Run Defense
It is often hard to get a full impression of a cornerback’s run defense based on a few games of tape – while particularly good or bad run defenders will tend to show themselves over that sample size, those in the middle are hard to separate on the basis of a handful of plays. This is roughly where Apple is.
He does show pretty nice tackling form at times, going low and looking to wrap with his arms:
But there are also times when he looks to dive at the feet of the defender without properly wrapping up:
He does show pretty good gap discipline on the edge, keeping outside contain before another gap gets pushed wide enough for him to work back inside to the ball carrier:
But he could do a better job of disengaging from blocks at times:
And he certainly doesn’t appear to dive headfirst into contact, such as on the following play where he does a nice job of keeping outside contain – but by holding off on engaging, he allows the ball carrier to get somewhat downfield before he engages with the blocker. By doing so, he also allows the inside gap to be widened, thereby giving the ball carrier more room to work with inside:
Overall, Eli Apple looks to be a fine, if largely unspectacular, cornerback.
He isn’t likely to generate a ton of turnovers unless he can dramatically improve his ball tracking in zone, and while he can run vertically with receivers and isn’t a complete liability in man coverage, if he is stuck on an island against the NFC South’s top receivers, that probably isn’t going to end hugely well either.
For the contract he has been given and as a short-term answer to the #2 cornerback role, he looks to be reasonably good value, but despite only turning 25 just before the season starts, it is hard to imagine that the flaws he shows on tape are going to be able to be turned around to the point where he starts to merit his top ten selection from 2016 – or be a huge part of the Panthers future going forward.
(Top Photo Via Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
