Scouting David Rivers
Yesterday, the Jets announced that they had signed rookie cornerback David Rivers to replace Bryson Keeton who was waived/injured.
The 6-foot-1 and 186 pound Rivers signed as an undrafted free agent with the Packers but was released in June. He attended college at Youngstown State. He is not related to his former teammate Derek Rivers who was a third round pick in this year's draft.
Background
Rivers played safety and cornerback in high school, but also played some wide receiver and quarterback.
He played four seasons with the Penguins, registering 65 tackles, three interceptions and 14 passes defensed. He didn't play much in his first two seasons, but saw his role increase over the last two. He had career highs in tackles (33) and passes defensed (eight) in his senior year.
Rivers signed with the Packers and attended organized team actitivies, but missed some time before being released with an injury settlement.
Measurables
Rivers is yet another long and lanky cornerback, one of several the Jets have brought in during the offseason. His athletic numbers mainly ranged from below average to average although he did have a solid 126" broad jump. He ran 4.58 and 4.53 at his pro day in the 40-yard dash.
Usage
Based on the available footage, Rivers played almost exclusively at left cornerback with the Penguins and was primarily up at the line.
Coverage skills
Rivers moves fluidly, has good closing speed and runs well with his man. He didn't give up a lot of big plays in college.
He gave up a touchdown last year on a rare play where he lined up in the slot against NFL draft pick Connor Kupp who beat him early on a red zone corner fade, leaving him unable to recover.
Here's a garbage time play from his freshman year where he made a good read and jumped the route to take an interception back for a touchdown:
Physicality/Penalties
As noted, Rivers is employed up at the line a lot and plays a lot of press coverage.
Penalties haven't been a major issue for him, although he does make a lot of contact and needs to resist the temptation to grab because he plays it a little close to the edge when doing so. He was called for pass interference in the game against West Virginia, although his coach argued that this was a bad call. Here was a play where he made too much contact and did draw the flag:
He needs to improve in terms of his strength at the point of the catch and also could be more physical in run support.
Ball skills
Rivers only had one interception after his freshman year, although he did break up 13 passes in his last two seasons.
He has had mixed results on jump ball-type throws, but did well to bat away this deep pass:
His length is an asset here, as although he loses a little leverage by being outmuscled at the point of the catch, he is able to get a hand on the ball and prevent the completion:
Run defense
Rivers makes plays against the run from time to time but he does have a tendency to be somewhat tentative in the running game.
Here's a couple of plays against the run, showing good pursuit and effort on the first one and containing the edge on the other.
Tackling
Rivers will occasionally display sloppy technique when tackling but does close well on plays in front of him.
On this play, he gets blocked off the line, then stumbles as he tries to recover before lazily shoving the runner out of bounds rather than making a secure stop. On this particular play, the runner did step out before the first down marker, but on another similar one, he ended up giving up a 29-yard gain because the runner snuck along the sideline for about 10 extra yards:
Blitzing
Rivers didn't blitz very often, but recorded a strip sack off the blind side in his junior year. On this play he chases the quarterback from the pocket, but can't prevent the touchdown pass.
Special teams
Rivers played special teams during his career and it was his primary role in his first few seasons, so he'll be hoping to make an impression there with the Jets.
In footage watched from his senior year, he was only used in a vice role on the punt return unit.
Instincts
There didn't appear to be any blown coverages or anything of that nature from Rivers, but he was sometimes beaten at the line of scrimmage and failed to get his head turned back around in time. That happened on this play, although he got lucky in the end:
Attitude
Rivers has a typical cornerback's demeanor on the field, getting excited over making a play or a bad call.
While at Youngstown State, he left the program after his freshman year but then returned to the team later on. He ended up playing just five games as a sophomore and didn't register a tackle until the penultimate game of the year.
Injuries
Rivers was released from the Packers with an injury settlement for an undisclosed injury, although that apparently wasn't very serious.
He apparently dealt with some injury issues in his senior year too, but these are also unspecified and he was healthy at the end of the year.
Scheme Fit
Rivers started to emerge over the last two years with Bo Pelini as his head coach. Pelini is a Pete Carroll disciple and uses his cornerbacks in pro-style coverages.
With his ability to handle press coverage assignments, Rivers should suit Todd Bowles' system well.
Conclusions
Rivers has said in a couple of interviews that he patterns his game after Antonio Cromartie and you can see that influence in his film. Unfortunately, he's not the terrific athlete that Cromartie is, but he does employ his length well in coverage.
You can throw Rivers onto the pile of lanky cornerback projects, so he has a lot of competition to get noticed. If he can impress in camp and/or preseason, he could remain in the system but probably won't make the roster unless he excels on special teams.