STRENGTHS
Jeff is an aggressive, quality Defensive Back with good overall skills to be effective for the team that selects him. He shows on film the quickness to cover and the decisiveness to make tackles all over the field. He has quick feet and does an excellent job meeting blocks and shedding them to make tackles to his side of the field on sweeps and screens. He fights through blocks better than most cornerbacks in this draft and is a strong, physical defensive player who could be effective inside in the slot as well as outside on the perimeter. Jeff is smart and shows leadership skills through his play on the field and communicates well with his teammates on the field. He can be used in zone coverages because of his high football IQ, aggressiveness to tackle and because he fights through blocks. Jeff should be a quality addition to any team’s defensive backfield.
CONCERNS
The biggest concern I have with Jeff is in his back-pedal, he is on his heels and that usually sends a signal about a player’s balance. That back-pedal issue will be a big problem when he is defending those small, quick receivers unless he can correct it. Jeff will struggle with consistency in coverage if he struggles with correcting his balance issues. He also plays light without much bulk in his lower body and can easily be moved off his defensive line because of this balance issue and that means the bigger receivers will take advantage of that when they go deep.
BOTTOM LINE 2.06
I think Jeff can be an excellent Defensive Back in the right system and the right coach very much like Josh Norman. He has to deal with his balance issues that screw up his backpedal and makes it easy for big receivers to push him off his defensive line but that can be corrected. Jeff looks to be a quality player and maybe a move to safety where he can keep the play in front of him would benefit him. Anyway, you look at it, Jeff would be an excellent addition to any team because he can play more than one position with upper body strength and aggressiveness to tackle and fight through blocks and in Nickel/Dime packages.
