Redskins Saturday Spotlight: Three cornerbacks to solve the conundrum

The Redskins have shown a propensity to play soft coverage often in passing situations this season, and that method has yielded little success. That said, if Greg Manusky is somehow back again next season, the Redskins will need a cornerback to offset that initial separation with athleticism, short-range acceleration, and smooth moving skills.

Enter LSU Tigers cornerback Kristian Fulton.

Fulton offers some of the best explosion forward of all the cornerbacks in this class. It’s called a click-and-close, to so suddenly spring forward on a backward-breaking route and clamp down on the pass, and as scouts on Twitter echo, it’s one of the most exciting elements of Fulton’s game.

In press man coverage or in soft zone, Fulton has the ability to gear up insanely quickly and close a gap with no more time than the snap of one’s fingers. Fulton’s speed and acceleration also shows up in his ability to mirror receivers, and it allows him to always be in a position to make a play on the ball.

Fulton doesn’t have the all-encompassing length that other cornerbacks have, but he makes up for, and exceeds that potential, with his athleticism and his quick processing on the field. Even last season, scouts were saying Fulton could be a better prospect than Greedy Williams, who went to the Browns in the second round in April. Later today, against Northwestern State, Fulton has another opportunity to prove that.