Jamal Adams, S, LSU: 2017 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Top safety Jamal Adams has the look of a future star, but where does that put him in the 2017 NFL draft conversation? Here is his latest scouting report.

Position: S

School: LSU

Year: Junior

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 211 lbs

STRENGTHS:

• Good size-athleticism combination. Effective going forwards and backwards and always seems to be around the football.
• Excels when playing a downhill, aggressive style. Attacks the line of scrimmage as a blitzer and sifts through traffic well.
• Sniffs out screens with unerring quickness and often blows them up before they start.

On this play it’s easy to see the draw of Adams. He doesn’t bite on the fake to the left and the moment he sees the quarterback turn trusts his instincts to see what’s happen. He breaks to the ball hard and arrives just as the pass does for a clean, hard tackle and a loss of yardage. Textbook defensive play.

• While physical he does a good job of not getting too aggressive with his hands on receivers down the field.
• Shows a certain sense for finding and tracking the football through the air, then adjusting his body to make a play on it.
• Can read where the quarterback is going with the football and has the explosion to get to the spot before the receiver does.
• Awareness of what he can and can’t do regarding the physical play of wide receivers and tight ends. Not afraid to deliver shots when allowed inside the five-yard zone.

WEAKNESSES:

• As per almost any defensive back his hands are unreliable. Had four INTs in 2015 but should’ve had double that.
• Sometimes he’s a bit too much of a guesser. Tries to anticipate which direction the ball will go and cut it off. Gets caught in the wrong spot and allows a long gain.

This plays shows that gambling mentality. Rather than just taking on the blocker and leaving the runner to his teammates, Adams tries to guess where the runner will go and get around the block to make the play. He guesses wrong. The blocker pops open a hold through the secondary and it goes for a TD.

• Though comfortable in space he has to do a better job of keeping containment. Can sometimes let ball carriers get around him to the edge when he’s trying to make the aggressive tackle.

Pro Comparison:  Kam Chancellor

He doesn’t quite have the same size but Adams certainly does emulate much of the same game as the Seattle Seahawks star. The attacking mentality at the line of scrimmage and tremendous instinct are the two that stand out the most. He also might be a bit better in coverage due to good speed and fluid athleticism in space.

Projection:  1^st Round

The top notch physical attributes are there. He comes from a proven program at LSU, flashes constantly on tape and has solid production. There really isn’t much to hate about Jamal Adams. Everything to make a future potential Pro Bowl player is there. That’s why barring an unexpected snag he should go in the 1^st round next April.