Kansas City Chiefs Scouting Report: Ronald Darby
The Kansas City Chiefs own the 18th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, as well as nine other picks (and four compensatory picks). The Chiefs really need to use one of their early round picks on a body in the secondary, and should consider drafting Ronald Darby.
Darby played his college football at Florida State University, and his counterpart P.J. Williams is also slated to be a high drafted cornerback in this year’s draft. During his three seasons with the Seminoles, Darby racked up 79 tackles, 16 defended passes, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles.
Combine Results
- 40-yard dash – 4.38 seconds*
- Bench press – 12 reps
- Vertical jump – 41.5 inch*
- Broad jump – 129.0 inch
- 3-cone drill – 6.94 seconds
- 20-yard shuttle – 4.14 seconds
* = Combine top performer
Pro Day Results
- Broad jump – 10 feet, 7 inches
- Bench press – 15 reps of 225 pounds
The Chiefs currently have Sean Smith on one side of the field, but the side opposite him is up for grabs. If I had to predict, I’d say Phillip Gaines would get the second spot as of now. Gaines was a third round pick out of Rice in 2014 and showed promise during his rookie season.
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Kansas City also has Marcus Cooper, Jamell Fleming, and Ron Parker. Parker more than likely will play safety in the absence of Eric Berry. That, and Parker actually looked much better playing safety than at cornerback.
Darby would add a young body to the Chiefs’ secondary, which despite not having the biggest names on the roster, actually fared pretty well in 2014. Kansas City’s secondary did not allow a 300 yard passer in any of the team’s 16 games last season. That’s pretty dang impressive.
"Cover corner with average size and outstanding speed. Has shown the instincts to play off coverage and the athleticism to play press. It is a bit of a concern that scouts and even opposing coaches have commented on Darby’s toughness, but he doesn’t have very many missed or broken tackles on his docket and his cover skills should be prioritized over his run support regardless. He clearly has starter’s ability at the position.– Lance Zierlein of NFL.com"
The nice part about Ronald Darby is that he more than likely will be available after the first round. This allows the Kansas City Chiefs to address either the offensive line or adding a wide receiver in the first round and then picking up Darby in round two or even three.
Darby is a fast guy that can easily change directions without much hesitation. He’s good at running routes and quarterbacks tend to avoid throwing in his direction. Of course, this was all during his college days, but hopefully a lot of this can transfer to the pros.
Next: Cornerback Scouting Report Central
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