Is DB Chris Cook a Physical Solution to the Packers’ Defensive Backfield Woes?

The Packers’ trouble at defensive back are no secret. Aside from the outstanding play of Charles Woodson and the solid play of Nick Collins, the Packer defensive backfield is acceptable against mediocre quarterbacks and woefully inadequate against quality quarterbacks.

One name that’s been floating around the mock drafts that might be a value pick at the defensive back position for the Packers is Chris Cook of Virginia.

College Stats

Cook was a very physical college player. In his tenure at Virginia, Chris collected 143 tackles, 40 of them were in his senior year. For comparison, the physical Al Harris only made 88 tackles in his college career and the hard-hitting Atari Bigby only had 112 tackles in his college career.

Of course the big question is whether Cook racked up that many tackles because he was an aggressive tackler, or because his defensive line was pathetic. In Cook’s final season at Virginia, the Cavaliers were a meer 3-9 overall and only 2-6 in the ACC.

In fact, the only highlight I could find that featured Chris Cook was the following highlight of him getting run over by Jonathan Dwyer

Admittedly, Dwyer is a fantastic running back but every running back Cook would meet in the NFL will be high calibur.

In pass defense, Cook was able to pull seven interceptions down during his time at Virginia. Four of those interceptions were picked in his senior year and he returned them for 66 yards. That’s an average of 16.5 yards return on every interception. His long was 58 yards and resulted in a touchdown.

These are solid numbers, but, if we look at the competition, we find that the numbers might be bloated.

The most talented quarterback Cook had to face in college was Duke’s Thaddeus Lewis who isn’t even an NFL prospect at quarterback. So, the question remains. Will Cook be able to effectively read and pick a good quarterback?

Finally, the injury bug bit Cook a little in his college career. In his senior year, he didn’t play against Southern Miss because of a groin pull and a broken leg ended his 2005 season.

Performance at the Combine

At the combine, Cook had a nice performance in the 40 yard dash where he logged a 4.46. He also posted the longest broad jump of the combine at 11′. So, he’s got the speed and explosiveness to compete in the NFL.

He wasn’t one of the top performers in the vertical leap. However, at 6’2″ that’s probably not a huge concern.

One thing that would concern me is that Cook was nowhere on the map in the cone drill or either of the shuffles. Change of direction is such a critical factor in the defensive back, and Cook apparently doesn’t combine quick change of direction with his straight-line 40 speed.

Development Player or Dud?

The question is, could Cook be the type of player who could develop nicely if placed in an environment where he’s challenged more than he was in college, or would he simply turn out to be a dud of a pick.

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