Eagles take JaCorey Shepherd in the sixth round

May 3rd, 2015 by Sam Shipley | Filed under Eagles, General, NFL.

After a four hour wait on day three of the NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles selected cornerback JaCorey Shepherd out of Kansas.

Shepherd (5’11, 199 lbs) recorded 90 tackles and five interceptions in his college career, and switched from wide receiver to cornerback as a sophomore.

This is the first of two picks in the sixth round for the Eagles.

Here is a breakdown of the newest Eagle via NFL.com:

STRENGTHS

Plays with exceptional ball skills. Reads receiver’s eyes and plays the ball with great timing. Attacks the ball and receiver’s hands to swat ball away. Had 32 passes defensed and 5 interceptions over last two seasons as a starter. Able to get into a receiver’s chest in press coverage. Uses plus acceleration and smart angles to recover when beaten in space.

WEAKNESSES

His throttle sticks when forced to plant a foot and drive forward. Doesn’t show much trust in his own deep speed. Will open hips prematurely, allowing receiver to turn him around or break off routes underneath. Gets rocked off balance out of press coverage by foot quickness and head fakes. Benefited from poorly thrown balls his way. Passive tackler who goes along for the ride.

DRAFT PROJECTION: Round 5

BOTTOM LINE

Borderline height to be an outside cornerback and could be looked at as a slot cornerback. His lack of physicality against the run will hurt him with some teams, but his ball skills and college production over the last two years will catch a lot of eyes and gives him a very good shot at making a roster his rookie season.

 

Follow Sam Shipley on Twitter: @Samshipley5

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