Overview

Position: CB

College: Stanford

Class: Senior

Age: 22

Measurables

Height: 6’0”

Weight: 191 lbs.

Arm length: 32”

Hand size: 9 3/4″

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.52 sec.

10-yard split: 1.49 sec.

Vertical jump: 36.0”

Broad jump: 131.0”

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

Strengths

Good overall size and plus length. Prefers playing man-to-man coverage. Very pesky at the catch point. Does what he can to breakup passes by poking at the ball and fully extending. Great footwork and patience to mirror early releases. Good ability to stay on the hip of opponents. Press can be aggressive and controlling. Strong one-armed jams in press coverage. Tremendous ability to defend comeback routes and curls. Excellent burst/acceleration to break on the ball. Has the skillset to be effective in heavy zone coverage. Will try to locate the ball on vertical routes. Experience playing both perimeter cornerback spots. Saw some snaps in man coverage from the slot. Has flashed aggression in run support. Bounced back from allowing an early deep touchdown to USC wide receiver Jordan Addison to be very disruptive in press coverage in the second half (2022).

Weaknesses

Average speed. Gets beat deep too often. Needs to be more prepared to open up and run versus vertical routes. Peaks into the backfield and will have opponents go right past him (nearly allowed game-winning touchdown versus Arizona State in 2022 matchup; pass was too far towards the sideline). Coverage transitions and reaction time are a step slow. Overall technique as a tackler needs to be corrected. Doesn’t take great angles and will lower his eyes into contact.

NFL comparison

Levi Wallace

Conclusion

Overall, Kelly is a press-man cornerback that would fit best in a heavy Cover-2 scheme that limits his deep responsibilities. He needs to clean things up both in coverage and in support, but there is upside that can be unlocked as a Day 2 selection.

2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report: CB Kyu Blu Kelly