Sheldon Price- 2013 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Positives:

+Height
+Crazy Effort
+Strength
+Run support
+Special teams
+Instincts
+Fundamentals
+Fantastic at shedding off blocks
+Physical with the ball in the air
+Speed

Negatives:

-Poor hands
-Some hip tightness
-Below average short area quickness
-Mediocre range

Before I talk about UCLA cornerback Sheldon Price, I need to get something off my chest; as mentioned in another scouting report, I have never scouted 2 players on the same team who play the same position who are as similar to each other as Price and fellow UCLA corner Aaron Hester. Much of this article is copy pasted from my Aaron Hester article, with just a couple minor tweaks regarding the small differences between them. Hester and Price are nearly identical, in both playing style as well as stats and measurables. Both are 6’1, run a 4.56 40 yard dash (according to nfldraftscout, a great 40 yard dash reference), both had 1 interception, 7 pass breakups, and 0 interception yards in 2011, Hester had 57 tackles while Price had 47 tackles (Hester had more tackles since Price missed 2 games due to injury) in 2011, and they are numbers 21 and 22 respectively. Their playing styles are also nearly identical. It’s tough to tell them apart from each other when the camera angle doesn’t give me a good view of the jersey. Both of them are also two of the most underrated corners I have ever seen.

Price has decent measurables. He has good size for a corner at 6’1, and I absolutely love big corners. Although Price isn’t too bulky at 180lbs, he makes up for it with tremendous strength for size, and he plays as big as Hester. His 4.56 40 is mediocre, but he looks much faster on film. Price and Hester really held their own in man coverage against A.J. Jenkins in the Kraft Fight Hunger bowl. Between the two of them, I believe that Jenkins had 3 catches for 12 yards against the two of them in man coverage in that game (although Jenkins did make a 60 yard catch against a zone defense). No corners dominated Jenkins for a game last year like Hester and Price, and I couldn’t help but be surprised about how neither of them were ever burnt by Jenkins, who runs a 4.39 40. Stride for stride, on film, Price didn’t look like he was at all slower than Jenkins, and he looked faster than his 40 suggested.

Price has mediocre stats. In 2011, he got an impressive 47 tackles while missing 2 games, but he only had 1 interception. Often, excellent tackle numbers for a corner are a result of mistakes in coverage, but sometimes they are just a result of a player being good in run support. In Price’s case, it’s mostly the latter. However, Price has never been able to get many interceptions in his career, which is a legitimate reason for concern, but I’ll get into that later.

Price is an average athlete. Taller players tend to take a bit more time to reach top speed than shorter players, and they also usually have tighter hips, and Price is no exception. Price isn’t an extremely fluid athlete, and it takes him a long time to reach top speed, but he has decent lateral agility, which helps in zone coverage, and he has spectacular long speed.

Price is spectacular in man coverage. I was absolutely awestruck by the performance of Price and Hester against A.J. Jenkins in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. They looked spectacular. I believe I counted 3 catches for 12 yards by Jenkins against the two of them in man coverage. Jenkins was targeted at least 10 times in that game. Not only did they do a great job of sticking with Jenkins, but, when he was targeted, he rarely had a chance of making the catch. Price and Hester’s most special aspect in man coverage is their amazing ability to read the eyes of wide receivers. Both Price and Hester were absolutely amazing at reading the eyes of any wide receiver on the field to get any idea of where they are going and where the ball is. Being able to read the eyes of wide receivers is very important. Some receivers use poor fundamentals when their eyes give away which direction their route will be going. Any wide receiver who isn’t absolutely perfect in making sure that their eyes don’t give away their route aren’t going to get any yards against Price or Hester. But, beyond just reading the eyes of wide receivers to know where their route is going, Price does a spectacular job of reading the eyes of wide receivers against the deep ball. He looked amazing against the deep ball against in the Illinois game, as a result of his ability to read the eyes of wide receivers. A coach can teach a receiver to make sure that their eyes don’t give away routes, but there is a different problem against the deep ball. The proper way to cover a wide receiver on the deep ball is to have your back facing the quarterback as you look into the eyes of the receiver. When the receiver’s eyes look up, as if a ball is in the air, you put your hands up to deflect the pass. Coaches can’t really teach receivers not to look at the ball when it is in the air, so the receivers eyes are always a dead giveaway as to when the ball is in the air. Price is second only to Hester as to how well he reads the eyes of wide receivers against the deep ball, which is why big receivers can’t get a jump ball against Price. Thanks to the eyes of receivers, Price knows when a pass is in the air even if his back is facing the ball, he can break up passes with his back to the ball with ease. It’s the main reason Price doesn’t get many interceptions; half of his pass breakups hit him in the back of the head, and he plays the receiver more than the ball. It’s very effective. Price is not as fluid as Hester, which hurts him in man coverage, but Prices strength and fundamentals in press coverage are absolutely amazing. He does an excellent job of using his long arms and strength the jam receivers off the line of scrimmage, and he makes it extremely hard for receivers to get into their routes. His long arms and solid athleticism also help him breakup passes, especially on crossing routes.

