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Name: Dre Kirkpatrick
Position: Cornerback
School: Alabama
Where the Pats Should Draft Him: 1st Round, 27th overall
Analysis:
Kirkpatrick was a starter on Alabama's historically great defense. His combination of size and speed at the corner position are outstanding. He is able to play man with bump and run coverage or drop into a zone and read the quaterback. He can be brought in to blitz and is excellent at shedding blocking receivers to contribute in the run game. He is not a ball hawk, but defends passes well and can use his size to poke the ball away. The thing that sticks out to me when I watch him play is he is completely unafraid to hit. There are several plays, one in particular against Arkansas comes to mind, where he just flies to the ball carrier and lays him out. His tackling form isn't outstanding and on the very next play he gets completely blocked out of the play, but I think those are exceptions and necessarily the norm. In my previous posts about looking at the roster as it currently stands I mentioned a cornerback that could play free safety and most importantly could cover/play man; I think if Kirkpatrick could add some bulk he is exactly who I envision.
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