Green Bay Packers Draft Countdown: Making the Case for CB Quinten Rollins

At this point in the offseason, Green Bay Packers fans are well-versed in the top prospects whom the team could target in its areas of greatest need. 

However, there are over 1,000 players hoping to be signed to an NFL team this summer, as undrafted free agents if not taken during draft weekend. The Packers will come away with nine of them plus free agents, and most will not be big names. 

Before the draft, I'm going to be breaking down some prospects who could be nice fits for Green Bay and aren't necessarily obvious targets (Eric Kendricks, Stephone Anthony, Kevin Johnson, Marcus Peters).

The first prospect is Miami's (Ohio) Quinten Rollins, a basketball star turned football player and natural defensive back. 

Rollins was a four-year starter at point guard before he decided to switch to football, and cornerback, as a fifth-year senior. 

To say that football was a natural fit for Rollins would be an understatement. He was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year after racking up 72 tackles and a conference-high seven interceptions (the third-most in the nation). He also had four tackles for loss and 16 passes defensed. 

The reflexes and ball skills that served him so well in basketball have translated seamlessly to football, where Rollins has become something of a ballhawk.

In addition to having the natural athleticism and talents for the position, Rollins has proven to be a quick learner of the fundamentals. He's a sure tackler and has solid footwork. 

CBS Sports' Dane Brugler writes that Rollins has "impressive tackling technique for a player with his inexperience, sinking, striking and wrapping with timing and pop."

Despite his athleticism and natural ability, Rollins is definitely a developmental prospect. He only played the cornerback position for one year, which means that he isn't going to be an instant starter in the NFL, but he could be a productive cornerback for years to come for the team that wants to develop him.

Under head coach Mike McCarthy, defensive coordinator Dom Capers and cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt, Green Bay could be the team that reaps the rewards of doing just that.

The fact is, the fundamentals are coachable; it won't take Rollins long to learn the terminology. Instincts, however, are intrinsic. Rollins' ceiling, with his reflexes and ability to anticipate the play, is sky-high. 

Rollins is projected to be a Round 2 selection later this month, which is a fairly high pick for a player who won't start right away, if at all, during his rookie season.

But developing cornerbacks is tricky business; there's no telling whether Trae Waynes, Marcus Peters or Rollins will have the longest career in the NFL, or the most successful one at that. 

The Packers are in an ideal position to draft a player like Rollins. He's not a first-round pick, which eliminates some of the risk of using a high pick on a developmental prospect.

Height	Weight	40-yard Dash	Vert Jump	Broad Jump	2014 Stats
5'11"	195	4.57 seconds	35.6"	122"	72 T, 4 TFL, 7 INT, 16 PD

Moreover, the team seems high on slot stud Casey Hayward's ability to start on the outside, which would allow Rollins to develop at his own pace. 

"I've got confidence that if we need to expand his role that he'll step in, and he's always responded in the past when we've asked him to do more," Capers said about Hayward last season, per Paul Imig of Fox Sports Wisconsin. "So I think he's very capable of doing that."

In addition to his physical skills, Rollins also has the attitude, maturity and work ethic that teams value so highly. He also notes (see the interview below) that he's a visual learner and that watching film has helped him learn how to break down defenses, which sets a good precedent for the time he'll spend in the film room in the NFL.

"I've coached some guys who played in the NFL," Miami's defensive backs coach John Hauser said, per Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "And he's different than most guys you coach. Genetically, with the gifts he has, and the work ethic on top of that—to get better, you have to have a strong work ethic—I think he's a no-brainer, can't-miss kind of guy."

If the Packers find that Rollins is ready for an outside role later in the season, they have the option to use him there and move Hayward back to the slot. If Hayward stays outside, Rollins can still see the field in sub-packages as well as on special teams. 

He was versatile in Miami's secondary last year, lining up inside and outside in both man and zone coverages as well as special teams. 

"Rollins is an attractive player due to his talent, toughness and confidence to embrace challenges with his overachieving work ethic," writes Brugler. "He has the physical and mental makeup to see the field early in his career and fit any defensive scheme."

General manager Ted Thompson has never drafted a cornerback in Round 1. In terms of value and potential payoff, Rollins would be a smart investment and truly has the makings of a future defensive star.