So yesterday I took a look at Nate Clements and what your confidence may be in him. He was the first defensive player and previously we have voted on Alex Smith, Glen Coffee, Frank Gore - and many more. Today I'll continue looking at the secondary, and even more, continue looking at the cornerback position.
Tarell Brown is a player whose current worth is hard to place. He's shown flashes, and he's disappeared completely. He's very athletic, probably the team's fastest corner at the moment. The past two seasons have seen Brown posting two interceptions in each season, with his tackle numbers going up. He hasn't been amazing, but he hasn't seemed like a liability out there, either.
He's played both nickle and left cornerback, and has done well at both, but never enough to consistently be a starter. At one point, was given a nod over Clements, but then was demoted again behind Dre Bly. Still, my best memory of Brown is of him picking off Bulger to seal a victory against the Rams. That was a great day.
There's not much else to say - you've seen the guy, and if you haven't, it's because he doesn't play that often. He was taken in the fifth round, but was considered to have a much higher talent, perhaps even first round. There's a lot of potential in the guy, it's just whether or not he (and we) thinks he can put it all together. Make the jump for confidence levels.
Very High: Simple, he plays well enough to be a starter at either left or right cornerback. The coaches see what he has to offer and cannot deny that he should be starting. 4 interceptions at the very least, maybe more.
High: Not necessarily a starter at left corner or right corner, but does get mixed in a little while and is the definite starter in nickel situations as the third cornerback. He will play well enough here to make Nate expendable in 2011 and the team instead drafts the replacement for Shawntae Spencer on the right side. Just looked good every time he's out there.
Medium: You expect him to start at nickel corner and play well. He won't turn many heads, he'll probably get his two interceptions, and all-in-all will be a serviceable nickel corner in this league. Going in to 2011, he'll still be a guy that needs to "figure things out".
Low: He either starts at nickel corner and doesn't look good, or he doesn't start there to begin with. He's a liability in coverage, he gets burned, but it's more of a half and half deal. You don't want to see more of him but he is at the very least passable for at least 50% of the time he's out there.
Very Low: Keith Smith.