2021 NFL Draft: Shaun Wade is the next great Ohio State cornerback

Shaun Wade is the top cornerback prospect in the 2021 NFL Draft class and the next great player at the position from Ohio State.

It will obviously be a long time before we start cementing 2021 NFL Draft rankings and really know who the top players will be in the class. That being said, I like Shaun Wade‘s chances of ending up as the top cornerback prospect in the 2021 NFL Draft class.

Wade is an extremely talented cornerback prospect who is the next great player at the position out of Ohio State. This recent run of ridiculous cornerback talented out of Ohio State started with Bradley Roby who was the 31st overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. A couple of years later, Eli Apple went 10th overall in the 2016 NFL Draft, then Marshon Lattimore went 11th overall in 2017, Denzel Ward went fourth in 2018.

The Buckeyes had two cornerbacks go in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, with Jeffrey Okudah landing with the Detroit Lions at No. 3 overall and Damon Arnette going No. 19 to the Las Vegas Raiders. Ohio State is the only college football program with a legitimate claim to DBU and their recent run of first-round picks at the cornerback position is ridiculously impressive. Wade will likely continue this trend as a first-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Wade is an extremely athletic and aggressive cornerback prospect who shines throughout the coverage rep. He is tough and physical at the line of scrimmage, is smooth throughout the route and attacks the ball in the air extremely well. Wade shows an incredible combination of quickness and long speed, allowing him to legitimately dominate against passes thrown to all levels of the defense.

The only real question about Wade’s game is whether he can consistently line and dominate at the same level on the outside. Wade has primarily played on the outside throughout his college career, mostly because there was so much talent on the Ohio State roster. His impressive combination of coverage skills leads us to believe that Wade can be just as dominant on the outside as his is as a slot defender. However, he will have to prove himself in this area during the 2020 season.

Simply put, Wade is an extremely talented cornerback prospect who will be the next great player at the position out of Ohio State. If he can prove himself on the outside, Wade will be a top 10 selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. Even if he struggles a bit more than we expect on the outside, he should still easily be a first-round selection based on his slot ability alone.