Overview
Position: Cornerback
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 183 pounds
School: TCU Horned Frogs
Jeff Gladney 2020 NFL Draft Profile
Anyone who follows the sport of football knows the importance of having a talented secondary. The 2020 NFL draft boasts an extremely deep and talented class of cornerbacks. While he currently isn’t at the head of this class, there are very few prospects out there better than TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney. In his college career, he has shown the potential to one day evolve into a lockdown corner in the NFL. His numbers speak for himself as he tallied a grand total of 146 tackles, 38 passes defended, and five interceptions in his four-year college career. Gladney was also named to the First team all-Big 12 for his efforts in his 2019 Senior season.
As a three-star recruit out of high school, Gladney was not one of the top prospects in the nation. Regardless, he still managed to garner plenty of interest from division one schools including North Texas, Rice, and UTSA. Gladney ultimately decided that TCU would be the best fit for him as he accepted their offer and signed with them. In his time at TCU, Gladney was a four-year starter but had his fair share of struggles in his first two seasons. In his junior season, however, Gladney made tremendous strides as a cover corner and eventually became a match-up nightmare for his opponents taking his play to a whole new level. After his senior season, Gladney officially declared for the 2020 NFL Draft.
Strengths
- At 6’0” he possesses prototypical height to cover various receivers around the NFL;
- Top-notch speed helps him match even the fastest of wide receivers;
- Absolute technician in man coverage;
- His fluid hip movement helps him mirror his opponents in coverage;
- Great defensive instincts help him jump passes and disrupt plays;
- Very physical athlete who plays to rip the ball out of the receiver’s hands;
- Willing tackler with perfect form;
- A tremendous asset in defending the run with his aggressive tackling ability;
- Constantly plays through the snap and gives 100% effort to break up passes;
- Faced a high level of competition throughout the season;
- His style of play should translate well at the next level
Weaknesses
- Fails to capitalize on offensive errors with multiple dropped interceptions;
- Penalties may become an issue at the next level as he tends to get grabby in coverage;
- Struggles in some zone coverages to reroute himself, especially in cover 3;
- Very physical, but is lighter than the majority of lockdown defenders in the NFL
NFL Comparison: Aqib Talib
Teams With Need at Position: Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins
Projection: Late first
Bottom Line
Jeff Gladney has all the necessary tools to be a productive cornerback at the NFL level. His size, speed, technique, and physicality will intrigue many different teams picking in the 15-30 range in this year’s draft. Teams that run more of a zone-based defense may want to steer clear of Gladney as that is not an area where he excels. Any team looking to bolster their secondary with a physical man to man corner needs to give Gladney a strong look. All in all, Gladney is a low risk, high reward player who will be highly coveted by many teams picking towards the end of the first round in this year’s NFL Draft.
Main photo:
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