Would Todd Bowles Draft A Smallish Corner?
April 3rd, 2025
Kentucky CB Maxwell Hairston has lightning speed.
The more Joe hears Todd Bowles and Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht talk, the more Joe is convinced the Bucs won’t draft an inside linebacker at No. 19.
Joe understands that Jihaad Campbell’s shoulder surgery might be making teams nervous, as it should. Who knows when he will get back on the field?
Bowles likes long, tall corners. Usually. But there is a guy out of Kentucky by the name of Maxwell Hairston who is insanely fast. And if you listen to NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell, despite Hairston only being 5-11, he’s not at all afraid to get after running backs.
That will get Bowles’ attention: stopping the run!. And so should this: Hairston ran a 4.28 40-yard dash at the combine.
That’s Deion speed, man. There aren’t many cats in the league that could successfully run go-routes on him.
Joe likes Michigan’s Will Johnson a lot but he seems to be Jamel Dean II. Johnson is built like Dean but also is brittle like Dean. If Dean could stay on the field, Joe doesn’t believe Bowles would so openly talk about getting a corner.
So yeah, Joe is intrigued by Hairston. He’s both SEC battle-tested and has exceptional SEC speed.
As Whitey Herzog often famously said, “Speed kills.”
(If the video below, which includes Cosell’s breakdown of Hairston as well as video highlights of Hairston, does not appear, click here.)
https://x.com/OneBillsLive/status/1905699132582596646
April 3rd, 2025 at 5:38 am
Well Dean ran 4.29 at 6’1″ so speed isn’t everything. At the same time, Will Johnson refusing to run a 40 scares me. Hairston is projected to go at the bottom of the first or top of the second. If the Bucs were to trade back, I would be ok with it. If they stay at 19, there should be better prospects available.
April 3rd, 2025 at 6:34 am
While speed is a great quality, if you are too tight in the hips, it affects your stop and go and your ability to quickly change directions. Many track stars have very fast straight line speed but poor change of direction…..this is why assessing a football player’s time in the 3 cone drill is very important.
April 3rd, 2025 at 7:05 am
If Hairston can return kickoffs and punts then take him. Stop having Bucky return kicks. There is a tackling machine at S. Carolina named Demetrius Knight that can probably be scooped up in the second round.
April 3rd, 2025 at 7:43 am
We need to draft a healthy corner, Dean and Hall should be able to put together a full season together, but they didn’t do it last year. I think Bowles would go for smallish but good tackling, physical corner like Jahdae Barron who had 5 picks last year. A possible 3rd round pick would be Nohl Williams who had 7 picks at Cal.
I’d like to get a punt returner as a UDFA, someone like Courtney Jackson who had two TD returns and a 18 yard average.
April 3rd, 2025 at 7:44 am
LB3 @19
April 3rd, 2025 at 7:47 am
Pat Fischer was a 5′ 9″ corner, played some 15 years. Was hilarious watching him cover 6′ 8″ Harold Carmichael
April 3rd, 2025 at 7:50 am
There is a wealth of quality to the 2nd Round this year in the draft. Unless Green or Emmanwori or Ezeirauku are there at 19 trading back is better option , I believe that amassing multiple 2nd Round picks this year by whatever means necessary is beneficial as there are MANY very good corner prospects in the 2nd Round.
April 3rd, 2025 at 8:15 am
Everybody steals my 2nd round theory.
Trade back twice if possible.
I want 2 2nd round picks and 2 3rd round picks and 2 4th round picks.
Forget rounds 5-7.
Get as many 2nd round, 3rd round and 4th round picks.
April 3rd, 2025 at 8:39 am
I don’t think 5′ 11″ is that small. Brent Grimes was small. And the way this guy moves, he’s not just pure speed but there’s plenty of agility & athleticism there. He would absolutely change our secondary. Is Bowles okay with it? We shall see! Sooo many possibilities
April 3rd, 2025 at 8:45 am
Based on stupid SEC criteria, speed and SEC battle tested… you people just described Jamel Dean. A player’s conference is of little importance. Just ask Glenn Dorsey, Devin White, Ahmad Black, Tebow, Trent Richardson, etc, etc, etc, etc…. More busts come out of the SEC than any conference… presumably because “If he can play in the SEC, he can…” Just NO!
April 3rd, 2025 at 8:53 am
Shavon Revel Jr is coming to town to interview with us. He’s more the size Bowles likes but at the same time, will probably drop in the draft due to his knee injury and inability to do anything at the combine. Interesting prospect.
April 3rd, 2025 at 9:02 am
love the whitey ref. willie mcgee, ozzie smith, lonnie smith the most deadly top of the lineup in those days. then they ADD Vince Coleman. wtf
April 3rd, 2025 at 9:26 am
Or is he really 5’10”?
April 3rd, 2025 at 9:31 am
Darrell Green is 5’9″ and was said to have run a 4.4 @ 40 yards.
He sure looked faster than that running down ball carriers.
Played 20 years and is a 1st ballot HOFer.
Size didn’t affect him much but guys like him are few and far between.
April 3rd, 2025 at 9:35 am
Speed kills. 🙂
April 3rd, 2025 at 9:44 am
That’s what Joe was thinking.
