Yahoo! Sports' Eric Edholm has the Redskins selecting Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley with the No. 17-overall pick in his latest mock draft.
While the Washington Redskins have already begun retooling the secondary with the addition of safety D.J. Swearinger and the impeding move to safety for Su'a Cravens, they still could pick a defensive back in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
In his latest mock draft, Eric Edholm of Yahoo! Sports has the Redskins using their No. 17-overall pick to select Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley.
"Conley is a well-built, highly athletic corner who could line up opposite Josh Norman and potentially give the Redskins a nice duo," Edholm writes.
Since announcing his entry in the draft, the defensive back has been getting high praise, being compared to Denver Broncos All-Pro Aqib Talib by NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein in the process.
Conley finished his college career with 91 tackles, six interceptions and 15 passes defended for the Buckeyes.
As a redshirt freshman, Conley held his own in the Big Ten appearing in nine games and has started every game for the Buckeyes his sophomore and junior year.
The six-foot corner had a strong sophomore season in which he proved that he was not only a coverage back but showed his improvement as a tackler (49 in 2015).
Conley had an eight-tackle performance against Virginia Tech and seven-tackle performances against Penn State and Norte Dame. He caught two interceptions that year and five passes defended.
The physical corner upped his play in 2016, finishing with eight passes defensed and four interceptions on the way to being named second-team All-Big Ten. Conley proved to be a true shutdown corner and was a perfect complement to teammate Marshon Lattimore.
According to his NFL.com draft profile, Conley "runs well and sinks into receiver's lap down the field, getting his head around to make a play on the ball."
"Press-corner with experience at both cornerback spots and an ability to fit into a variety of coverage techniques. He plays with good top-end speed and has the ball skills to challenge and defend passes on any level. He can step in right away in zone coverage, but could struggle to match patterns from a pedal. He will likely be targeted by teams seeking long cornerbacks who can crowd and trail receivers down the field," his profile states.
