Last month, San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman organized a workout of some of the elite cornerbacks in the NFL, and he made sure to invite his new teammate, Ahkello Witherspoon. This “cornerback summit” follows in the trail of Michael Bennett’s pass rush summit or the wide receiver summits Larry Fitzgerald hosts.
Sports Illustrated columnist Robert Klemko handled this week’s MMQB column, and in it he sat down with some of the cornerbacks who took part. There is a section on the cornerbacks they changed teams (Sherman and Talib), but he also provided some details on what went down during the summit.
The cornerbacks broke down their own film, explaining their methods on each play. For Witherspoon, that provided a chance to both see how the greats go about their business, but then also discuss what he is doing in comparison to them. Each player has their own strengths, and the film session provided each player a chance to learn about areas where they might not be as strong.
The on-field sessions involved providing a drill they saw as important to their success.
Sherman explained his six-inch first step and how he avoids wasting steps in the beginning of a route. Slay taught a backpedal drill for defending double moves.
Add in some discussion about how the best receivers in the game handle their business, and it’s hard not to see how valuable this was for Witherspoon. Sherman thinks he is a guy the football will know in a year, and coming off a strong rookie season, this kind of event is only going to serve him well.
The whole column is worth a read, so click here to read it.