Eric Stokes is an extremely fast corner from the University of Georgia. He ran an insane unofficial 40 time of 4.25 at his pro day, and even if that time is likely inflated because it’s not laser timed Stokes still has incredible speed. While this may make him seem like a good fit for man coverage, unfortunately he has quite a few fatal flaws that limit his man ability and minimize his biggest strength which is why I’m a bit low on him. 

Strengths: 

  • Insane Speed

Eric Stokes as mentioned earlier is extremely fast. He will rarely ever be beat deep by a receiver because of how much speed he has up the field and how well he turns his hips to run with those receivers.

  • Good Size

Eric Stokes is a bit on the lighter end but at 6’1 185 he still has some room to add some more weight and he certainly plays like a bigger corner and he has speed.

  • Great Zone Instincts

Eric Stokes has a great feel for where the ball is going when he’s in zone coverage which is a great skill to have. Combine that with great closing speed and you have a guy who can be a very good zone corner.

  • Very Twitchy Athlete

Not only does Eric Stokes have great long speed to carry receivers down the field but he’s a twitchy athlete with great burst and acceleration, which should help him close hard on receivers in zone. 

  • Weaknesses Can be Fixed by Playing Zone

When you go over the weaknesses of Eric Stokes most of them are just going over how his potential in man because of his speed is kind of wasted. If you look at him as strictly a zone corner however, his issues aren’t that bad and there’s not that big of a weakness with Stokes.

Weaknesses: 

  • Not Great Ball Skills

Sometimes Eric Stokes is extremely slow to get his head turned around which allows him to see the ball late. His hands misses the location of the ball often which needs to be fixed. His interceptions are misleading and are mostly lucky interceptions right at him.

  • Panics When Ball is in Air

When the ball is in the air Stokes gets extremely grabby and will be susceptible to pass interference penalties. He turns late for the ball often and often doesn’t trust what he sees.

  • Overall Just Not Great In Man

It really sucks that a guy who’s 6’1 with good physicality and the ability to run near a 4.3 40 yard dash isn’t going to be a great man corner at the next level. His ball skills and panic when the ball is in the air, as well as his tendency to open his hips early is really going to hurt him.

Player Comp: My comparison for Eric Stokes is a guy who certainly could’ve been better along the course of his career if not for injuries and that guy is Ronald Darby. If Stokes stays healthy I think he can be everything Ronald Darby could’ve been. Both guys are very fast with great speed and twitchiness. Stokes is bigger than Darby but Darby is no tiny guy either, and both guys have great zone instincts. Their weaknesses of panicking when targeted and not having the greatest ball skills are also glaringly similar. This is one of the more accurate player comparisons in my opinion. 

Final Thoughts: It may have seemed like I was somewhat low on Eric Stokes but that’s only because he’s not going to be a good man corner despite the size/speed and physicality but rather I think he’s one of the top zone cornerbacks in this class and depending on the team he can definitely be CB1 for some teams out there. Personally I’m very high on Stokes having him as a Round 1 corner because of the tools for zone as well as the potential for man which is why he’s a late round 1 guy for me despite being squarely in Round 2 for others. I think the Bills would be great with them being a pretty zone heavy team, and them also having a hole at cornerback with Josh Norman leaving.