John Curry CB Texas Tech |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Scouting Report: Weaknesses

• Below-average timed speed limits any outside man-coverage role
• Plays almost entirely in the box and slot, not on the boundary
• Coverage is zone-and-eyes only, with no press-man profile
• Ball-skills production is modest for the snap count
• Tweener size and role complicate the position projection

Scouting Report: Summary

Curry is a box-and-slot defender listed at corner who plays more like a hybrid safety or nickel, and his calling cards are excellent tackling and physical run defense from a downhill role. At 230 pounds he takes on blocks, fits the run, and posted thirty stops and fifty-two tackles, while picking off passes against BYU and UCF from underneath zones. The diagnose-and-trigger instincts and the physical run defense give him a defined, useful sub-package identity.

The position projection is the complication. His below-average timed speed limits any outside man-coverage role, he plays almost entirely in the box and slot rather than on the boundary, and his coverage is zone-and-eyes only with no press-man profile. His ball-skills production is modest for the snap count, and the tweener size and role muddy where he fits. He is a run-and-hit defender first, with coverage that works only from underneath.

Cast him as a box nickel and core special-teamer who covers from underneath, fits the run, and tackles, a Day 3 role player rather than a cover corner. The lack of speed and outside cover ability caps the grade, but the run defense and the physical instincts are bankable. He grades as a sub-package and special-teams defender whose value depends on a defense using him in the box rather than in space.