Overview

Position: CB

College: Texas

Class: Senior

Age: 23

 

Measurables

Height: 5’10 3/4”

Weight: 194 lbs.

Arm length: 29 5/8″

Hand size: 9 1/2″

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.39 sec.

10-yard split: 1.50 sec.

Vertical jump: 35.0″

Broad jump: 123.0″

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Tremendous versatility. Extremely instinctive. Good overall build and strength. Elite reaction time to break as the quarterback throws. High-end route recognition. Very balanced and disciplined in coverage. Extremely smooth in the side shuffle. Very sticky in coverage. Stays in the hip pocket of receivers and pokes the ball away. Terrific overall quickness and acceleration. Sticks to opponents when they throttle down. Has shown he will run the route for receivers. Extremely aggressive jumping routes. Exceptional ball skills and catch focus. Very athletic movement skills in zone coverage. Excellent feet reacting to route breaks in front of him. Jumps on in-breaking routes from off coverage. Extremely accurate punching at the ball to break up passes. Tremendous feel for dropping off his coverage when anticipating a throw elsewhere. Impressive awareness in deep zone coverage to play route combinations. Outstanding acceleration to match opponents from cushion coverage when they burst vertically. Fast and fluid opening up. Great play recognition and reaction time away from the action. Previously a full-time slot cornerback. Able to match tight ends in man coverage from the slot. Experience playing zone coverage from the box. Will go from typical outside cornerback spot to playing inside the box from one play to the next. Very effective tackler after allowing a short completion. Filters up and inside to support versus the run. Strikes at the thighs of opponents to effectively wrap up. Quick feet and change-of-direction skills prevent missed tackles. Aggressive taking on blockers on the edge. Lined up over the A-gap and dropped back into coverage before making a strong tackle on star Michigan tight end Colston Loveland (2024).

 

Weaknesses

Slower to open up versus routes from closer coverage in the slot. Game speed doesn’t seem to match timed speed. Might lower his eyes at times as a stationary tackler. Appeared to be responsible for blown coverage with late leak by Georgia tight end Oscar Delp that resulted in a big play (2024).

 

NFL comparison

Devon Witherspoon

 

Conclusion

Overall, Barron is a versatile, sticky, and intelligent cornerback with high-end instincts and awareness on the backend. His play as an outside cornerback this season makes him one of the top all-around defensive backs in the class.

 

Big Board ranking: #17 | Positional ranking: #3