Where does Brandon McGee fit in the Rams' plans for 2013?
Brandon McGee is the newest corner to join the Rams, you can never have too many corners on the roster, right?
The St. Louis Rams had a good trio of corners going into the 2013 NFL Draft, feisty veteran Cortland Finnegan, rookie playmaker Janoris Jenkins, and the up and comer Trumaine Johnson. With those three healthy and looking to build on their success, it was obvious that corner wasn't a huge issue for the Rams.
The Rams drafted Brandon McGee in the fifth round this year to add to the depth chart, replacing Bradley Fletcher.
Who is Brandon McGee?
McGee was a highly sought after prospect coming out of college. However he didn't have the great career with The U, as they hoped he would. In fact he didn't start until his junior season, and in his senior season, he was almost pushed out of his starting spot by a freshman. Not something that most NFL teams look for in a draft pick.
SEASON G-GS UT AT TT TFL YDS SACK YDS FF FR PBU INT YDS
2009 10-0 0 2 2 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2010 10-1 8 7 15 0.0 0 0.0 0 0 0 2 0 0
2011 12-12 25 13 38 2.5 11 0.0 0 0 0 3 1 15
2012 12-12 37 17 54 4.0 18 1.0 8 0 1 7 2 26
CAREER 44-25 70 39 109 6.5 29 1.0 8 0 1 12 3 41
Combine stats
Height: 5'11
Arm Length 32"
Weight 193 lbs
40 Time (yes you all care): 4.40
3 Cone Drill: 6.71 secs, was the fourth best corner in the combine
Bench Press 14 reps
Vert Jump 33.5 inches
What do scouting reports say about McGee?
NFL Network
NFL COMPARISON
Jason McCourty
BOTTOM LINE
The next Miami cornerback with great speed to pique the interest of NFL scouts, McGee also presents enough size to stand up to NFL receivers on the outside. However, McGee had an up-and-down senior season, and was challenged and successfully beaten on numerous occasions. He was able to rebound his stock with a strong week of practices at the East-West Shrine Game.
Link:
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/brandon-mcgee?id=2539989" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/ ... id=2539989</a>
National Football Post
SUMMARY -Brandon McGee is a three year starter at the cornerback position for this Hurricane Defense. He is an extremely physical corner and is at his best when in zone and in run support. He shows good athleticism, with solid speed but is not a burner which causes him trouble on covering post routes or on double moves and needing to recover. He lacks fluid hips which is why he struggles to readjust in space. Overall, he is best suited to move to the safety position at the NFL Level. He would make a very solid late round pick but with his weakness in space he will have a hard time on special teams.
Link:
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/college_player_scouting_report.html&player=41405" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/col ... ayer=41405</a>
CBS sports
Strengths: Adequate size, build and strength for the position. Smooth hips to easily turn his frame and adjust on a dime. Patience, controlled footwork, playing with confidence. Nice job locating, highpointing and getting his hands on the ball in coverage. Nice job in pursuit to chase and close with accurate angles. Feisty and tough with very good effort to rip the ball out. Good playing experience and production.
Weaknesses: Good, but not great, speed and can get beat vertically. Too much contact downfield and needs to do a better job with his hands and body positioning, often making it too easy for the officials to call pass interference. Room to improve his transitional technique and discipline. Inconsistent open-field tackler and doesn't have great strength to always finish once he initiates contact. A few questions regarding his competitive nature and coachability.
Link:
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1664265/brandon-mcgee" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/play ... ndon-mcgee</a>
Why did McGee fall to the 5th round?
McGee's stock began to rise during the off-season. He really stood out in the East-West Shrine Game practices, unfortunately he didn't participate in the game.
He had two interceptions in Tuesday's practice, the National Football Post reported.
The Philadelphia Eagles team site also listed McGee as one of those who impressed in practice.
"McGee's performance can simply be described as 'wow'," reporter Tony Pauline wrote.
Sun-Sentinel.com
It would have been better for McGee if he played in the game, but his work at practice was enough to get him noticed. However, it's hard to just ignore what he's done for Miami, which wasn't much. He didn't win a lot of battles, and as you can tell by the stats his pass defense wasn't great. His inconsistencies throughout his career have hurt.
What will McGee role on the Rams defense be?
From what I've seen, he plays like an outside corner. But that's just me, maybe the coaches can ease him into the slot role as well.
Brandon McGee vs Florida State Video at the link
McGee isn't a starter for the Rams, he's a project. The hope for McGee will be that he can develop into a solid backup/depth player that can play some snaps if a player gets injured. For now, he'll likely have a role on special teams. Expecting more would leave you disappointed.
