STRENGTHS
Marcus is the best athlete in this draft. Watching him play on defense is like watching a hyena chasing down a lion on the Serengeti. Marcus is a quick/twitch athlete with those quick feet that makes players miss him when returning punts and kicks on special teams. He has those fluid hips that allow him to cover receivers on defense better than most in this draft. Marcus is a weapon who plays bigger than his size because of his athleticism and high football IQ. He has the skills to shut down any size receiver from any defensive back position on the field. Marcus is a weapon on the special team return units. He has the leadership skills to be a coach on the field for your defense. He is quick to support the run but doesn’t shed blocks, he just beats the blocker to the spot on the field and makes a tackle with anticipation and instincts. As I stated before, Marcus is the best athlete in this draft, and watching him play on defense is like watching a predator hunt, on one of those nature shows on TV.
CONCERNS
There are two big concerns teams use to justify NOT selecting a player early in a draft…size and versatility. Marcus oozes both of those concerns from every part of his body. He’s 5’ 8” and plays on defense, offense, and special teams. Marcus is a cornerback who is aggressive and tends to guess routes and can get beat off the line. That being said his tremendous athleticism allows him to recover quicker than most other defensive backs and still make plays on the ball. Once again, if you want to nit-pick Marcus out of not selecting early in this draft, go ahead but…you will be sorry.
BOTTOM LINE: 1.43
A big issue I see in selecting Marcus is trying to replace his impact if he does get hurt. You will need to call up at least three players from the practice squad to replace the three players who will have to be used to replace Marcus on the field, and those moves still, will not replace his impact. I believe Marcus prefers to play on defense because of his predatory and competitive nature. His competitive nature does get satisfied playing on offense but, it does nothing to satisfy the portion of his nature that is predatorial. I don’t care what round he gets selected. You can nit-pick him into the lower rounds or select him in the top ten, it really doesn’t matter to me. Nevertheless, believe me when I tell you, if I were actually selecting players he would be on the top of my list, and in fact he is. As I stated before, watching him on film is like watching a Hyena chasing down a lion on the Serengeti…picture it.
