Oklahoma State cornerback Justin Gilbert has the requisite confidence to play his position, and he showed Tuesday he has the speed as well.
Gilbert ran his 40-yard dashes in an unofficial 4.35 and 4.38 seconds, which could put him in position to be the top cornerback taken.
Of course, Gilbert’s not aware of some of the corners he’s in competition with, either. When it was mentioned to him at the Scouting Combine that Virginia Tech’s Antone Exum said he was the best cornerback in the draft, Gilbert replied: “I don’t even know who that is. Yeah, I think I’m the best corner in the draft.”
He replied similarly when asked how he compared to Patriots free agent Aqib Talib, saying: “Who? I don’t know who that is. I don’t watch a lot of football. We have practice on Sundays and I didn’t get a chance to watch a lot of the game.”
He did say he admired NFL cornerbacks Joe Haden, Patrick Peterson and Richard Sherman, so he does have some familiarity with the pro game.
And after running the way he did (at 6 feet, 202 pounds), coupled with his 20 reps in the 225-pound bench press and established return skills, many more people will know who he is.