Former Ohio State CB Gareon Conley is accustomed to getting picked on, playing with a shutdown CB. In the process, he showed that he can be a shutdown CB himself. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed just 14 receptions for 159 yards, and an NFL passer rating of 14.0, in 2016.
The 14 receptions he gave up were just 37 percent of the passes the went into Conley’s coverage. At 6’0″, 195 pounds with 33-inch-long arms, he’s a natural for holding WRs up in press coverage. He also has great instincts to go with his 4.44 40 speed to break on the ball in zone coverage.
There’s been a lot of talk about the Arizona Cardinals taking a QB to groom for the future. Guys like DeShone Kizer, who visited, are rumored to be among the targets for the Cardinals in this year’s draft. But when healthy, the Cardinals are a win-now team so they should make a win-now pick.
And a CB capable of playing on the other side of Patrick Peterson would help them win now. There’s a strong class of QBs coming out in 2018 so they can go ahead and pick one then. Conley can make the Cardinals defense a Super Bowl caliber defense immediately.