Big Board ranking: #14

Positional ranking: #1

 

Overview

Position: S

College: Notre Dame

Class: Junior

Age: 21

 

Measurables

Height: 6’4 1/8″

Weight: 220 lbs.

Arm length: 33″

Hand size: 9 1/8″

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.59 sec.

Vertical jump: 38.0″

Broad jump: 131.0″

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: 6.90 sec.

Short shuttle: 4.32 sec.

 

Strengths

Tremendous size and length. High awareness and football intelligence. Rangy and extremely athletic. Sideline-to-sideline coverage as a deep safety. Rare change-of-direction skills for his size. Very fluid hips. Above-average speed and acceleration. Instant reaction time. Excellent play recognition in zone coverage. Distinguishes route combinations and has a natural feel for spacing. Reads the quarterback’s eyes. Ideal discipline with deep responsibility. Smooth and athletic roaming in coverage. Identifies wheel routes and cuts them off. Has lined up over the slot. Size to match up against tight ends in man coverage. Tremendous feet to at least contend with quicker players. Great ball skills. Sees plays developing in the flat and takes action. Aggressive coming up to make a play on a ball-carrier. Flies downhill and closes on the play very fast. Has exceptional run fits as a middle safety. Good tackler overall. Communicates and makes pre-play adjustments on the backend. Played as a gunner on punt coverage.

 

Weaknesses

Want to see him explode into and drive to be stronger as a tackler. Wish he was more crushing at his size. Potential durability concerns with lower-body injury in 2020 and 2021.

 

NFL comparison

Justin Simmons

 

Conclusion

Overall, Hamilton is an athletic, intelligent safety with elite size, range, and movement skills on the backend. His rare skillset should make him a worthy top-ten pick with the ability to thrive in a variety of roles.