FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – During the pre-draft process, there were a number of so-called NFL Draft experts who rated Isaiah Oliver as one of the top cornerbacks in the class and a possible first-rounder.
When he was still available in the second round, the Falcons didn't hesitate to draft the lengthy cornerback out of the University of Colorado. Although it's still early in the offseason, and training camp is still over a month away, Oliver has made a good impression on his new teammates.
"He's new, but he's real mature," Falcons safety Ricardo Allen said after Wednesday's Minicamp Built by The Home Depot. "He and I were partners when we were doing a mentoring group, he was my mentee. So, I got to talk to him a lot. He's very mature, and he's real smart. And he's much faster than I even thought he was; he can run with any wide receiver.
"Some people when they're young and they get out and they're going against the ones and the twos for the first time, they're just trying to win, they're not really playing the techniques that the team is teaching. He's one of those dudes that's going to win the majority of them, and he's going to try to do the technique that we're teaching."
The 6-foot, 210-pound Oliver has speed, length and is not afraid to be physical at the line of scrimmage. In addition to football, Oliver was also a competitive decathlete in college, highlighting his overall athleticism.
In three seasons at Colorado, Oliver recorded 82 tackles, 25 pass defenses, three interceptions and one forced fumble.
