Trae Waynes' character makes him likely top corner in draft

The conversations have nothing to do with schemes or shuttle runs, and most of them start with an exclamation along the lines of: "Wow, what a kid."

Then come the questions from various NFL team representatives to Joe Panos about his client, Trae Waynes. They've already watched his film and measured his physical ability in every way possible. They ask about his personality and his girlfriend and his parents, Ron and Erin, former college track athletes who raised their sons in Kenosha, Wis., and sent Trae to Michigan State.

"That's the big one, character," said Panos, a former Wisconsin star lineman and seven-year NFL veteran who, like Waynes, was overlooked as a high school prospect. "I played in the NFL for a long time and that's a lot more important than some people realize.

"These teams aren't asking if he can play in the Cover 2. They know what he's good at and what he's not good at. They want to know who he is, and I just tell him, 'Be yourself, answer the questions and they'll love you.' "

Certainly, NFL teams make exceptions when it comes to character questions — witness this take on rationalizations from Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim, who told reporters this week that if fictional movie madman and cannibal Hannibal Lecter "ran a 4.3, we'd probably diagnose it as an eating disorder."

But when character falls into the asset category, that can help immensely, and that's part of why Waynes is the consensus pick as the No. 1 cornerback and expected to go in the first round Thursday on the first night of the draft in Chicago.

NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said this week that Waynes is the No. 1 cornerback because he's "clean on and off the field," and he projects Waynes to go as high as No. 7 to the Bears, with a likely landing spot between picks 11 and 20.

That would give MSU first-round cornerbacks in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history, after Darqueze Dennard went No. 24 to Cincinnati a year ago. The 6-foot-1, 182-pound Waynes, who helped MSU go 24-3 the past two seasons with Rose and Cotton Bowl wins, isn't so highly regarded just because of the personality.

A second-team All-American as a fourth-year junior in 2014, Waynes was put on an island in MSU's scheme, pressing receivers most of the time, and was mostly dominant. Then he ran a blazing 4.32 in the 40 at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, all but clinching top cornerback status in the process.

Of course, that's not guaranteed for Waynes, who has been ill the past few days — nothing serious, Panos said — and was not able to do an interview. Waynes has reportedly made visits to Minnesota, St. Louis and Jacksonville during the process.

"I tell him 'Let's hope for the best and prepare for the worst,' " Panos said of a draft night that will include 23 of Waynes' family members and friends in Chicago. "This is not an exact science by any means. I said, 'If it doesn't work out like we're hoping, don't let your jaw drop and drop the water bottle to the floor.' And he says, 'Hey man, I just want to be drafted.' He knows he's blessed, he really does, and he takes nothing for granted."

And not all draft analysts are fully on the bandwagon. Mike Renner, a writer for Pro Football Focus, ranked Waynes among the draft's most overrated prospects, citing a slow 20-yard shuttle (4.39 seconds). That, Renner wrote, is "a problem" because it reflects subpar change of direction.

Mayock acknowledged that Waynes can be "a little bit stiff" but added: "Most of those long guys are."

Waynes' length and speed, Mayock said, make him a top prospect. The intangibles, it seems, are a big part of why he's the top cornerback prospect.

Waynes was soft-spoken in his time at MSU, but he wrote a letter that was published in the Feb. 10 edition of the MSU student newspaper, The State News. In it, he thanked his coaches, teammates, fans, trainers and professors.

"I also want to assure all of you who helped me so much academically that I will earn my degree as soon as possible," the psychology major wrote, "and that will be as important to me as all of our great accomplishments on the field. I look forward to being a graduate of this great academic institution."

The Waynes file

• Who: Former MSU cornerback Trae Waynes

• From: Kenosha, Wis.

• Born: July 25, 1992

• Height/weight: 6-1, 182

• Major: Psychology

• Career highlights: Waynes lettered all three seasons after redshirting in 2011, starting the past two seasons and finishing with 101 tackles, six interceptions and 13 pass break-ups in 36 career games. He was a Walter Camp, Sporting News and Athlon second-team All-American, unanimous first-team All-Big Ten and a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award, given to the nation's top defensive back.