Quinten Rollins, 2015 Second Round Pick

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Brad Biggs ‏@BradBiggs 16s17 seconds ago
Terrific story on #Packers CB Quinten Rollins here from @MattBowen41 Super read. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2444399-how-quinten-rollins-became-the-2015-nfl-drafts-unlikeliest-prospect …

Packer Report ‏@PackerReport 35s35 seconds ago
Rollins played football for one season. MAC Defensive Player of the Year

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Tyler Dunne ‏@TyDunne 2m2 minutes ago
Here's what Quinten Rollins' coach at Miami (Ohio) said before the combine ... http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/291103901.html …

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Another Senior Bowl guy:

Jason Wilde ‏@jasonjwilde 8s9 seconds ago
Good story from our friend @PackerReport on #Packers second-round pick Quinten Rollins: http://gnb.scout.com/story/1520341-slam-dunk …

[red]

this is a guy thats gonna be a stud

he's played less then our first round pick, but is less raw, with a higher upside imo

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QUINTEN ROLLINS
Miami (Oh)
4 Stars out of 5

POSITION CB
HEIGHT/WEIGHT 5'11"/195
NO. 2
VERIFIED 40 TIME 4.57
COLLEGE Miami (Oh)
HS Wilmington HS
HOME Wilmington, OH

SCOUT RANK 54
POSITION RANK 07


BIO
As a basketball player, Rollins finished his career ranked second at Miami and 12th among Mid-American Conference career leaders in steals (214) and is one of only 15 players in MAC history to reach 200 career steals…Ranks fourth at Miami in career assists (391), seventh in games started (106) and ninth in minutes played (3,448)…Played in 116 career games and is the only player in Miami history to twice record seven steals in a game… Also owns four of the top six steal marks on the MU game-record chart…As a football player, Rollins recorded seven interceptions in 2014, tying the school’s season-record that was first set by Dick Boron in 1968 and matched by Dick Adams (1969 and 1970), Denny Costello (1972), Joe Spicer (1973) and Ron Carpenter (1990 and 1991)

EVALUATION
Considering that Rollins has played just one season of college football and was a high school running back, he showed that he could be a physical tackler who shows aggression taking on contact, and even though he played in the second/third level, he showed urgency moving down the line to tackle. He’s also physical in coverage, doing a nice job of reading the receiver’s eyes. That ability allowed him to gain the success he had going up and knocking the ball away with his back to the play.

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this is a guy thats gonna be a stud

he's played less then our first round pick, but is less raw, with a higher upside imo

Not as much speed, more like Hyde, no?

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Report from NFL Scouting Services' Dave-Te' Thomas:

Hollywood might call Quinten Rollins one day to do his life story, but until then he should expect a very early call from some NFL team in late April as a coveted cornerback. Just looking to continue his education at the university after a four-year career with the RedHawks basketball team, Rollins was also recruited by that school to play football but never stepped on to the gridiron until he concluded playing hoops.

Rollins finished his basketball career ranked second at Miami and 12th among Mid-American Conference career leaders in steals (214), becoming one of only 15 players in MAC history to reach 200 steals. He ranks fourth at Miami in career assists (391), seventh in games started (106) and ninth in minutes played (3,448), having played in 116 games. He is the only player in Miami history to twice record seven steals in a game and owns four of the top six single-game steal marks at Miami-Ohio.

Nobody on the coaching staff knew what they would get when Rollins first walked into the football office prior to the start of 2014 spring camp looking for an opportunity to suit up. He would go on to lead the league and rank third in the nation with seven interceptions, also breaking up nine passes. He finished fourth on the team with 72 tackles, making four stops-for-loss while also causing one fumble.

For that performance, he received MAC Defensive Player of the Year honors and garnered first-team All-American accolades from The NFL Draft Report. Do not let this football neophyte’s lack of experience fool you – if you look at the updated rankings on Scout.com, he is rated among the draft’s elite cornerback prospects for a reason.

Considering that Rollins has played just one season of college football and was a high school running back, he showed that he could be a physical tackler who shows aggression taking on contact, and even though he played in the second/third level he showed urgency moving down the line to tackle. He’s also physical in coverage, doing a nice job of reading the receiver’s eyes. That ability allowed him to gain the success he had going up and knocking the ball away with his back to the play.

