http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/2006/draft/players/22276.html


Dee McCann Grade: 3.27 Position: CB (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/2006/draft/breakdowns/by_position/cb.html)
Class: Sr
School: West Virginia (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/2006/draft/breakdowns/by_school/wvu.html)
Conference: Big East (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/2006/draft/breakdowns/by_conference/bige.html)
Ht., Wt.: 5-11, 196
40 Time: 4.57
Selected by: Detroit Lions (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/2006/draft/teams/lions.html)
Round 6 (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/2006/draft/breakdowns/by_round/6.html), pick 10 (179 overall)
Grading System

http://i.a.cnn.net/si/images/football/nfl/logos/lions_100.gif BIO: Junior college transfer who became a full-time starter last season and posted 58/4/5.

POSITIVES: Nice-sized cover corner with a developing game. Fluid flipping his hips, picks up assignments in zone and stays with opponents. Quickly closes to the action, shows a nice move to the ball and is aggressive in all aspects. Solid in run support and brings down larger ball carriers.

NEGATIVES: Prefers to side-shuffle down the field. Lacks the quick plant and break to the throw because of poor technique. Lacks classic top-end speed.

ANALYSIS: A developmental prospect, McCann has ability as a zone cornerback at the next level. Needs to polish his game and stay with basic techniques but offers upside.

PROJECTION: Late Seventh Round

http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2006/mccann_alton


SUMMARY
McCann showed the athleticism, size, quickness and competitiveness to be a productive cornerback in the NFL in 2005, his first year as a starter. He has good size for a cornerback and it combines with his playing strength to make him effective in coverage when he plays physically with receiver -- he shows the ability to jolt receivers and slow their release, can flip his hips to turn and run with receivers and can push them around during the route to throw off the timing between the receiver and the quarterback. He definitely needs a lot of work on his footwork in order to consistently play up to his ability in the NFL. He will end up becoming a very good backup cornerback early in his career. In a few seasons, he has the talent to become a solid starting cornerback for a team that likes to play a lot of tight man-to-man and asks their cornerbacks to play physical.

STRONG POINTS
McCann is a good-sized cornerback at over 5-11 and has the quick feet and athleticism to cover most receivers very closely in tight man-to-man. He has the hips to turn and run without losing a step, can run with receivers and uses his body well to cut-off and shield receivers from ball. He has the ability to plant, drive and close quickly on plays in front of him and can either make a hard, physical tackle in run support or can break up the pass. He does a good job of using his front arm to reach in front of receivers to break up the pass without committing the penalty.

WEAKNESSES
Due to his lack of experience, McCann is inconsistent in his ability to transition out of his pedal to break and close quickly -- much of this is due to his using a side-pedal, but some of it is due to his not playing over his feet or in good position consistently. While he is a good athlete with good playing speed, he lacks the elite playing speed and explosiveness to stay with fast receivers and can't catch up if he loses a step in coverage.

POSITIONAL FACTORS
5.5 Read & React
He consistently reads the play well, but due to footwork, he struggles to consistently react quickly.
5.5 M/M Off
When he stays over his feet in his pedal, he can transition and close quickly on passes in front of him.
6.0 M/M Tight
He does a good job of using his physical style of play to stay on a receiver's hip all over the field.
6.0 Zone Coverage
He reads the quarterback/pass well and can plant, drive and close quickly to make plays on the ball.
5.5 Break & Close
He definitely has the tools to plant, drive and close fast, but he is not consistent doing so.
6.0 Hips/Turn Ability
He has good hips and can flip them to turn and run with receiver without losing a step easily.
6.0 Tackling
He is not only a good tackler, but he also does a good job of bending his knees and making hard, physical tackles.
6.0 Hands - Interception
He has good hands to make the tough interception -- he can cut in front of receivers to make interceptions easily.
6.0 Hands - Fight Blocker
He consistently competes and fights hard to get off blocks and make tackles.
6.0 Deep Speed
While he lacks elite playing speed, he does have good enough speed to run with most receivers
NA Return AbilityHe did not return punts or kickoffs.
5.0 Errors
He makes errors due to bad technique, but not due to lack of effort or instincts.

