The "Short" NFL Player Dilemma

This article was supposed to be a small description of the Chargers cornerbacks in their Offseason Outlook article. I started writing it, and I got very invested because it is actually an amazing situation when you really think about it. What's amazing is that the Chargers two best cornerbacks are both only 5'9. Maybe I'm the only one who is shocked by that, but I could say that a thousand times and it would still surprise me. In today's NFL, receivers are getting bigger and bigger, and because of that, some teams just draw the line in the sand at cornerback and only want them to be 6 feet tall or they won't draft them. Theoretically, I can understand that because 5'9 seems almost tiny going up against 6'5, 230 lb wide receivers. Yet these two cornerbacks, who again are both only 5'9, are making it their personal vendetta to make any team that passed over them because of their height pay. To go on a brief tangent here, Kevin White (6'3, 215 lbs) has gone on record saying that Jason Verrett is the toughest cornerback he has ever faced. Granted he hasn't played a down in the NFL, but he did face some tough CB's in college; and the reason why he said that, is because it is completely true. Verrett makes every WR he faces make them earn whatever yards they get off of him. It starts at the line, he may only be 5'9, but he plays like he is 6'5. He has terrific explosiveness right from the snap, and he has incredible footwork and anticipation to mirror the receiver and not give up an inch of ground. Verrett was passed on by the Browns who drafted Justin Gilbert ahead of him, then the Bears that drafted Kyle Fuller ahead of him, then the Bengals that drafted Darqueze Dennard ahead of him. The reason he was drafted behind those players is not because of talent, but because of his size. In his scouting report on NFL.com, the first thing Mike Mayock says in his weaknesses section is that he does not look the part. The rest of his "weaknesses" are just other ways of saying he's short. Mayock gave him a 2nd round grade. This has absolutely nothing to do with Mike Mayock either, obviously he can miss on certain players just like everybody, and if he gave him a 2nd round grade then he gave him a 2nd round grade there is nothing more to it. I understand the stigma in the NFL about small players. Sometimes they don't work out. Especially at cornerback, almost every NFL team wants big tall cornerbacks like Richard Sherman. The reason why I'm turning this into it's own article is because NFL teams need to wake up. I actually have no problem with putting height or size as a weakness or strength when scouting NFL players. A lot of the times it can be useful scouting scheme fit and all. Except when NFL teams completely take a young, talented player off of their board because of it. Drawing an arbitrary line in the sand and as a franchise saying you won't draft players under a certain height can cripple your franchise. Your team could miss out on the next Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, or Jason Verrett just because they were too short to play professional football. That was also the biggest knock on Wilson too right? He was too short, how could he even see over an NFL offensive line. Well personally I think that hasn't been too big of a problem for him on his way to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances after only 3 years in the league. Maybe this frustrates me because I'm 5'9 and am waiting for my shot in next years NFL draft, and that's why I need an entire article to complain about this completely arbitrary (I know I have said it is arbitrary a lot but it truly is) line that prevents players under a certain height at a specific position being drafted. Or maybe I see something wrong with the way certain teams are scouting players and I want my voice to be heard. Whatever the reason is, the Chargers are going to reap the rewards this season if/when Jason Verrett proves that he can stay healthy so Verrett and Flowers can be a dominating duo.