Justin Herbert and the 5 most overrated players in the 2020 NFL Draft

3. Jeff Gladney, Cornerback, TCU

Another overrated prospect leading into the draft is TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney. Gladney lacks ideal height (only 5-foot-10) to challenge taller, stronger receivers in the NFL. Often in college, Gladney made up for this with is 4.48, 40-yard dash speed.

While that is not slow, he’ll likely be tasked with covering receivers who are mostly faster than him, too. In football terms, if your opponent is taller, stronger and faster than you, you’ve got issues.

Not all hope is lost for these types of prospects, though. Often they can make up for their lack of size and speed with technique and athleticism. Unfortunately, from a gameplay standpoint, Gladney tries to overcompensate for his weaknesses by going after the football more often than he should.

At the NFL level, when an opposing offense has a great deal of time and personnel committed to game-planning for you, and every quarterback is smart and talented enough to take advantage, being overly aggressive is more often a curse than a blessing.

All of this is not to say Gladney is not talented. He has the talent and the ability to be a productive cornerback in the NFL. However, it is unlikely he ever raises his game to true ‘Shutdown Corner’ level and as a result, may be best-suited playing in sub-packages at the NFL level.

And sure, every team needs those players and Gladney may well go on to have a fine career. Nonetheless, when you’re that kind of player staring down the pipe at a 25-45 draft slot position, some team is reaching for the need at that point. Gladney is a third or fourth round pick who will get picked in the second and the team that takes him is likely to be disappointed.