Big Board ranking: #18
Positional ranking: #1
Overview
Position: S
College: Minnesota
Class: Sophomore (RS)
Age: 21
Measurables
Height: 5’9 1/8”
Weight: 203 lbs.
Arm length: 30 1/8”
Hand size: 9 1/2”
Athletic testing
40-yard dash: 4.45 sec.
Vertical jump: 36.0”
Broad jump: 124.0”
Bench press: N/A
3-cone drill: N/A
Short shuttle: N/A
Strengths
Intelligent and fearless. Flies like a bullet to the ball. Puts his body on the line. Great acceleration and quickness. Very versatile. Twitchy and athletic. Good range as a single-high safety. Has the speed to chase down ball carriers. Great ball skills. Ball seems to always find him. Reliable tackler. Compact frame allows him to get lower than opponents. Will deliver a crushing hit. Exceptional in overall run support. Has the toughness to be a full-time box safety. Natural cover skills in man-to-man coverage. Physicality allows him to match up with size. Effective as a blitzer. Made clutch plays in the fourth quarter. Dynamic punt returner when needed. Highly competitive. NFL bloodlines.
Weaknesses
Suffered season-ending injury in back-to-back seasons (2017, 2018). Reckless playing style could lead to more durability concerns at the next level. Can get absorbed by bigger blockers.
NFL comparison
Budda Baker
Conclusion
Overall, Winfield Jr. is a fearless, versatile playmaker that can come up to deliver a big hit on one play and drop back as a deep safety on the next. Concerns about size/durability could cause him to fall, but I think he is worth a Day 1 selection and could arguably be the first safety off the board.
Undersized with a big heart. I’ll bet on him any day.
I like Winfield but would probably take Delpit over him.
Just a sophomore too