Heading into the 2020 college football season, former Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley was seen as a potential top-10 pick. That’s how good experts viewed the 6-foot-2 defensive back from a coverage perspective. Barring anything unforeseen, he would be the first cornerback off the board once the 2021 NFL Draft came calling.
Unfortunately for Farley, the unforeseen has happened. He opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and just recently had to undergo two procedures on his back.
According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, this could force Farley out of action until training camp. It might also cost him the status of being a first-round pick.
The status of Virginia Tech CB Caleb Farley is one of the biggest question marks in the draft. At this point, landing in round 1 ist is very possible but not a guarantee. pic.twitter.com/7lFSQo2ZAE
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 27, 2021
Rapoport went on to note that the former Virginia Tech star would have been the first cornerback off the board, ahead of the likes of Patrick Surtain II and Jaycee Horn, if he were 100% healthy.
As for super-agent Drew Rosenhaus, he has this to say about his client’s injury issues.
“I’ve had multiple teams tell me that in the middle of the draft, they are going to draft him,” Rosenhaus said, via NFL.com. “I don’t expect him to make it to pick No. 20. I’m convinced, based on my discussions, that he’ll go in the first 20 picks.”
That’s pretty much agent talk right there. The back surgery Farley underwent back in March kept him out of the Virginia Tech Pro Day, leading to further questions about his status as a first-round pick.
Some teams are also pushing back against selecting players who decided to opt out of the 2020 season. This, too, could play a role. However, Caleb Farley has a personal reasons for making said decision.
“I lost one parent. My dad is so important to me. Growing old with him means so much to me, more than football,” Farley told NBC Sports last summer (h/t the Akron Beacon Journal). “I don’t know what I would do if I contracted [COVID-19] and gave it to him, and he passed. I couldn’t live with that,” Farley told Peter King of NBC Sports in August.”
From an on-field perspective, he has the size, has tremendous ball skills and already boasts plus-level technique on the outside. He can also excel in both press-heavy and zone schemes.
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