April 3rd, 2025 at 9:45 am
That was baseball.
April 3rd, 2025 at 9:47 am
Yet somehow, some way, the Bucs won a Super Bowl with Dean starting at corner with his stained resume.
Joe sort of understands why people hate Dean but the guy isn’t E.J. Biggers, either.
April 3rd, 2025 at 9:51 am
On old school Nintendo (NES), I used to play “RBI Baseball”. The St. Louis Cardinals also were by far the fastest team on the platform, including both the AL/NL All Stars. I used to play my brother and dad, and would create rubdowns with Coleman, Smith, etc.
Their speed broke the game and led to a lot of quit games bc of taunting in a rundown. Hahaha. Unblocks core memory.
Also, Vince Coleman was once a Red for spring training in Plant City, FL and I told him he was the fastest/best player rbi baseball.
April 3rd, 2025 at 9:51 am
Damn, made an error.
Create rundowns*!
Lol 😂
April 3rd, 2025 at 9:54 am
Hairston would be great…awesome speed
April 3rd, 2025 at 11:13 am
Jason knows best, but I’m in the club that prefers investing in more beef for the DL. The middle penetrator. Someone who can beat single blockers and force a double team choice.
I still yearn for the days of yore, the 1979 defense got pressure with 3 (of course Mr Selmon wasn’t blockable even being triple teamed).
Can we get pressure with 4? Pull in a raging bull, Jason. Then hopefully Todd lets him be a bull.
April 3rd, 2025 at 11:28 am
Yeah Aqualung! Our club has the hottest hostesses. Our club has the best music. And our club has the spirit of LeRoy Selmon covering everyone who comes thru the door. And the name of our club should be The Raging Bull.
April 3rd, 2025 at 11:34 am
No…….Wait until rounds 3,4 to pick up a CB. The CB pool is very deep this year. If Bucs pass on Emmanwori they are making a huge mistake. By the way Anthony Walker is a serviceable LB. Like the fact that he carries Lavontae David endorsement. Should be able to find decent LB in 2nd round. all the good EDGE will be gone by 19. Bucs cannot afford another EDGE project.
April 3rd, 2025 at 11:39 am
I don’t know what to wish for. Last year it was Graham Barton. Other wishes I got were Vita Via, Devin White, and Mike Evans. I don’t always have a wish. I do enjoy reading others wishes, though. Keep em coming.
Hey now, I have heard that this guy is a bit fragile and not just this ACL.
April 3rd, 2025 at 11:48 am
So let me get this straight we don’t want to draft jihad Campbell because of his shoulder surgery but we should look at this cornerback who missed seven games last year because of a shoulder injury?
April 3rd, 2025 at 11:50 am
Give me a pass rusher in round 1.
A corner in round 2 or 3 and a ILB and safety with the other pick and our 4th rounder.
Round 5 developmental WR with great prototypical size speed or tight end
Round 7 small school I nterior lineman
April 3rd, 2025 at 2:22 pm
Size???
Lest we all forget HOF cornerback Ronde Barber at 5’10” 184lbs. I’m not saying this kid is just like him, but he does seem to have that rare ability from the footage to be able to see the play and with his speed meet the football at the last moment.
As for SEC players succeeding in the NFL. I would say there are far more that worked out than not. Emmitt Smith, Fred Taylor, Errict Rhett, Earest Graham, Cadilac Williams, James Brooks Ronnie Brown,Bo Jackson, Joe Cribbs, Stephen Davis, William Johnson, Cam Newton Jalen Ramsey, Derek Stingley Jr., Jaire Alexander, L’Jarius Sneed, Stephon Gilmore, Charles Woodson, Charvarius Ward, Patrick Peterson, Darrelle Revis, Deion Sanders, D.J. Reed, Marshon Lattimore, Patrick Surtain II, Rod Woodson, and Willie Brownand and the list goes on and on…
April 3rd, 2025 at 2:42 pm
Whitey actually said “Speed has no slump”.
And that is a quality that cannot be coached or taken away.
Even on a bad day, if you have speed you will not get burned.
Dungy had this philosophy to building a defense.
He took smaller players that others shied away from for more size.
Part of the reason those defenses were so productive was the speed and tackling.
When four guys are on you three yards after the line of scrimmage wrapping you up, good luck with that.
Bowles must go. He sucks as a HC.
April 3rd, 2025 at 3:36 pm
BucDawg,
You are being overly harsh on TB. Why not see how he does with Dennis and Winfield recovered from injuries, 3-4 new defensive draft picks, and removing deadwood like Dean, Whitehead, Joe Tryon-Hyphenated? Have a feeling that things will be much improved this year–sort of like a 12th rated defense. This assumes that TB gets out of the 3-4 set and plays more 4-3. If Bucs can crawl up to 12-14 rated defense, they will play in NFC Championship. When that happens, TB will be extended for another 3 years. Get over your hate.
April 3rd, 2025 at 3:37 pm
If Bowles wants a chess-piece DB and size doesn’t matter, then Jahdae Barron would be the guy. He ran a 4.39, plenty fast enough. I guess it boils down to if he’s still on the board, and the Bucs think he can play outside corner eventually.