Marvin Lewis on Darqueze Dennard: ‘Best rookie corner I’ve ever seen’

The Cincinnati Bengals may have gotten a steal when they selected former Michigan State Spartans cornerback Darqueze Dennard with the 24th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Prior to appearing in his first preseason game, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis told Dan Hoard, the radio voice of the Bengals, that Dennard is the best rookie cornerback he has ever seen.

Lewis has coached five former first round picks, including Duane Starks and Chris McAlister with the Baltimore Ravens, both of whom were the 10th pick in the draft, and has seen Johnathan Joseph, Leon Hall and Dre Kirkpatrick as rookies.

Yet none of them have shown the type of potential and promise as Dennard has this early in his NFL career.

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NFL Network Media Insider Ian Rapoport echoed what Lewis had to saw when he reported on Thursday that Dennard has shown better-than-advertised ball skills, which means the Bengals should boast better secondary depth than they’ve had in quite some time.

With Terrence Newman and Adam Jones over the age of 30 and Hall and Kirkpatrick being slowed by injuries in recent years, last year’s Thorpe Award winner as the top defensive back in college football, could find himself playing a big role for the defending AFC North champions.

Dennard may not start initially, but he could see himself getting a number of reps in nickel and dime situations, his reps could increase should he play up to the praise heaped on him from his head coach and crack that starting lineup before too long.