ATHLETIC ABILITYSection Grade: 6.0
McCann is a good athlete and it helped him to be a productive cornerback in his first season as a college starter. He has the quick feet to plant, drive and close quickly on short passes in front of him despite not using a true backpedal. He has good hips to turn and run with receivers without losing a step and has the playing speed to stay on the hip of most receivers down the field on deep passes. Despite being a good athlete with quick feet and agility, he struggles to transition out of his pedal consistently which hinders his ability to stay with receivers out of sharp cuts -- his struggles are generally caused by sidepedalling. He has good acceleration to full speed and, once he gets to full speed, he has good playing speed, but he lacks the explosiveness and elite playing speed to run with very fast receivers and can't catch up when he loses a step in man-to-man coverage. He has shown the flexibility and agility to bend his knees and adjust to tackle well out in space. His coordination and body control really show in his ability to get up and reach in front of receivers to break up passes without getting out of control and committing the penalty.

COMPETITIVENES SSection Grade: 5.5
McCann has shown good toughness coming up and making hard, physical tackles on plays in front of him (vs. the run and the pass), but because he only started for one season, he has not proven his toughness/willingness to play through pain over a long time. In 2005, he flashed the ability to step up and make plays on the ball on important plays, but he struggled to do it consistently because of his using a side pedal and getting a little high in his pedal. His overall production has been below average when you look at his entire college career, but after having a good productive senior season, his production grades out to adequate for his career. Despite competing hard on every snap, he struggles to be consistently productive due to raw footwork/backpedal. He has proven to be a good team player by consistently giving a very good effort throughout his career despite being a backup during much of it. He consistently fights and competes hard to break up passes and, if he allows separation in coverage, he consistently stays after his man to get back into good coverage position.

MENTAL ALERTNESS Section Grade: 5.5
While McCann's side-pedal is initially concerning in terms of his ability to learn, their defense wants their corners to use that technique. He does shows smartness having learned good use of his hands to break up passes and good body positioning to cut-off and squeeze receivers against the sideline on routes downfield. He has good instincts and usually reads the play quickly, but he struggles to consistently react quickly because of a tendency to get up a little high in his side-pedal. He does not consistently maintain his focus/concentration throughout games and it leads to his technique not being good all the time, and that hinders his ability to react consistently quick.

STRENGTH/EXPLOSION Section Grade: 5.5
McCann has good size for a cornerback at over 5-11 and nearly 200 pounds -- basically, he has the size of the average NFL cornerback. While he was pretty much a durable cornerback in 2005, because he was only a one year starter at West Virginia, he has not proven he can be a durable full-time starter for the long term. He does not have the elite explosiveness to make up ground when he loses a step and does not explode/accelerate to full speed in a flash, but he does show an explosive closing burst on plays in front of him. He has good playing strength for a cornerback -- he can make strong, physical tackles, can slow a receiver's release when he punches in press coverage and has enough strength to cut-off and shield receivers from ball.

http://www.msnbc.com/modules/sports/nfldraft03/players.asp?playerlast=m


Dee McCannCOLLEGEPOS.HT.WT.PICKED BYROUND/
OVERALLWest Virginia (http://www.msnbc.com/modules/sports/nfldraft03/colleges.asp?collegeid=178)CB (http://www.msnbc.com/modules/sports/nfldraft03/positions.asp?position=CB)5-11195Detroit (http://www.msnbc.com/modules/sports/nfldraft03/teampreviews.asp?teamid=8)6/179A playmaker with a nonstop motor, McCann has caught the eye of a few scouts in recent months. He shows an extra gear when running with receivers on deep routes, and has solid upper body strength to jam receivers. McCann has adequate hip swerve and also possesses good short-area cover skills, showing a solid burst out of his back pedal. He plays with a mean streak and fills hard against the run, and is a solid wrap-up, open field tackler. While having excellent playmaking skills, McCann can overpursue and jump routes prematurely when going for the interception, resulting in some big plays. His overall footwork and technique will need some refining at the next level, and does not have the ideal speed to make up for many false steps in coverage. He also lacks ideal size and bulk and will be pushed around by bigger receivers in the league. McCann will need to develop into a more fundamentally sound football player, and not get by on just making a big play now and then. He could find himself waiting by the phones after the draft is completed.