Overview
Position: Safety
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 196 pounds
School: Miami Hurricanes
Combine Performance Data
40-yard dash: 4.44 seconds
Vertical jump: 39 inches (fourth-best among safeties)
Broad jump: 10 feet, 10 inches (third-best among safeties)
20-yard shuttle: 4.14 seconds
Sheldrick Redwine 2019 NFL Draft Profile
Rated a top-100 prospect in the state of Florida by 247Sports and Rivals, Sheldrick Redwine was highly recruited as part of the hotbed of talent that is Miami-area high school football. He received 13 Power Five scholarship offers including programs as geographically diverse as Oregon State, Indiana, West Virginia, and obviously Miami. He waited until signing day 2015 to make his decision which saw him stay close to home as he committed to the Canes.
Redwine contributed right off the bat in a reserve role and on special teams as a true freshman. His first career start came in Week Two of his sophomore year against Florida Atlantic, a game where he tallied a pass breakup. He made a further four starts that season and finished with 28 tackles, two broken up passes, and a forced fumble. In contrast to such limited playing time during his first two seasons with the program, Redwine’s role expanded greatly as an upperclassman.
It included successfully transitioning from cornerback to safety. As a junior, he started all 12 games he appeared in with injury forcing him to miss one. He finally became a factor in forcing turnovers and negative plays, tallying two interceptions in addition to 2.5 tackles for loss. During his senior season, his three picks were tied for the team lead while he also finished fourth in tackles (64). He added three sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss, receiving honorable mention all-ACC recognition at the end of the regular season.
Strengths
- exhibited versatility in playing all over the secondary in college;
- impressive read and react skills combined with closing quickness;
- a hard hitter who relishes physicality;
- hand-eye coordination enables him to high-point the ball;
- knows how to slap his hands onto receivers to jar the ball loose while tackling;
- solid wrap-up technique when tackling in the open field;
- tracks runners in front of him like a linebacker;
- has a sense of urgency with recovery speed if beaten downfield;
- looks the part of a playmaker in the backfield on safety blitzes;
- the potential is there to contribute immediately on special teams.
Weaknesses
- hip swivel and overall change of direction athleticism is a tad underwhelming;
- a bit slow to provide a security blanket down the sideline in single-high looks;
- needs some work with respect to covering skilled route runners;
- provides too much of a cushion in off-man coverage;
- relies too much on tackling ability after the catch rather than making a break on the ball;
- overextends when pursuing ball-carrier in the backfield.
NFL Comparison: Xavier Woods
Teams With Need at Position: Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants, Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins
Projection: Fourth to fifth round
Bottom Line
Redwine will be joining fellow Hurricane safety Jaquan Johnson as a 2019 NFL Draft selection. Both have the makings of potential starters at the position in the pros. In Redwine’s case, his tackling technique is superb and shows impressive straight-line burst. He does a great job tracking the ball both in run as well as pass situations and in reacting to the ball in the air, he almost plays like a wide receiver.
Among the concerns regarding Redwine are that speedy vertical receivers at the next level might be able to beat him over the top. His ability to flip his hips in reacting to receivers’ route transitions doesn’t jump out on tape. Though he showed playmaking ability both from the standpoint of interceptions and pass breakups, too often he lets the receiver make the catch, then bringing him down. And he has a tendency to overpursue when venturing into the backfield, giving runners an easy lane to the inside.
Look for Redwine to become an immediate contributor on punt and kick coverage at the very least. And what could enable him to break into a starting lineup at NFL level is that a lot of his deficiencies are correctable with coaching. The physicality of the pros won’t scare him, either. All in all, Redwine projects as an early day three selection who should hold his own in training camp come summer.
