Positional ranking: #5

Big Board ranking: #24

 

Overview

Position: CB

College: Florida State

Class: Junior

Age: 21

 

Measurables

Height: 5’10 1/8”

Weight: 180 lbs.

Arm length: 30 1/8″

Hand size: N/A

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.45 sec.

Vertical jump: 35.0″

Broad jump: 124.0″

Bench press: 12 reps

3-cone drill: 6.95 sec.

Short shuttle: 4.13 sec.

 

Strengths

Tremendous instincts in coverage. Elite quickness. Twitchy and active mover. Exceptional overall awareness. Great ball skills and aggressiveness in coverage. Will leave his feet by jumping/diving to make plays. Natural mirror skills in man coverage. Stays low and ready to move. Trusts his feet and doesn’t grab. Outstanding cover man with his eyes on the quarterback in zone coverage. Very quick reaction time and burst. Able to anticipate and jump routes. Identifies route combinations as a zone defender. Plus speed. Effortlessly transitions to sprint out of press coverage. Excellent in deep zone coverage. Great ability to locate the ball in the air and get his hands on it. Doesn’t let receivers run past him. Comfortable in both press and cushion coverage. Rarely jams but hands are in good position around line of scrimmage. Has plenty of experience at both outside cornerback spots and has the skillset to play in the slot. Quality tackler for his size. Shows ideal competitiveness. NFL bloodlines as the son of former All-Pro cornerback Asante Samuel.

 

Weaknesses

Could have some issues with size on the outside. Goes too low at times and will miss tackles. Struggles to get off downfield blocks (could be effort but seems to be more about size).

 

NFL comparison

Bradley Roby

 

Conclusion

Overall, Samuel Jr. is a very instinctual cornerback with elite movement skills and the ability to thrive in either man or zone coverage. Teams should look to him as a cover man that can stick to receivers and also take the ball away.