Price is great in zone coverage. I’ll say this: UCLA uses way too much zone coverage for it’s own good. They use more zone coverage than most college football teams, and it really doesn’t suit them. They have two amazing corners who can dominate in man, but they use a lot of zone, which typically results in them being beat over the middle on crossing routes since their linebackers (namely Patrick Larimore) can’t cover. Price does an excellent job of jamming wide receivers in zone coverage, but, when in zone, he has mediocre awareness of the run. He does an excellent job of reading the quarterback’s eyes, and he has good awareness of receivers entering his zone. His poor acceleration doesn’t help him, but his long arms give him more range to deflect passes in zone coverage than one might expect.

Price’s biggest advantage over Hester is on field intensity and run stopping ability. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying that Hester doesn’t play hard. I’m saying that Price is the most intense corner I’ve seen since Alterraun Verner. This play is a great example. Price is #22, at the bottom of your screen. Sure, Jenkins still scored, but you still have to be impressed by the fact that Price caught up to Jenkins diagonally and ran a long ways to nearly force a fumble. Again, he didn’t get to Jenkins, but you still need to be impressed by the effort. Against the run, he is awesome. He made one play in the Illinois game in which he shed the block of a tight end and made a tackle on a run play. I rarely see a corner end up being blocked by the tight end on a run play. It was bad luck. Then, he made an awesome move with his hands, shed the block, and hit the running back. Seeing a corner who can beat the block of a tight end on a run play is rare. His hand usage, strength, and effort against the run are all phenomenal, and it makes him one of the scrappiest corners in football.

Price’s biggest flaw is a lack of ball skills. He rarely, if ever, gets many interceptions. But it’s okay. Price’s interception total isn’t low because drop passes. It’s because he plays the receiver more than the ball (without drawing pass interference penalties). He is incredibly physical with the ball in the air, and he often has his back to the line of scrimmage against the deep ball. Half of Price’s deflected passes are a result of him getting hit in the back by the football. He plays the man more than the ball, and, thanks to his incredible ability to read the eyes of opposing wide receivers, it works well for him. If he isn’t hit in the back of the head by a pass, he knocks the ball out of a receiver’s hands as soon as it gets near the receiver. It’s still effective. Price and Hester may get fewer interceptions than most corners, but receivers make fewer catches against them at the same time. Quarterbacks rarely throw interceptions when targeting Price or Hester, but they also have extremely low completion percentages when targeting them. It may not be as pretty on the stat sheet or the TV screen, but playing the receiver is no less effective than going for the pick.

Ultimately, I absolutely love Sheldon Price. Price and Hester are the most underrated corners I’ve seen since fellow UCLA Bruin Alterraun Verner, who I named my biggest defensive sleeper of the 2010 draft class a few years ago. They should be great in the NFL.

NFL Comparison: Al Harris

Grade: 88 (worthy of an early 2nd round pick)

Projection: 60 (will be a late 4th to early 5th round pick)