Indianapolis Colts select Temple CB Rock Ya-Sin with 34th pick in 2019 NFL Draft

After a great deal of speculation about the potential to trade back for additional picks, Colts General Manager Chris Ballard used the 34th overall pick to select Temple CB Rock Ya-Sin. This will help bolster the secondary and could make it one of the richer positions on the roster. Former second round pick Quincy Wilson, second-year star Kenny Moore, and newly re-signed veteran Pierre Desir are already on the roster.

Stampede Blue writer Faraz Majid was responsible for scouting the cornerback position and completed a scouting report on Rock Ya-Sin in the Anthony Arena Memorial Draft Guide.

This pick should feel somewhat similar to the Darius Leonard selection a season ago. Ya-Sin has an interesting background that didn’t included a great deal of high school football experience. He was a multi-talented athlete who won two state wresting championships at 162 pounds at Southwest Dekalb High School in Decatur, Georgia.

In fact, he has been playing organized football for only about six years. After two years in high school he was a two-start recruit who accepted an offer to play at FCS Presbyterian. During his stay, Presbyterian was dropped to Division II, freeing Ya-Sin up to seek a scholarship to play elsewhere.

When he arrived at Temple he was honored with a single digit number as one of the nine toughest players on the team. Perhaps no time on the field was more important for Ya-Sin than his time on the practice field at the Senior Bowl. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel was the offensive darling of Senior Bowl week and only Rock Ya-Sin had any lock giving him fits and bottling him up.

Despite some “athletic concerns,” it says a lot about his ability to wreak havoc in zone coverage to throw of one of the most athletic, shifty wide receivers in the entire class throughout a week of work. There is little doubt he will be a hard worker and is exactly the type of player Chris Ballard wants in his locker room.

What do you think about the pick?