Strengths

• Effective out of the slot, showing the instincts and quickness to mirror when the receiver has a two-way go. Dial has good instincts and awareness when playing off, showing good route recognition and anticipation when breaking on the ball.
• Stays low in his backpedal and shows the click-and-close ability to break up plays in front of him. Dial can move well laterally and shows excellent instincts when looking into the backfield in zone coverage.
• Plays with the natural balance and ultra-quick feet to mirror underneath, and he’s tremendous at reading routes and reading quarterbacks.
• Extremely aggressive to come up and put his body in traffic to make tackles.
• Likely has the length and physical ability to fit in a press scheme but ideal fit as a zone defender because of his recognition skills and an above-average burst to close on the ball.
• Quicker than Dial is fast but has a burst to close in zone coverage and plays physical at the line in man.

Weaknesses

• Isn’t great in route recognition when he’s facing the action, is hesitant and susceptible to double moves, and too often gets unnecessarily handsy when playing trail position
• The majority of the time last season, Dial was able to physically overwhelm opposing receivers early in the down, a scenario that won’t play out as often against NFL receivers.
• Gave up far too many big plays in college, especially concerning since he has recovery speed to make up for missteps.

Marcellas Dial percentiles vs other Cornerback's (NFL Combine historically - higher value represents better perfomance)