Drafting the Upside of Quinten Rollins
With the 2015 NFL Draft fast approaching and getting a clearer glimpse into the prospects the Carolina Panthers are showing interest in, thought it would be a good time to look at one certain individual that has the most intrigue of any player in this draft…….Quinten Rollins
Rollins has only played one year of collegiate football, that’s correct only one year. He played for the Miami of Ohio Redhawks basketball team as it’s point guard in his previous four seasons there. With that being known, Rollins still was the most electric DB in the entire MAC this past season that led him to receive that conference’s defensive player of the year. Rollins is still learning the game of football at the defensive back position and has his share of flaws in he is not the fastest CB (ran a 4.67 in the 40) and has said himself he is learning to watch the receivers hips rather than the QB’s eyes in pass coverage. In saying this though what Rollins does have is an uncanny ball hawking ability he brings to the table from is time spent seeing the hardwood as a point guard (7 interceptions in 2014.) He is also not afraid to tackle and is excellent in his technique in doing so while providing help in run support. Something else you would not expect from a one year wonder.
Quinten Rollins is viewed by some as a late round one pick and others see him going in the second. To me this is small potatoes to the real question and that is, “Do you draft a kid after only one year of football that early?” My personal answer to this is “YES” in this particular case. From everything I have seen film wise on Rollins he still has his best football ahead of him and you just can’t teach his ball awareness on the field. When evaluating any prospect I try to weigh what makes them good against what their flaws are. If their flaws are outweighed from what they can bring to the table, I’m good with it. This is how/why I envision Rollins succeeding in the NFL, Rollins dynamic traits far outweigh some of his physical limitations while running in underwear. “The game is played in pads” Dave Gettleman.
Rollins best position for him in the NFL would be either a nickel corner or either safety spot but preferably the free safety position with his closing tackling and ball skills. You might say why would Carolina draft a player with such a limited body of work banking on his potential. I say look at the shift from thinking in this teams scouting department after the 2014 draft. Kelvin Benjamin, Kony Ealy, Trai Turner, Tre Boston, and Bene Benwikere were all flawed in areas but also showed traits like Rollins of extreme potential. Think that worked out pretty well last year, don’t you?
Carolina does have Quinten Rollins on their radar:
By Smokewagon
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