Overview
Position: Cornerback
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 185 pounds
School: Western Michigan Broncos
Sam Beal NFL Supplemental Draft Profile
Sam Beal has applied to enter the 2018 NFL supplemental draft after not earning enough credits to be academically eligible for the 2018 season. Beal has the chance to be the highest pick player in the draft since 2012 when the Browns selected wide receiver Josh Gordon in the second round. If selected, he would be the first player since Isaiah Battle in 2015 to be drafted.
For those of you who don’t know, the supplemental draft is for players who become ineligible for the college football season after the NFL’s deadline for the regular draft. The draft then goes player by player as teams place bids for who they want. These bids come in the form of the next year’s draft picks. So, for instance, if a team put a third-round bid on a player in the supplemental draft and won that bid then they would give up the next year’s third-round pick.
Beal was a top corner prospect for the 2019 NFL Draft and had potential to be an early round pick.
Strengths
- plus size corner with good athletic ability;
- has good hip mobility;
- has the speed and flexibility to match with receivers;
- can recover from false or wrong steps with his speed and athleticism;
- has good athleticism.
Weaknesses
- slow to read and react to plays;
- needs to improve on physicality; doesn’t attack ball carrier head on and will shy away from making tackles at times;
- gives up too many plays because of failed or blown zone coverage responsibilities;
- has a poor change of direction speed;
- fails to shed blocks often which leads to him getting blocked out of plays;
- struggles to mirror wide receiver’s footwork.
Teams with Need at Position: Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals
Projection: Anywhere from a second to a fourth-round pick
Bottom Line
Overall, Beal is a corner who excels in man coverage and has the long speed to run with receivers downfield but lacks the high I.Q. to quickly diagnose plays fast and react to them. He struggles versus good route runners and has a poor change of direction speed but can recover most of the time due to his pure athleticism and speed. He struggles to mirror wide receivers’ footwork throughout a route stem and will often take false steps when the receiver breaks out of his route. Ideally, he needs to get more physical throughout and attack ball carriers head on more often.
Beal has a real shot at being the highest player ever picked in the supplemental draft and there’s good reasoning behind it. Don’t be surprised if he is taken with a second-round pick. If eligible for the supplemental draft, then he will defiantly be drafted.
