I learned from my Christian McCaffrey Scouting Report that scouting prospects for the NFL Draft is a polarizing proposition. If you see and point out something that goes against popular wisdom, you better be ready to defend yourself. This ability, not just to disagree with the group, but to be able to defend that disagreement, is the difference between a contradictory voice that deserves to be listened to and someone who’s just looking to get cheap clicks.

You have to hang your hat on prospects you feel strongly about, and the second prospect on my list is one such player.

I believe Obi Melifonwu will end up as the best defensive back from the 2017 NFL Draft.

Now I do need to clarify here. He might not be as good a safety as Jamal Adams or Malik Hooker… but those guys are limited to playing their natural positions. Hooker is the prototypical ball hawking free safety, and Adams is a hammer at strong safety.

Obi, on the other hand, can be whatever a defense needs him to be.

He measured 6’4″ 219 lbs. at the Senior Bowl, which made it that much crazier when coaches lined him up as a press corner during practice, even in the slot. And he held up very well, showing the fluid hips, awareness, and break on the ball that you would expect from a cornerback. This is a man who has shown the ability to track free receivers on passing plays, and diagnose and charge down into the box on a run.

Add to that versatility that he is expected to run in the low 4.4s at the combine- and let me remind you, this is at 6’4″ 219 lbs.- and expected to test with the kind of explosion that will put him near the top of the 2017 SPARQ rankings, and you have yourself a top defensive back. Coaches can’t speak highly enough of him as an athlete, student of the game, and leader, and he will be a first round pick in April.

Best Case Player Comparison: Patrick Peterson

Peterson was a bit of a cornerback/safety hybrid when he was drafted, then was soon considered one of the league’s better cornerbacks. But that doesn’t mean his role is limited to the outside, or that he hasn’t helped the Cardinals with his physical presence as an enforcer against the run. Obi can be drafted with similar traits- all-world athleticism and size to go along with impressive ball skills- and improve a defensive backfield in a number of different ways.

Worst Case Player Comparison: Brandon Browner

If Obi is drafted purely as a safety, I imagine he will reward his new team with above average play, and lock down the position for a long time. But if he is drafted with his ability to play some cornerback in mind, he will need more seasoning at the position. A few Senior Bowl practices does not a cornerback make, no matter how good he looked when thrown into the fire. If he is forced to start at corner, he will at the very least be a physical jam-em-at-the-line player, which could make up for his lack of experience actually covering receivers.

Summary

It’s hard not to look at Obi and picture him drafted by the Seahawks as the big, long, tough cornerback that mans the field on the opposite side of Richard Sherman, the way Browner did (successfully in 2012, unsuccessfully in 2016.) I see a good athlete with a very high floor as a safety, and with an incredible ceiling in the right system as a cornerback. Though I didn’t have him in the first round of my current mock draft, he will be there in my next one.