Rollins demonstrated good confidence in jump-ball situations (attained four of his pass thefts from jump-ball battles) and can hold up physically one-on-one on the outside. His basketball skills and overall flexibility show that he has the natural balance and footwork in coverage, along with demonstrating the ability to quickly get his feet under him and then click and close on the ball. Rollins has very good closing speed, along with generating functional power as a tackler when asked to drive on a receiver after the catch. He wraps up and finishes well, along with doing a nice job of turning and running with receivers downfield. He possesses good (not great) straight-line speed and uses his length and explosive leaping ability to high-point the ball.

Rollins still needs some technique work, as he is not yet technically sound when it comes to his drop. He has a tendency to open up his hips too early in his backpedal, and due to inexperience he had to rely more on his athleticism to run with receivers from the trail technique. He appeared to be more comfortable when playing with inside leverage and take a side to ride the receiver on his way down field. He does have a crisp and quick closing burst but will need to work on his footwork, as he is not yet sharp in his attempts to get out of his breaks and undercut routes.

There are times when Rollins will round off his breaks or gather himself, but he’s a valid, physical player who can tackle in the secondary, close on the ball and run with most of the speedy receivers down field. He has the upside to develop into a good starting cornerback, reminding me of a “young puppy” at Louisiana-Lafayette more than a decade ago with just one year of defensive back experience – Pittsburgh’s Ike Taylor.

Rollins is the first to admit that he is still developing the quick thinking process to recognize routes and diagnose whether the receiver is the primary read by anticipating the opponent’s body language. Still, his interception success came from being alert to swing passes in the flat in zone coverage.

He improved throughout the season and during 2015 Senior Bowl practices Rollins was quick to read receiver screens, avoid the block and close to make the play near or behind the line. There were times he was a step slow attacking in his zone or to chase plays, but that can be easily corrected once he feels more comfortable taking proper angles to the ball.

Playing one-on-one with the receiver, Rollins has the size and hand skills to be a physical press coverage defender. His basketball skills are evident with his smooth hip transition from his backpedal, but he is best in press coverage, as he became comfortable in using his length and size to neutralize the receiver. He just needs to be more consistent getting his hands on his opponent before the receiver can get a release off the line.

Rollins does a nice job for keeping contact with the receiver down field to prevent any sort of separation. He has the length and leaping ability to win jump ball battles, and as his interception rate increased he forced quarterbacks to look in other directions. His lone issue in man coverage is footwork, as he can lose his balance and footing on double moves. While he has the ability to be physical, he needs to be more disciplined in this area to prevent costly penalties.

With 16 passes defended, it is safe to say that Rollins has excellent hands. He’s a ball-hawk in coverage and, along with his snatching ability, he is quick to find the ball thrown over his shoulder, especially when covering on vertical and fade routes. He won’t intercept every pass that hits his hands (four of his breakups appeared to be easy thefts), but he gets good hand placement defending the ball. He’s also become very aggressive at challenging for the sphere at its high point. It will be interesting to see if some NFL team tries to capitalize on his hands by using him on punt and kickoff returns.

Quinten Rollins Scouting Combine measurables

5-11/195 (4.67 forty)
30 1/4-inch arm length
9-inch hands
14-reps bench 36 1/2-inch vertical jump
10-foot-2 broad jump
7.10 3-cone drill (right calf strain)
4.28 20-yard shuttle
11.53 60-yard shuttle

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LINDY'S had him as the #3 cb in the draft

[red]

Not as much speed, more like Hyde, no?

sounds fine to me, hyde looked damn good until we screwed up his growth last year by moving him to safety for the offseason

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Pete Dougherty @PeteDougherty · 7m 7 minutes ago
Brian Gutekunst, Packers dir. college scouting, due to meet with media soon, I'll live tweet.

Pete Dougherty @PeteDougherty · 2m 2 minutes ago
Gutekenust on only 1 yr in college for Rollins: i went to school in November and he was very very impressive. great length, ball skills ..

Pete Dougherty @PeteDougherty · 2m 2 minutes ago
Probably their best player in Week 2 and only played since spring. fairly easy to evaluate.

Pete Dougherty @PeteDougherty · 2m 2 minutes ago
On upside: really big. excited to see what he can do. harder worker, really good basketball player, 2 time captain.

Pete Dougherty @PeteDougherty · 1m 1 minute ago
How BB help: spatial awareness, playing with back to ball.

Pete Dougherty @PeteDougherty · 23s 24 seconds ago
What do for team taking CBs back to back: competition is great. any time guys challenged get best from them. that's a postive.

