NFL Draft 2017: 5 Biggest First Round Steals
By Joel W. Cade
The Ohio State University. Marshon Lattimore. 4. player. 15. . Cornerback
The New Orleans Saints have been in the cornerback market for a while. They flirted with signing New England Patriot Malcolm Butler for a first-round pick. Instead, they exercised patience and allowed the best cornerback to fall to them in the draft. Being patient enough to allow other teams to jump ahead of them for quarterbacks pushed the best cornerback of the draft down to them at eleven.
Marshon Lattimore was the best cornerback in the draft. He played a lot of press man in the Ohio State 4-3 defense. He has the speed and athleticism to do the same thing in the NFL. His lack of game experience, due to being a one year starter, means he will need to continue to develop at the NFL. But he has all the traits to be an All-Pro cornerback early I his career.
The fact that Lattimore fell is a testament to how much the NFL is an offensive league. Teams projected to picks corners, safeties and defensive linemen early decided to take the best available offensive players first banking on the draft being deep enough to push quality defenders down the boards.
The Saints held their water and got the best cornerback in the draft. Lattimore is a steal at pick eleven.