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Home / frontnfl / 2021 NFL Draft Scouting Report: S Richie Grant
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2021 NFL Draft Scouting Report: S Richie Grant


Positional ranking: #3

Big Board ranking: #44

 

Overview

Position: S

College: UCF

Class: Senior (RS)

Age: 23

 

Measurables

Height: 5’11 5/8”

Weight: 197 lbs.

Arm length: 32 5/8″

Hand size: 9 3/8″

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.49 sec.

Vertical jump: 34.5″

Broad jump: 129.0″

Bench press: 12 reps

3-cone drill: 6.78 sec.

Short shuttle: 4.27 sec.

 

Strengths

Great range as a deep safety. Above-average speed and closes fast. High awareness. Will anticipate and jump routes. Terrific leaping and high-point ability. Quick reaction time and feet. Reads the quarterback’s eyes and gets to the spot to make a play on the ball. Excellent ball skills and production. Very aggressive attacking the ball in the air. Outstanding timing to deflect passes at the catch point. Exceptional mirror skills in man coverage for a safety. Tremendous versatility. Mostly lined up as a mid/box safety but could have made even more of an impact as deep safety or playing the slot. Quality length and overall size. Good in intermediate zone coverage. Decisive coming down to play the run. Ideal physicality in run support. Rangy tackler that will throw his body around. Chops down ball-carriers. Effective forcing fumbles. Special teams contributor with the skillset to be a standout option in the NFL. Three years as a full-time starter.

 

Weaknesses

Odd usage at UCF with most of his snaps coming as a strong safety. Eyes can wander at times. Will miss tackles in space against quicker runners. Needs more consistent control as a tackler. Possible concerns about his level of physicality holding up versus NFL competition.

 

NFL comparison

Jimmie Ward

 

Conclusion

Overall, Grant is a versatile safety that fits best as a primary centerfielder who can use his range on the backend to make plays in coverage while mixing in to help against the run. He will have a case to be the first safety off the board depending on defensive need/philosophy of teams targeting the position on late Day 1 or early Day 2.

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