McKelvin on the Move

By Paul Wanecski
When the Buffalo Bills selected FSU cornerback Ronald Darby with the 50th pick in this year's draft, it may have been the signal to the end of an era. For 2 years, Hashtag Sports has been talking about what a dominate slot corner Leodis McKelvin would be. Now he may get that opportunity if the team doesn't release or trade him first.

McKelvin, even at his age, is still fast. Darby is faster. Neither have phenomenal ball skills when the pass is in the air, but to compare, Darby had shown better awareness. McKelvin was effective on the outside last year but it is had to deny the fact that when it comes to lateral movement, he is best fit for slot cornerback. He is best with the play in front of him, being able to key and explode on the ball during passes like crossing routes. The NFL shifting to a vertical game means that slot wide receivers become an integral part of an offense. Players like Wes Welker and Victor Cruz have made a lot of money by abusing the third best cornerback on a defense.

Darby's selection may mean that McKelvin stays outside, where Darby can slide to slot corner. This also means that Corey Graham will compete with Duke Williams for the starting safety spot next to Aaron Williams. If Rex Ryan has Darby tabbed to handle outside duty, this means that McKelvin might slide to slot corner to assist in blitz and slot WR coverage or he could find himself traded or released. Teams do not pay slot cornerbacks $5 million per season, which is why McKelvin becomes such a target. He could easily be traded to one of many teams looking for perimeter help, but the fact of the matter is that his salary is putting him out of perspective with his ideal position.

McKelvin has been a consistent force throughout constant coaching changes. This would be the 4 head coach he has played for. That list is Dick Jauron, Chan Gailey, Doug Marrone and now Ryan. Retaining a starting role through a coaching change is hard enough, but doing that multiple times speaks to the type of player he is. Will he be able to weather the next storm? Unless he can beat out Darby for the second cornerback job, he may simply be too expensive to keep as a slot cornare.