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Pete Dougherty @PeteDougherty · 1m 1 minute ago
what kind of tackler: saw on film right away. timing element, learning when to shoot and not, showed up early in season he was tackling well

Pete Dougherty @PeteDougherty · 1m 1 minute ago
how get on radar: chatter picked up quickly in fall, our scout went in there, excited about him, then I saw him, made Ted aware.

Pete Dougherty @PeteDougherty · 24s 24 seconds ago
see rust: MAC defensive player of year, natural athlete, spatial awareness, very fluid

Packer Report ‏@PackerReport 2m2 minutes ago
Rollins ran 4.57 at Combine. "He plays fast enough."

Pete Dougherty @PeteDougherty · 9s 9 seconds ago
Talk of waiting on him or trading back: don't operate that way. Field calls but if he's player we like we're going to pick him.

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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CD9vct1UIAAAl1E.jpg

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCHLLwLY7fs

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCHLLwLY7fs

he's gonna be fun to watch

those first 2 plays should be enough to get any packer fan moist

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Phone interview:

Green Bay Packers ‏@packers 5m5 minutes ago
Rollins on returning to football: I had been itching to get back into it around my sophomore year of basketball. #PackersDraft

Packer Report @PackerReport · 7m 7 minutes ago
Rollins met with packers informally at combine. That was it.

Packer Report @PackerReport · 14s 15 seconds ago
Rollins won over new teammates with work ethic. Wasn't a boastful guy.

Packer Report @PackerReport · 4m 4 minutes ago
Lateral quickness is one of things that translates from basketball to cornerback, he said.

Tyler Dunne ‏@TyDunne 2m2 minutes ago
Rollins says some teams questioned how much he loves football. Explains that basketball was best option out of HS. Had lots of AAU exposure.

Green Bay Packers ‏@packers 2m2 minutes ago
Rollins says many skills translate from basketball to football: Keeping guys in front on defense, seeing the floor/field. #PackersDraft

Green Bay Packers ‏@packers 2m2 minutes ago
That's all from Quinten Rollins, who closes with: "Glad to be a Green Bay Packer."

[Maxie the Taxi]

Hey guys, how about this:
NFL draft: 5 prospects who could become rookie Pro Bowlers (http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000488057/article/nfl-draft-5-prospects-who-could-become-rookie-pro-bowlers)

Quinten Rollins (http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/quinten-rollins?id=2552263), DB, Miami (Ohio) Yes, this is the darkhorse pick of the group, but I can envision Rollins quickly earning star status. It would be one of the season's great surprises to see him go straight to the Pro Bowl (http://www.nfl.com/probowl), and he has the ball skills to come in and make a big impact right off the bat. Rollins is most likely a second-round pick, and he played only one season of college football after four years as a starter for the basketball team. He made seven interceptions in 2014 on his way to earning MAC Defensive Player of the Year honors. With the right team, he could start racking up takeaways. What if he goes down the same path as Jairus Byrd (http://www.nfl.com/player/jairusbyrd/79899/profile), a second-round pick in 2009 who was not just a Pro Bowl (http://www.nfl.com/probowl)er, but an All-Pro after making nine picks as a rookie? The team that picks Rollins will have a plan to feature him from Day 1.


Music to my ears.

[denverYooper]

Kev Connaghan ‏@PFF_Kev 15m15 minutes ago
Quinten Rollins held QBs to a passer rating of 44.9 on go routes, with just four completions to three interceptions #NFLDraft

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Joe Whitt on his new backfield:

Green Bay Packers ‏@packers 4m4 minutes ago
Whitt: We're happy to have (D. Randall & Q. Rollins) coming in. The CB/secondary room has changed. The addition of these 2 men is exciting.

Packer Report ‏@PackerReport 4m4 minutes ago
#Packers CBs coach Joe Whitt here. Excited to get new group. The best players will play. The next guys will sit there and work to get ready.

Packer Report ‏@PackerReport 3m3 minutes ago
Whitt will let practice determine who’s outside and who’s in slot

Tyler Dunne ‏@TyDunne 3m3 minutes ago
Joe Whitt says it's a tough position to learn, but, on Rollins... "I do know that his rare ball skills, that is something special."

Packer Report ‏@PackerReport 3m3 minutes ago
Whitt notes just one rookie Pro Bowl corner in last 10 years. Hard position to come in and play early.

