Originally published Friday, April 25, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Scouting the Draft | Solid corners available; safeties hard to find

Position summary This draft has a lot of solid cornerbacks, but no one who really stands out at the top of the class. Hence, four or five...

José Miguel Romero

Seattle Times staff reporter

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Leodis McKelvin


Top defensive backs
Rk	Pos	Player	College	Ht	Wt	Comment
1.	CB	Leodis McKelvin	Troy	5-10	190	Gets the edge in this ranking, but might not be first CB picked.
2.	CB	D. Rodgers-Cromartie	Tennessee St.	6-2	184	Had a kidney removed at age 8.
3.	CB	Mike Jenkins	South Florida	5-10	197	"Big-time boom or bust potential," says an NFL scout.
4.	CB	Antoine Cason	Arizona	6-0	191	Some say others rank higher, but this kid can flat-out play.
5.	FS	Kenny Phillips	Miami (Fla.)	6-2	212	Compared to 'Canes greats Ed Reed and the late Sean Taylor.

Position summary

This draft has a lot of solid cornerbacks, but no one who really stands out at the top of the class. Hence, four or five could be chosen after the first 10 picks.

Teams can never get enough quality corners as the receivers get bigger, faster and stronger every year.

As for the safeties, this isn't a good draft, said Rob Rang, senior draft analyst for nfldraftscout.com.

"Safety is the worst group in the entire draft," Rang said.

Look for perhaps a few of the bigger, slower cornerbacks drafted to be given a look at safety.

Seahawks slant

The Seahawks drafted corners with their first picks in each of the past two drafts — Kelly Jennings in the first round in 2006 and Josh Wilson in 2007's second round. Jennings is now a starter and forms a solid tandem with Marcus Trufant. Add Jordan Babineaux, who can also play safety, and the Seahawks don't appear to have much of a need at this position.

At safety, Deon Grant and Brian Russell were good additions last season, and Mike Green and C.J. Wallace are the backups for now, but look for Seattle to bring in someone via the draft — or a rookie free agent — to challenge for a roster spot.

A mock draft on foxsports.com has the Seahawks picking strong safety Tyrell Johnson from Arkansas State in the first round. Such a choice would be a surprise, although Johnson has garnered more attention from teams this month.

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