The Falcons are not signing Brandon Boykin at this time, according to a league source who spoke with Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. The free-agent cornerback worked out for the team on Monday.
Boykin was released by the Panthers back on May 16th. Prior to his signing, the 25-year-old was one of the more intriguing cornerbacks to linger on the free agent market in late March. Still, Carolina opted to bail on the low-guarantee, one-year deal. Even though the Panthers parted ways with Josh Norman this spring, they felt that they were already set at cornerback after adding three in the draft.
The Falcons (and three other teams) reportedly had interest in the slot corner before he signed with the Panthers in late March. Boykin, a Georgia native who played for the Bulldogs in college, seemed like a logical fit for Dan Quinn‘s defense.
Despite not seeing significant playing time in Pittsburgh, Boykin ranked as a top-40 cornerback in 2015 (out of 111 qualified players), per Pro Football Focus. The diminutive corner has always shown flashes of upside, particularly in his six-interception 2013 campaign, but has never really gotten the opportunity to be a full-time player with just seven career starts. He’ll now look elsewhere for his chance to shine.
While Boykin didn’t earn a spot on PFR’s top 50 free agent list, we placed him sixth among free agent cornerbacks when we broke down 2016’s top defensive free agents, placing him ahead of veterans like Leon Hall and Patrick Robinson due to his relative youth and upside.
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