Positional ranking: #8

Big Board ranking: #39

 

Overview

Position: CB

College: Vanderbilt

Class: Junior

Age: 21

 

Measurables

Height: 6’3 5/8”

Weight: 211 lbs.

Arm length: 32 1/2″

Hand size: 9 3/4″

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.64 sec.

Vertical jump: DNP

Broad jump: DNP

Bench press: 17 reps

3-cone drill: DNP

Short shuttle: DNP

 

Strengths

Tall, physically imposing cornerback. Thrives playing in-your-face, press-man coverage. Uses length to jam or redirect receivers at the snap. Very good movement skills for his size. Can press without putting his hands on receivers. Intelligent. Quality instincts and quick reaction time. Experience in off-man coverage. Great pursuit and aggressiveness as a tackler. Competes on every snap. Unafraid to missile into bigger blockers in an attempt to blow things up. Tries to force fumbles when the opportunity is there. Basically equal playing time at left and right cornerback. Battled and won against top-end competition in the SEC.

 

Weaknesses

Hips are a little stiff. Allows too much separation at the top of the route. Receivers get behind him too often. Needs to get his head around more consistently on downfield passes. Has to improve hand discipline to avoid penalties when the ball is in the air.

 

NFL comparison

Richard Sherman – Of course, Sherman is predominantly a cover-3 corner, but Joejuan Williams has the skillset to play in a zone-heavy scheme at the next level, and while both guys can dominate playing press coverage, they struggle against smaller, faster receivers.

 

Conclusion

Overall, Joejuan Williams is a physical, press-man cornerback that has shown flashes of shutdown play against elite talent (see: Ole Miss game), but can also struggle against speedy receivers (see: Georgia game). Still, the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses—especially when you take tackling into account—so Williams is a clear top-50 prospect.