STRENGTHS
Brian is a quick-twitch athlete with the size and speed to play more than one position in your defensive backfield. He has the quick feet, and change of direction skills needed to cover just about any receiver big or small, quick or physical. Brian is smart and understands down and distance situations and anticipates in those situations making plays on the ball or in the backfield, that can turn a game around. Brian’s athletic cover skills, allow him to bait quarterbacks into making mistakes, and running wide on his side of the field is a big mistake because when lined up in the slot, he is as physical as any linebacker at shutting down sweeps and screens to his side of the field. Brian plays a lot in the slot as Alabama’s cover safety but looks to have the athletic talent and football IQ to play more than just the cover safety position at the next level.
CONCERNS
Brian is smart but baiting quarterbacks at the college level is a lot easier than at the NFL level. He relies too much on his athletic talent and not enough on reading receivers. He looks too early into the backfield off the snap trying to read the quarterbacks. Brian shows the burst and change of direction talent needed to be an excellent cover safety/cornerback but at the combine, he will have to show the long speed to stay with receivers down the field. I think he has that long speed but it’s hard to see it on film so the combine will be big for him.
BOTTOM LINE: 1.92
Brian has excellent talent and if he shows the long speed I think he has, there is no telling how impacting he can be at the next level. He plays so close to the line of scrimmage that it does make you wonder about his overall speed and he might be quicker, more than he is fast. At the combine, most teams will expect his 10-yard split to be fast but they will be looking at his 20-yard and overall time to establish his ability to stay down the field with most receivers for the next level. Either way, he has the talent and ability to make plays in front of him, that most cannot, and if all he can be is a slot cover hybrid safety…I would think that is still enough to select him early in this draft. Those types of players that can impact like Brian can on defense, are hard to find no matter what position they play.
