Overview

Position: S

College: Oklahoma

Class: Senior

Age: 22

 

Measurables

Height: 5’9 7/8”

Weight: 192 lbs.

Arm length: 28 1/2″

Hand size: 8 5/8”

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.42 sec.

10-yard split: 1.52 sec.

Vertical jump: 35.5”

Broad jump: 123.0”

Bench press: 17 reps

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Terrific instincts and reaction time. Tremendous agility and stop-and-start quickness. Excellent speed and acceleration. Extremely quick in the backpedal. Stays ready to pounce in a low and athletic stance. Phenomenal ball skills and playmaking instincts. Will sense things and jump the route. Attacks the ball in the air. Very good range towards the sideline and will jump throws to the boundary. Has a knack for coming away with deflected interceptions. Does damage with the ball in his hands. Great technique in cover transitions and doesn’t cheat his footwork. Effortlessly flips his hips as a deep safety. Will flip his hips multiple times in succession. Terrific overall awareness. Outstanding footwork and quickness to match route patterns in the side shuffle. Exceptional play recognition in coverage. Extremely aggressive jumping on routes in front of him as a zone defender. Accurate getting a hand in to play the ball at the catch point. Very aggressive at the catch point for his size. Quick picking up crossing routes in zone coverage. Experience playing man coverage in the slot. Quick reacting to route breaks. Has no problems sticking with crossing routes in man coverage when ready for them. Very good recognition and reaction time versus screen passes. Very aggressive flying downhill to tackle. Completely flies to the ball at an angle towards the sideline. Effective filling in run support. Typically takes ideal angles in space as the last line of defense. Quick breaking down to make a stop. Great technique when he wraps up. Fearless going into the box at his size. Has made multiple fourth-down stops at the goal line.

 

Weaknesses

Average size with short arms. Aggressive nature can lead to false steps and biting on play-action fakes. Will peak into the backfield and fall a step behind in coverage. Sometimes delayed playing crossing routes in cushion coverage. Can get caught up in traffic playing man coverage versus bunch formations. Will get juked out by cutbacks when coming in hot to tackle on outside runs. Had three missed tackles on long runs by Texas (2024).

 

NFL comparison

Jalen Pitre

 

Conclusion

Overall, Bowman is an instinctive, playmaking safety with outstanding quickness, awareness, and aggressiveness. A more condensed game at the next level should help prevent some of the tackling issues that popped up at times, and Bowman has shown he can bring down opponents with control.

 

Big Board ranking: #65 | Positional ranking: #5