It's impossible to say, but it's telling that Milliner was constantly predicted to be a top 5 pick last year end ended up falling to us at 9th overall. No CB will go in the top 5 this year, though, in all likelihood. That said, it could be more due to the deeper draft this time around.
If you asked a professional scout the question posed in this thread, I'd be willing to bet quite a substantial amount of money that he would say Milliner as a draft prospect would be more highly rated than any corner this year. He was a big part of the national championship for the 2012 season, and dominated receivers in different types of coverage in the best conference in the NCAA. He is listed as 6' and 201 lbs, ran a 4.37 40, and had a 36 inch vertical. In comparison, the most athletically talented CB in this draft measures up identically although his vert was 35.5, and Gilbert is considered to need more refinement in his technique. Dennard measures a up a bit smaller, slower, and less athletic in general, although their technical ability is closer in comparison. Dennard might be a hair better in technique coming into the draft, but Milliner's athleticism puts him over the top.
people need to give dee a break dennard is the better press coverage guy, but doesn't have the athletic gifts and recovering speed that dee has. the kid never even learned how to back pedal at alabama, like he had a very steep learning curve. i think people will be surprised with how well he does next year
Dee Milliner would undoubtedly be the first corner off the boards for reasons Maximus has said. He was by far the most athletic CB in last year's draft, and is more athletic than this year's most athletic CB (Gilbert), while having far more refined (and just flat out better) cover skills. He did so while playing for the best team in the nation while shutting down receivers in the explosive SEC in an NFL defensive scheme (or as close to one that you'll find in the college ranks, anyway). He has just as good cover skills as Dennard while having far superior athletic ability. Without a doubt the first corner selected.
Dennard seems to be like Wilson in the aspect of not turning his head around to locate the ball. From the small film I've watched from him it seems to me that he just plays the man. Also a lot of people complaining about him holding a lot and will negate to a lot of penalties in the NFL. I'm no pro on scouting and haven't watched much film as I have in the past few years but I would not take him with the 18th pick. With guys like lee, cooks, etc. available at the WR position I think that's where our focus should be. But as for this debate Dee Milliner all day
I'd love Dennard to be our pick, but I really can't see him getting past the Steelers with their aging corners. He is a Rex Ryan corner, but he is also totally a Dick LeBeau corner. Assuming Mike Evans, Marqise Lee, Taylor Lewan, and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, and Anthony Barr are all off the board, I'm hoping for Odell Beckham Jr.
Reuben, that'll show "the best of" Dennard. The guy's good and all, but take a look at his film against ND. Tommy Rees (ND QB) was late with a lot of his passes, a number of which ended up out of bounds. Also in that ND game, the MSU secondary (including Dennard) were getting flagged left and right for interference and holding.
Coming out of college, Milliner was a really, really solid prospect. Would he be a first round pick? Absolutely. Would he be valued as better than Dennard? Not entirely sure. As previous posters mentioned, Dennard is a great prospect and he's definitely the type of press corner that Ryan values. In Alabama, Milliner also displayed good technique. It's a toss-up, but who gets picked first might depend upon scheme. While the Jets may prefer Dennard for Ryan's defense, the Bucs might prefer Milliner in Lovie's version of the Tampa-2. But it's all a moot point. Milliner's a smart kid with barely-on-the-chart tangibles. IMHO, it'll be a pleasure watching him grow as a player and he'll have a great career for the Jets.
To answer the question would require the knowledge of some alternate universe in which Milliner stayed for another season at Alabama, and then to use his performance to compare him to other CB's. Would he have had a record-breaking season? Or would he have suffered a season-ending or career-ending injury midway through fall practice? Perhaps he would have had few balls thrown his way and never had a chance to shine, allowing others to pass him on the draft board. We'll never know, but we do know he had a slow start adjusting to the NFL. He was a rookie, it has happened before. He showed signs of major improvement in the final third of the season. CB is not an easy position, and it is one where mistakes are magnified and usually contribute to another player's highlight reel. Rather than speculate about things impossible to discern, I hope the Jets get some quality depth at Safety and the other Corner, and improve the pass rush so that whoever is playing in the secondary doesn't have to chase receivers for 30 seconds waiting on the ball to get in the air.
I think the question was posed to mean if Milliner had the exact same college experience, but just happened to come out in the 2014 draft. Obviously it's theoretically impossible to say but it is something you can contemplate where as the way you interpreted it understandably really isn't something you can contemplate.
You may be right, but the thread took a decidedly different track early on. If we are to block the 2013 NFL season from our memory as if Milliner neither played in it nor in college in 2013, there might be varied opinions as to who was deserving to be the #1 CB in the draft. I wasn't 100% sure that Millinier should have been #1 last season, but most analysts thought so. If there was a special "do-over" granted and Milliner was re-inserted into this year's draft (with 1 year of NFL experience intact), he'd be a no-brainer to be #1, in my opinion. But given that scenario, any of the first 5 CB taken in the 2013 draft might be treated likewise.
I'm not instigating or anything but I'm curious what corner has a legitimate argument to be taken taken before Milliner in a do-over of the 2013 draft?