Green Bay Packers ‏@packers 2m2 minutes ago
Whitt on Rollins: Most of the guys you coach played basketball in HS anyway. The skill set is something you're used to. #PackersDraft

Packer Report ‏@PackerReport 56s56 seconds ago
Whitt on Randall. Quick. Played a lot in the slot. Aggressive in coverage.

Packer Report ‏@PackerReport 20m20 minutes ago
“How do we play winning football quickly?” that’s the challenge, Whitt said.

Packer Report ‏@PackerReport 18m18 minutes ago
Whitt puts value in interceptions – not just PBUs. Likes what Randall, Rollins add to the mix.

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Freebie: http://gnb.scout.com/story/1543053-rollins-a-slam-dunk?s=61

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Tyler Dunne ‏@TyDunne 8m8 minutes ago
If the #Packers didn't take Rollins, good chance the #Colts would have three picks later. Worked the corner out last week, Pagano liked him.

[smuggler]

I like Rollins better than I liked Hayward two drafts ago. But, then this is the most likeable pick on the surface this season. (Thus far.)

[call_me_ishmael]

I love this pick. I also love yesterdays pick. I'm surprised they didn't give the kid yesterday the # 36. I'm surprised they didn't give this kid 38 right off the bat.

That's the mold they fit.

[smuggler]

Randall is wearing 23. What number for Rolly?

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Mike Tanier, Bleacher Report*: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2449866-2015-nfl-draft-grades-round-2-and-3-report-cards/page/32

Strengths: Athleticism, tackling.

Weaknesses: Experience, technique.

This draft class is full of inexperienced cornerbacks with intriguing upside.

Jalen Collins was only a one-year starter at LSU. Charles Gaines moved over from wide receiver to cornerback for Louisville as a junior. Nick Marshall decided he didn’t want to be associated with this year’s quarterback class, ripped off his bright yellow no-hit jersey at the Senior Bowl and became an instant cornerback prospect.

This is Richard Sherman’s fault. EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IS RICHARD SHERMAN’S FAULT.

Rollins was a physical shooting guard with limited range for four years at Miami of Ohio before realizing that NBA shooting guards are expected to shoot accurately. He switched to football and demonstrated immediate quickness, instincts and the tackling technique of someone who has been doing it for years.

He also has the competitiveness of a four-year starter at another sport and the ability to bounce back from mistakes that comes from a career .241 three-point percentage.

Rollins’ long speed is suspect, and it takes more than athleticism and tenacity to cover NFL receivers. But Rollins has a broad skill-and-attribute set and a high ceiling.

Some picks make more sense in tandem than when viewed individually. Neither Rollins nor first-round pick Damarious Randall is all that exciting, but taken together, they represent an important reshaping of the Packers secondary.

Grade: B+

[vince]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LYycPpqMJU


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ea6S-pjVTE


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOovvASMY3Y


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U92RYYUBFHo

[Brandon494]

Not as much speed, more like Hyde, no?

They said the same thing about Richard Sherman.

[mraynrand]

They said the same thing about Richard Sherman.

Sherman is 4.45 speed, not 4.57!

[HarveyWallbangers]

Sherman is 4.45 speed, not 4.57!

Sherman ran 4.60 at the combine--according to NFL Draft Scout.

[smuggler]

Sherman is not a burner, but he has more stature and 'great' hand technique.

[mission]

This is my favorite of the picks... this guy has HUGE upside. For being a basketball player, he sure looks like a very willing tackler too. Usually don't get that from the "ball hawk" types.

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Now this is a testimonial!

Packer Report ‏@PackerReport 1m1 minute ago
Quinten Rollins' position coach at Miami (Ohio) thought he could develop into All-Pro. Was so far behind experience-wise, made up thru prep.

[mraynrand]

Sherman ran 4.60 at the combine--according to NFL Draft Scout.

I don't know what to believe now, but at least one of my arguments is wrong. If he's 4.6, then my assertion that he is the rare guy that violates "the taller the DB, the slower you are" maxim goes out the window. In any case, it's fair to say that good technique can make up for lack of speed.

[mission]

Rollins had a pick-six in the first Packers rookie minicamp. Boom.

[gbgary]

excited about this guy. the d may have taken a step or two forward in this draft.

[King Friday]

This kid has loads of upside. DB play is far more about instinct and play recognition than it is about raw speed. Being in position to make a play is the first thing for any defender. The fact this kid looked so natural at the position with so little experience on the college level is evidence of his natural talent at the position...as well as his desire to work and study to gain an edge.

[Freak Out]

Has this guy blown a hammy yet? Broken leg? ACL?