Damon Arnette 2020 NFL Draft Profile

Damon Arnette 2020 NFL Draft Profile

As a senior for Florida’s Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Arnette helped lead his team to a state championship. The three-star prospect received numerous offers from teams such as Michigan, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Florida State before committing to play for the Buckeyes.

Arnette was a four-year starter for Ohio State and received instant playing time as a true freshman in 2016, appearing in 13 games and totaling 21 tackles along with an interception. Arnette quickly became a key contributor to a dominant Buckeyes program as he finished his collegiate career with 53 games played, 140 total tackles, and five interceptions.

Strengths

Developed within an Ohio State system which has produced several top-end defensive backs recently;

Has enough size and arm length to match up with bigger receivers;

Secure along with willing tackler when defending the run and making open field tackles;

Great ball skills and gets his head turned quickly to find the football;

Physical corner in coverage and has a scrappy edge to his game;

Overall smooth technique in man, zone, and press coverage;

Versatile player with four years of college football experience.

Weaknesses

Can let his emotions get the best of him at times;

Does a lot of things well but nothing jumps out as great;

His physicality in coverage can lead to penalties;

Needs to improve his awareness when diagnosing and playing the run;

Inconsistent play as an underclassman, but his past season showed vast improvement.

NFL Comparison: Kyle Fuller

Projection: Mid second to early third round

Bottom Line on Damon Arnette

While Arnette does not possess any outstanding qualities on film, he does a lot of things very well and does not have any glaring holes in his game. Furthermore, despite Arnette’s athleticism not being off the charts, he certainly has NFL level speed, acceleration, and body control. Additionally, Arnette is an extremely versatile player as he frequently excelled in man, zone, and press coverage for the Buckeyes last season.

One aspect of Arnette’s game which NFL teams will love is his physicality in coverage along with his willingness to contribute in run support. While Arnette could use more discipline in coverage at times, his length along with physicality will enable him to match up well with bigger receiving targets.

Given Arnette’s versatile skill set and athleticism, his usage at the next level will largely depend on the team’s defensive scheme, but he should be able to fit in regardless. Arnette is not on the same level as recent Ohio State defensive backs such as Jeff Okudah, Denzel Ward, Marshon Lattimore, and Malik Hooker, but he projects as a valuable NFL caliber starting corner.

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