Scouting The Draft: Quinten Rollins, CB, Miami (Ohio)

Introduction

Coming out of high school, Rollins had reached a fork in the road. One way led to a basketball scholarship, while the other a football scholarship. He felt like he saw a brighter future after college if he stuck with hoops. I would be very intrigued to know how big a name he would be if he chose the latter. Alas, he didn't, and decided to peruse basketball at Miami of Ohio. He played 4 great seasons as a point guard for the Redhawks. A stat that would seem to foreshadow his future football career, is his title of being 2nd in Redhawk history in steals.

It wasn't until 2014 that Quinten first saw the football field at the college level. The coaches weren't even knocking down his door begging for him to play. He was the one that had to seek out a path to the football field. He even thought about looking into other schools to try and get that 5th year of football eligibility. Eventually everything was worked out, and Rollins was free to dominate the MAC. In his one year of play, Rollins has won the MAC Defensive Player of the Year award, and of course team MVP. Now that his college career is over, there isn't another fork in the road for Rollins. He is strictly football.

Measurables

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 185

Class: Senior

Projected 40 Time: 4.53

Stats

Positives

• Fluid hips
• Natural athletic ability
• Decent ability to plant and change direction
• Very aggressive
• A willing run defender
• Solid tackling mechanics
• Uses his basketball skills to track the ball
• Hasn't learned any bad habits and is teachable

Negatives

• Only one year of college level football
• Doesn't have elite speed
• Can get better at route recognition
• Needs to be taught how to jam at the line

Conclusion

Rollins is the kind of player that you hope no one notices except you. His limited time at a small school could easily go overlooked. Unfortunately for us, there is no way Rollins gets overlooked this April. He didn't even play cornerback in high school. His transition to the position is pretty remarkable. Sure there are some areas that he needs to iron out, but considering how limited he has been at CB, he is relatively wrinkle free. It's extremely difficult to know where Rollins will land once the draft commences. He has the potential to rocket up draft boards. For now I think it is safe to put him anywhere between rounds 5 and 3. Even if I wasn't in love with Quinten, I would still recommend we draft him. The New York Jets aren't exactly bursting at the seems with CB talent. We can spend early picks on bigger needs like O-line or receiver, and still land Rollins. His talent is obvious, and his ceiling is high. To pass on him could come back to haunt us.

Draft Grade: 73

90-100 = Exceptional Talent

80-90 = Impact Player

70-80 = NFL Starter

60-70 = Solid NFL Potential

50-60 = Draftable - Lot of work needed

>50 = Undraftable - Long Shot To Stick