Big Board ranking: #33

Positional ranking: #5

 

Overview

Position: CB

College: Tennessee

Class: Senior (RS)

Age: 23

 

Measurables

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 196 lbs.

Arm length: 30 7/8”

Hand size: 8 1/2″

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: N/A

10-yard split: N/A

Vertical jump: N/A

Broad jump: N/A

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Good size and length. Aggressive overall player. Very soft feet at his size. Movements are all fluid. Natural mirror skills to stay on the hip of opponents. Tremendous instincts in coverage. Great acceleration. Excellent ability to break on passes in front of him. Exceptional burst with a short cushion. Terrific reaction time and feel for how much space he can give in coverage. Attacks opponents in the press. Extremely controlled on jams. Very athletic in the side shuffle and keeping eyes on the quarterback. Impressive recovery speed. Very effective getting an arm up to play downfield throws at the catch point. Confident to defend vertically without grabbing when he fails to get his head around. Tremendous covering crossing routes from the trail position. Outstanding ball skills and aggressive playing the ball in the air. Often on the hunt for interceptions. Experience at both left and right cornerback. Physical coming up to tackle outside the numbers. Aggressive filtering into position. Uses his hands to engage and shed. Will chop opponents down before they get going. Flashed major aggressiveness taking on blockers. Effective as a blitzer.

 

Weaknesses

Needs to wrap more consistently as a tackler. Too often goes low as a tackler and misses. Allowed a long touchdown run to Florida running back Trevor Etienne by not wrapping and was benched to begin the next drive (2023). Tackle attempt without wrapping led to season-ending shoulder injury (Alabama 2023).

 

NFL comparison

Paulson Adebo

 

Conclusion

Overall, Hadden is an instinctive, playmaking cornerback with impressive mirror skills and aggression in coverage. As a projected mid-to-late Day 3 selection, he is perhaps the most undervalued prospect in the class.