Washington Football Team 7-round mock draft: Rolling with Taylor Heinicke
By Ian Cummings
Round 5, Pick 164 – Central Arkansas CB Robert Rochell
The cornerback trio of Kendall Fuller, Ronald Darby, and Jimmy Moreland played surprisingly well in 2020 — well enough that many see re-signing Darby as a smart move, and many also see Moreland as the starter in the slot moving forward, at least when Kamren Curl isn’t in that role.
Having said that, while things are looking up in the cornerback room, the Washington Football Team shouldn’t get complacent with the talent they have. Darby could very well walk, and walking seems likely for key reserve Fabian Moreau. And although Moreland is under locks for now, he too can be more productive in the future.
At the very least, the Washington Football Team should look to supplement their depth at cornerback, while also providing future upside to the position group. In Round 5, Central Arkansas cornerback Robert Rochell serves both purposes very well.
Simply put, Rochell is a freak athlete. At the Senior Bowl, he measured in around 6-foot-0, 195 pounds, with a near-80-inch wingspan. In years prior, he’s amassed quite the impressive testing resume, logging a 4.38 40-yard dash, a 41-inch vertical, a 140-inch broad jump and a 3.98 short shuttle time. Extrapolating beyond those numbers, Rochell has excellent speed, explosiveness, and change-of-direction quickness, and a lot of that translates on tape.
Rochell does need to become more consistent and build off of his flashes, but for most of his career, he was extremely productive, by virtue of his athleticism, length, and physicality at the catch point. Coming to a team where he doesn’t have to start right away would be very beneficial for him, and he has the physical traits to potentially emerge down the road.