Are cornerbacks going the way of the running back? This year at the NFL combine, a record 70 defensive backs will be working out for scouts and executives. That’s 10 more than last year and almost 20 more than back in 2011.
“Finally,” one NFL evaluator said. “It’s a product of college offenses—so many DBs need to be on the field to defend today.”
In short, like running backs, the position is specializing at a rapid rate. As one NFL agent said, the slot cornerback position is almost entirely different than outside cornerback, so you could think of the 70 players invited as a split not only between safeties and corners, but safeties, corners and slot players.