Philadelphia Eagles: 3 cornerbacks worth a Day 2 pick

If the Philadelphia Eagles have eyes for Kaiir Elam but feel that pick 18 is a bit too rich for his services, Martin Emerson might just be the next best cornerback option available on Day 2.

Like Elam, Emerson is a 6-foot-2, 203-pound cornerback with press experience and an SEC pedigree. While he isn’t nearly as fast as his Floridian counterpart, as Emerson only ran a 4.52 40 at his pro day, he’s a beast in press coverage, has incredibly long arms, and is a real threat to become a pass defense specialist, even if he wasn’t particularly ball-hawkish in college.

I mean goodness, when a cornerback has a wingspan of 79.5 inches, which ranks in the 96th percentile according to Mockdraftable, teams are going to be interested almost by default. When that player can also cover? Well, let’s just say the market might just be hotter than some expect.

Do you want a finesse cornerback who can stick with his receiver and remain competitive regardless of the route called? Then an option like Roger McCreary might make more sense in the second round, but if a team would rather secure a physical presence on the outside who could be a plus press player early on in “silo coverage,” well, there isn’t a more exciting option on Day 2 than Emerson, who has some of the longest arms in this year’s class and could eventually fill out his game with improved focus on man coverage.

If Emerson falls to the middle of the third, he might be the pick for the Philadelphia Eagles at 83.