DeMarcus Van Dyke Impressive So Far

DeMarcus Van Dyke – Oakland

Van Dyke starts at right corner for the Raiders. From a speed and athletic point of view he has everything a scout looks for in a corner. He is extremely fast with loose hips, a quick pedal and fluid movement in transition. He can line up and play press or play off and show good mirror ability. He flashes good hitting ability on receivers and wraps when he tackles. What I didn’t like is he is very average in run support. In Sunday’s game versus Kansas City there were more than just a few times when he was more passive than aggressive against the run. He had opportunities to come up quickly and lay a hit on the runner and didn’t do it. Still, he had 4 tackles in the game but could have had more. I like his mirror skills in coverage, but I question his ball skills. He had an interception on an overthrown ball, but there were a couple of plays where he was late to react to the ball in the air and gave up completions on passes he could have broken up. I know I am being hard on him but this is a talented player who has the tools to be a top corner in the league. To be a top player at that position, you have to have strong mental discipline. I question if Van Dyke has that yet.

Based on what I have seen so far, Van Dyke is having a good rookie season and his overall play Sunday was fairly good, he just has to develop down after down consistency and make the plays he is capable of making. He gets a B but was capable of getting an A in this game.

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(nationalfootballpost.com)