Desmond King, CB, Iowa: 2017 NFL Draft scouting report and analysis

Strengths

DESMOND KING GAME FILM DATABASE (via Draft Breakdown)

I have watched every game Desmond King has played in his Iowa Hawkeyes career, and I can’t say a player I’ve watched for Iowa has ever looked more like a professional from a young age than this kid.

There are some players at the college level who just have a natural ability to make plays, and Desmond King is one of them. This is a player that is as instinctive a defender as you will find. He is physical at the line of scrimmage when he needs to be, and shows great ability to read and react to the quarterback when he’s playing off or in zone.

King’s size isn’t ‘elite’ by any means at 5-foot-10, but he’s bulky (201 pounds) and has big hands.

King knows how to use those hands as well.

There were times when Iowa’s wide receiver group was so poor, there was legitimate talk about King playing both ways and not just because it’s a fun idea. King legitimately had the best hands on the Hawkeyes over the last four years, and he proved that by picking off 14 passes.

His ability to go and get the ball didn’t come or happen by accident, either. King knows how to high point the ball like a receiver, and he gets such great breaks on the football that quarterbacks really couldn’t even throw to his side of the field this past season.

When they did, it was a bad idea.

King is physical in coverage and a good finisher as a tackler. He’s instinctive in run support and can get around receivers trying to block him with relative ease.

Of course, King also adds value to the special teams unit on kick return, punt return, kickoff, punt coverage, and even on the field goal blocking team. He will certainly be part of your ‘hands’ team on onside kick recoveries, and I think he’ll be a very good overall return specialist in the NFL because of his quickness and vision with the ball in his hands.

When he gets the ball, he’s looking to score and he has big play ability, scoring a touchdown on an interception in each of the last three seasons. He has nearly broken a couple of returns for touchdown, but is still seeking that elusive first since he left high school.