While T.J. Green is shooting up the draft boards, Clemson’s Mackensie Alexander is taking a slide.
In some of the latest mock drafts by the so-called experts, Green suddenly has found himself in the first-round on two mock drafts on NFL.com, while Alexander can’t be found on any. It’s quite the switch from two months ago when Alexander was almost a sure lock to be taken in the top 20 of the 2016 NFL Draft, while Green was questioned for leaving Clemson too early.
But Green’s 4.3 in the 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, as well as his ability to interview well during his scheduled workouts with NFL teams, has allowed him to make a steady climb up the draft boards. Some draft experts still think Green will fall in the second or third rounds, but NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein and Chad Reuter have him as a first-round pick, both citing his versatility and athleticism as key contributors.
Zierlein has Green going No. 31 overall to the Denver Broncos.
“This might seem a bit early for Green, but he had a tremendous combine and there are teams that believe he has enough coverage potential to move around the field in sub-packages,” Zierlein wrote on NFL.com. “While he wouldn’t be my choice here, Denver could use an athletic safety with coverage ability.”
Reuter has Green going No. 29 overall to the Arizona Cardinals in his mock draft.
“Don’t be surprised if Green leapfrogs his former teammate, Mackensie Alexander, in this draft,” Reuter wrote. “Last year, Byron Jones rode good film and a good workout into a late first-round selection (27th overall to Dallas). Green Bay also selected a safety to convert him into a corner. Green has the athleticism to make the move outside, freeing up veteran Tyvon Branch and stud defender Tyrann Mathieu to work inside.”
As Reuter mentioned, Green could jump Alexander in the draft. The former Clemson cornerback is no longer listed as one of Mike Mayock’s top five corners, while he slipped out of Daniel Jeremiah’s, Bucky Brooks’ and Charles Davis’ mock drafts as well.
One of the reasons why Alexander seems to be slipping into the second round is his lack of interceptions. It has been hard for the experts to rap their heads around the idea he can be a cover corner in the NFL when he did not have an interception in the two years he played at Clemson.
When asked about Alexander’s lack of interceptions at Clemson on Monday, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters all they have to go do is go watch his videos.
“In some schemes it may require that their back’s to the quarterback quite a bit in underneath coverage for example and they may not have vision to break or have visual opportunities on the ball, for example,” Tomlin said in an article written on PennLive.com. “So schematics — there’s a lot of variables in the equation and often times those variables can be clarified on video.”
Steelers’ general manager Kevin Colbert agreed.
“Just because a guy doesn’t have any interceptions doesn’t mean his receiver wasn’t the intended receiver,” Colbert said. “Maybe he just did that good a job of covering it that the quarterback looked elsewhere.”
The Steelers’ first pick is No. 25 in the 2016 NFL Draft, which is set to begin on Thursday in Chicago.
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