For Those Who Celebrate It’s McGinn Season

[MaroonBells]

4. JAHDAE BARRON, Texas (5-10 ½, 198, 4.38, 1): Played corner, nickel, dime and safety. “This guy is a player,” said one scout. “I’ve never seen a corner who lines up in the A gap calling out coverages and blitz stuff. Really good athlete with change of direction. Not super explosive down the field. That’s the only thing. Kills stuff in zone and underneath where he can jump routes. Hands are really good. Not a safety-type tackler but really good for a corner. Just a versatile winner wherever you play this guy. He’s more of a skilled cover guy than Brian Branch. Goes in the 20’s.” Started 39 of 57 games over five seasons. Finished with 226 tackles (21 for loss), eight picks and 24 passes defensed. Shortest arms (29 5/8) of the top 12 at the position. “He’s a little shorter than you would like,” said a second scout. “He ran fast (but) the play speed is kind of average. Willing tackler. He’s a really good football player. He’s late first.” Four-star recruit from Austin, Texas. “I think he’s more late second, early third,” a third scout said. “More of a zone corner than a man corner. He’s physical to a certain degree but a lot of his plays come off of his vision and catching tipped balls. He’ll be very good in a zone scheme. In a man scheme, he might struggle some because he’s not as quick-twitched as the (top) guys. I think he’s a nickel/free safety. He can’t play man coverage like Branch. He’s not a natural man-cover guy. He plays with his eyes.”

Anyone else have him as CB4!? Jeremiah Smith goes 1-4 and Barron is CB4? Cmon.

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7. SHAVON REVEL, East Carolina (6-2, 200, no 40, 2): Compared by two scouts to Quinyon Mitchell, the Eagles’ first-round pick from Toledo last year and an all-rookie team corner. “Early on I said this could be Quinyon Mitchell,” said one scout. “He is tall and that length shows up. Explosive close as a straight-line athlete. Yeah, for a guy that tall, he’s going to get leggy at the top of a route and get segmented in transition. But he has rare stuff. For such a long guy he’s so explosive and fast. He displayed natural timing to make a play on the ball and high-point it. Probably my favorite thing about this guy was just how aggressive he was as a run defender. He throws his body around. He probably needs to protect himself a little bit more. You can tell: he loved it. This was a solid Day 2 guy.” That picture changed dramatically Sept. 18 in practice when he suffered a torn ACL; surgery was performed Oct. 15. “Before he got hurt he was trending to being a first-round corner so now maybe he goes in the second or third,” a second scout said. “He has a small body of work and it’s not against a ton of Power 4 teams. Impressive run with people. Able to play the ball. Strong tackler. Has a lot of high-level starter traits.” Spent 2020-’21 at a junior college but the first season was canceled and he played just six games in the second. Started 15 of 24 games for the Pirates from 2022-‘24, finishing with 70 tackles, three picks and 15 passes defensed. “I was hoping he’d get to an all-star game and then you could see what he looked like against top receivers and quarterbacks,” said a third scout. “I think about him and Mitchell. I wasn’t sold on Mitchell until the all-star game (Senior Bowl).” Three-star recruit from Winston-Salem, N.C. “Where he goes I don’t know, but he has first-round talent,” said a fourth scout. “He’s a late-bloomer. Hasn’t played a ton. He didn’t even know how good he was.” Arms were 32 5/8. Added a fifth scout: “ACL in September after three games. Seems to be a theme for this group. Raw, but he’s competitive. He’s going to start if he’s healthy.”

I wouldn't pay too much attention to where these players are ranked right now. I don't even know how or why he puts them in order. I suspect it's just based on the overall feedback from the scouts. When he releases his top 100 that will the be the one to pay attention to.

[JustInTime]

10. SEBASTIAN CASTRO, Iowa (5-11, 199, 4.62, 4-5): Six-year Hawkeye, three-year starter. “Day 2 selection,” one scout said. “He’s a starting nickel or safety. Like his athleticism and quickness. Physical player. Comes downhill and puts hit on the ball carrier and a blocker. Closes and runs the alley inside out on outside runs. Can have some missed tackles by attacking hard and not wrapping up, but he has made a number of tackles in space and shown strong wrap. Excels more in zone coverage where he can react, close and tackle or make the play on the ball. Has the ability to play nickel in zone coverage. I do have some recovery concerns against speedy wide receivers on double moves.” Didn’t run well at the combine and was even slower (4.72) at pro day. “I liked him better last year,” said a second scout. “It worked out well for him in Iowa’s defense because they play all zones. If he has to move out and play in space a lot I’m not sure how it will work out for him. He can do it, but he’s not the same player out there. I don’t know if he’s smart enough to be like him (the Vikings’ Josh Metellus) but he could be him. Metellus is bigger than this guy, too.” Finished with 163 tackles (14 for loss), 14 passes defensed and nine turnover plays. Vertical jump of 32 was the worst of the top 20 safeties. Arms were 30 ¾. Size 10 ½ hands were the largest at the position. “Not great physically but there’s a lot of guys like this at safety in the league,” a third scout said. ”Average speed, range and burst. Not really powerful as a tackler, but reliable. Not an ideal man cover guy against wide-receiver slots. He’s better than Josh Metellus, and Josh starts.” Played well in the Senior Bowl game. Will be 25 in October. From Oak Lawn, Il