practices, and today a New York newspaper did a story on him.
I’m sorry, I just don’t get this one.
If the Jets love this guy’s talent, why didn’t they, or any other team, draft him?
Look, I’m not trying to cast aspersions on the player, he could turn out to be really good for the Jets, but why did he fall through the cracks during the three days of the draft?
It’s not like he played at a Division III school in parts unknown. He played in the Pac-12 conference. Granted Oregon State is a struggling program, but it’s still the Pac-12, and they are lacing up against the USC’s, Oregon’s and Stanford’s of the world.
There are some positions where you are more apt to find really good undrafted free agents, like wide receivers, because there are so many good players at that position.
But cornerback is different. If you showed on the college level that you are a talented cover guy, it’s very rare you go undrafted.
That isn’t to say that it never happens. Kansas’ Chris Harris, UCF’s A.J Bouie and UAB’s Darious Williams are three undrafted corners in the league right now who has played well in the NFL.
So it does happen.
The cornerback hungry Jets are certainly praying this happens with the player.
So what led to Dunn going undrafted? Some would say no interceptions in college. Here are some the question marks NFL.com draft guru Lance Zeirlein had on the player:
- Below-average instincts with zero career interceptions.
- Needs better use of leverage in his coverage.
- Elevates pads and delays when opening hips to chase.
- Sits heavy and gets beat at the route stem.
- Grabs and panics rather than playing with his feet.
- Doesn’t bring feet with him as a tackler.
The Jets clearly feel they can fix some of this stuff.
He’s a hard-worker, and some good raw skills to work with, including great speed and toughness.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how this turns out.
Maybe all the teams that passed on him had legitimate concerns.
Or maybe, in a weird college football year, with all the COVID-19 game cancellations, and then very limited access for team to scout players, more teams made more mistakes this year in their evaluations, and they missed the boat on some players like Dunn.
We shall see.
July 2, 2021
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