2023 NFL Combine Risers & Fallers (Defensive Backs)

Continuing the premise of the first post in this series that focused on EDGE prospects, here are the prospects at cornerback and safety who should experience a real change in NFL Draft projection following their performance at the Combine on Friday.

Arrow Up: Christian Gonzalez (Oregon)

Gonzalez found himself penciled in near the top of most Big Boards heading into the Combine, and now you might as well write him in there with Sharpie. We knew that Gonzalez possessed superior athleticism before he took part in drills; he’s the son of a Division 1 college basketball player and brother of an Olympian hurdler. Still, I’m not sure if even the biggest NFL Draft fanatics were prepared for him to put on one of the top displays by a cornerback in the history of the Combine. Both of his jumps are among the farthest ever at the position, and his 40-yard dash ranked in the 90th percentile for CBs – all with above-average height and weight. It would be a shock if Gonzalez falls out of the top 10 at this point of the Draft process.

Arrow Up: Deonte Banks (Maryland)

Banks has been one of the buzzier prospects in this entire class for weeks, and now it’s easy to understand why some insiders have been hyping him up. His measurables were extremely similar to Gonzalez’s across the board, which are results that I’m not sure even Banks’ biggest fans were ready for. Only two CBs ever topped Banks’ performances in both the vertical jump and broad jump (Scott Starks in 2005 and Byron Jones in 2015), and those drills are solid indicators for success at the next level for the position. Banks has been a trendy inclusion in the back half of Round 1 in mock drafts lately, but now any mock drafter is probably straight-up incorrect if they don’t include Banks somewhere in Round 1.

Arrow Up: DJ Turner (Michigan)

Yeah, you are going to get the ‘Arrow Up’ designation if you run a 4.26 in the 40 at the Combine. That is the same time clocked by Tariq Woolen last year, who barely had a grasp on the game of football at UTSA yet went on to make the Pro Bowl as a rookie with the Seahawks. Turner, at 5’11” and 178 lbs, doesn’t exactly possess the same size as Woolen, but Turner has demonstrable tape to go along with his remarkable testing. He’ll be selected by Round 2 at the latest now, and he could even sneak his way into the end of Round 1 like Eric Stokes did with his 4.25 40 (Pro Day) in 2021. Keep an eye out for Baltimore and defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald – Turner’s DC at Michigan in 2021 – at Pick No. 22.

Arrow Down: Brian Branch (Alabama)

Outside of select names, like Sydney Brown of Illinois, it wasn’t an overall banner day for the top safety prospects at the Combine. It’s tough to single out anyone before Branch though, who wasn’t expected to test off the charts but still didn’t do himself any good on Friday. His vertical jump of 34.5″ is in the 32nd percentile for DBs, and a 4.58 40-yard dash time at 190 lbs is rough. In the past five NFL Drafts, not a single DB who weighed beneath 195 lbs and ran the 40 above 4.56 has been selected on Days 1 or 2 of the Draft. That will certainly change once Branch is officially on the board, though he might fall out of Round 1 now despite his top-tier production at Alabama.

Arrow Down: Kelee Ringo (Georgia)

Ringo’s tape is a real mixed bag; you won’t find many prospects with a title-sealing pick six in a National Championship Game, but he also got cooked by wideouts a little too frequently for the liking of most evaluators. Ringo really didn’t have much leeway to offer at the Combine, given his inconsistencies on tape, but his vertical jump was in the 20th percentile and broad jump in the 55th percentile. He ran plenty fast – a 4.36 40-yard dash time is great – but with his explosiveness and length (40th percentile arms) now in question, it’s hard to envision any scenario where Ringo is selected in Round 1. It feels like we’ve entered a DK Metcalf situation with Ringo, who can fly in a straight line and has a hulking frame at 6’2″, 207 lbs. Metcalf was selected with the final pick of Round 2, which suddenly isn’t unrealistic for Ringo.

Arrow Down: Clark Phillips III (Utah)

Phillips is a feisty cornerback, and there are massive advocates of his production, but his testing yesterday was pretty disastrous. He is now tied for the fifth shortest arm length ever at the Combine for a cornerback at 29 1/8″, his vertical jump of 33″ and 20-yard shuttle at 4.32 seconds are both around the 20th percentile for DBs, and his 40-yard dash time of 4.51 is fairly pedestrian. Roger McCreary tested similarly only a year ago and was still selected by the Titans with the 35th overall pick, but Phillips might slip to Day 3 of the Draft now.

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Combine NFL NFL Draft Christian Gonzalez Deonte Banks Byron Jones DJ Turner Tariq Woolen Eric Stokes Brian Branch Sydney Brown Kelee Ringo DK Metcalf Clark Phillips III Roger McCreary