Arizona Cardinals NFL Draft Preview: Chidobe Awuzie
By Jeremy Meek
Chidobe Awuzie is an underrated prospect at the cornerback position going into the draft
There has been a countless number of words written this offseason about the need at cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals. They went into 2016 without a true answer and ended up acquiring Marcus Cooper, who played adequately. Now, he’s gone, and the team, once again, has a huge hole at that spot.
The 2017 NFL Draft is loaded at the cornerback position. With so much talent available, it seems inevitable that the Cardinals will select one very early, and it doesn’t have to be in round one.
With the pair of cornerbacks from Ohio State, a big name from Alabama, and the Florida and Washington duos getting a bulk of the attention, some tremendous players are being overlooked by many. Chidobe Awuzie has been one of those guys, but that’s changing rapidly. Maybe his difficult to pronounce name has kept him from being as mainstream as his rivals, but his game is on par with the best of them.
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At 6’0″ and 202 pounds, Awuzie has a good combination of length and size for the NFL. He’s also a versatile player on the field. He’s smooth in coverage, and can succeed in multiple schemes, but he can also play a number of positions. He’s a slot corner, boundary corner, and a safety, as well as a terrific special teamer all rolled into one.
Awuzie produced as well, while at Colorado. He was among the team’s leading tacklers, and though he didn’t total a lot of interceptions, he did break up a good number of passes. He was also a very good blitzer, and recorded four sacks in each of his final two seasons in college.
If there are concerns about Awuzie, they’ll mostly be about technique. He’s a physical player, and at times, uses his hands in ways that will draw a flag at the next level. As mentioned, he also didn’t produce many interceptions, which could hurt him with some.
The Cardinals have to draft a cornerback in this class. Luckily, there is so much talent at the position, they should be able to find one. If they decide to use their first round pick on a quarterback or receiver, Awuzie would be a nice target in round two.