Feedback on Dolphins’ selection of Auburn cornerback Noah Igbinoghene
Feedback on the Dolphins’ selection of Auburn cornerback Noah Igbinoghene with the 30th pick in Thursday’s NFL Draft:
NFL Net’s Daniel Jeremiah: “That shows up - the toughness, the physicality, the wanting to get involved in the run game. He’s going to play inside with the Miami Dolphins. They will put him in the nickel. You have Xavien Howard on one side, Byron Jones on the other. He can work in the slot. He does a nice job of finding the football, but you quickly realize why he’s a former wide receiver. He’s got 18 pass breakups over his career, only one interception. That’s the problem. Just can’t catch. But he’s always in position. Can find and knock the ball away.”
ESPN’s Mel Kiper: “You could make a strong argument, and I did, that he’s the third best cornerback in this draft. He’s a former wide receiver turned corner, so he’s still a little raw. He’s got a lot of talent.
“He’s a phenomenal kick returner; he can be a huge weapon. Has recovery speed, improving coverage skills. Excelled in press coverage. Did a good job in terms of showing physicality. Made some nice plays on the ball underneath. Can do a better job at times of locating the ball on the deeper route. He was a little inconsistent there. Instincts people were critical of. I thought he showed decent instincts for a kid who was a former wide receiver with limited experience.
And I’ll tell you another thing: [Auburn coach] Gus Malzahn said he was one of the most competitive players, if not the most competitive player, on that team, and a very hard worker. That coaching staff was a big fan of Igbinoghene.”
ESPN commentator and former Dolphins executive Mike Tannenbaum: “He is one of the best pure athletes in this class but is a little bit of a developmental project at cornerback. He should fit well in Coach [Brian] Flores’ man scheme and will add immediate kick return ability.”
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein: “Stocky but explosive receiver-turned-cornerback whose play generates both intrigue and concern. He’s extremely physical from snap to whistle with the strength to alter route timing from press. He’s a good athlete with a plus burst to close. He’s naturally aggressive to ambush catch tries. Staying in phase on the vertical plane is a challenge and pattern recognition is surprisingly average. Improvement is likely with more experience and technique, but playing with downfield poise is not guaranteed. He’s good in run support and offers early special teams help as he continues to learn his craft.”
ESPN’s Booger McFarland: “I can tell you the reason Brian Flores loves [him]. With the amount of man to man they play in Miami and this guy loves to get in your face and be physical. He’s going to play inside. You add him to Byron Jones and Howard and you have three guys who can play man to man.”
Pro Football Focus: “Igbinoghene has some of the best athletic tools of any corner in this class. He wasn’t scared of any wideout that lined up across from him this season and didn’t allow a single completion longer than 34 yards on the year. Still, Igbinoghene was far from lockdown as his hands and feet were often sloppy around the line of scrimmage. He ended up allowing 35 [receptions on] 68 [targets] on the year for 431 yards. With as athletic as he is, I thought Igbinoghene could have benefited massively from coming back to school and having a big redshirt junior season. Instead, his inconsistency and only one career interception are a tough sell early.”
COUPLE COMMENTS FROM NOAH
He said he hasn’t spoken to the Dolphins since his March 6 Pro Day when he had a “normal interview.”
But on March 5, he was one of several Auburn defensive players who participated in a classroom session with Brian Flores and defensive coordinator Josh Boyer on the Auburn campus - a private session in which the team had a defensive install and then quizzed players on it afterward.
He mentioned it’s a “blessing” to be selected by the Dolphins. He said of Xavien Howard and Byron Jones, “those are two of the corners I’ve looked at... to come in and learn from them is blessing in disguise.” And he said he’s happy to play anywhere - on the boundary or in slot.
On his skills playing press coverage, he said: “It was something our defense at Auburn, that’s what we pride ourselves on. I had never played corner before, but for some reason when I moved, as a receiver I knew how mad I was when a corner [was physical].” So he implemented that physical approach in his shift to cornerback.
He was also a track standout at Auburn. “Football is something I felt I was born to do.”
Here’s my piece with league reaction on Miami’s selection of Tua Tagovailoa.
Here’s my piece with league reaction on Miami’s selection of Austin Jackson.
This story was originally published April 24, 2020 at 12:35 AM.
