When you win the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year Award one year and a Super Bowl the next, it makes sense that younger players would look up to you.

The extent to which the 2011 draft class of cornerbacks attempt to imitate Charles Woodson, however, came as a bit of shock. No less than four cornerbacks said on Sunday of the NFL Combine that they try to pattern themselves after or enjoy watching Woodson.

Even a pair of 5-10 corners in Miami's Brandon Harris and Clemon's Marcus Gilchrist try to mimic their game after Woodson.

"I always like to say Charles Woodson for the mere fact that he does a lot of things, plays corner, nickel and isn't afraid to come up and make tackles," said Gilchrist.

Part of what makes Woodson so good is his 6-1, 202 pound frame, size that Harris and Gilchrist don't have. With with a willingness to sacrifice his body and a toughness that can't be taught, Woodson is able to defend the slot, support the run and blitz off the edge.

Not that there's anything wrong with trying to imitate a taller, physical corner. The teams that end up drafting Harris and Gilchrist will more than likely admire their toughness.

"I try to mimic my game as close as possible to Charles Woodson," said Harris. "He's one of the corners that I watch. I do a lot of things that he does as far as playing the outside corner position and busting inside in the nickel on certain packages and coming off the edge to blitz the quarterback and stick your nose in the run game. As a DB, that's a quality you have to have in the NFL.

"You have to tackle as well as you can cover."

What's perhaps surprising is that their first choice of a model isn't a smaller, cover corner whose body type they more closely match. Philadelphia's Asante Samuel and Washington's DeAngelo Hall come to mind.

Despite their shortcomings in the height department, they're not short on confidence.

"He's a taller corner, but he does a lot of the things I do in my game," said Harris. "He plays the slot, he blitzes, he gets his head in the run game, and he's just a great athlete.

"He's very athletic, and I like to compare myself to him. That's a guy I look up to, that's a guy I want to mimic my game after."

When questioned about trying to follow in the footsteps of a corner three inches taller than himself, Gilchrist replied, "Charles Woodson has always been my guy, I don't get into the height/weight and all those types of things."

One cornerback who tries to copy Charles Woodson and there's no second guessing is LSU's Patrick Peterson, almost universally considered the top cornerback in the draft, viewed by some as the top player overall and a possibility as the draft's no. 1 overall draft choice.

The similarities are almost uncanny. With Peterson measuring in at 6-0 and 219 pounds, their size is very comparable.

"I don't want to be the next Charles Woodson," said Peterson, "but I definitely want to pattern my game after Charles Woodson.

"He can play each and every defensive position on the field. If they gave him the opportunity to play D-tackle or D-end, he'd definitely do it."

Peterson is also a dangerous return threat just like Woodson was in college when he won the Heisman trophy at Michigan in 1997. Peterson averaged over 29 yards per kick return and over 16 yards per punt return to go along with two touchdowns in 2010, his junior season as an early entrant for the draft.

On defense he had 42 tackles, six pass breakups and four interceptions as a consensus first-team All-American that opponents largely threw away from. He was Mr. Do-It-All in Baton Rouge and wants to do the same in the NFL.

"That's something I want to show the world that I can learn the scheme and understand the scheme as well," said Peterson. "Playing if they need me to play dime, if they need me to play corner, strong safety, rover, I'm definitely down for it."

Because of his size, some observers have wondered whether Peterson might be asked to become a safety in the NFL or become one down the line. The same has been thought about Woodson with the Packers.

But by running a very low 4.34 40-yard dash at the Combine, most of those thoughts have been quashed.

When asked what makes him the best cornerback in the draft, Peterson said, "I'd probably say my ball skills, toughness, I can support the run. I'm an all-around cornerback and that's what I wanted to do coming out of college. I definitely want to continue that trend going into the NFL."

If Peterson is able to do all of that, he's liable to become the next Charles Woodson. Or as he would prefer, the first and only Patrick Peterson.

BONUS AUDIO: Utah cornerback Brandon Burton, a second- to third-round projection, also said he enjoys watching Woodson and tackles a few other topics at the NFL Combine...

Download Versions:
Download Audio Podcast
Free Subscription Option