Geno Stone 2020 NFL Draft Profile

After three years at Iowa, 5’-10” safety Geno Stone is taking his talents to the NFL level. Stone remained a key part of Iowa’s defense in 2019, playing in 838 defensive snaps. While on the field, Stone recorded 60 tackles, 11 assists, and 13 missed tackles – good enough for an 83.4 overall grade by Pro Football Focus.

Stone initially entered the collegiate football landscape as a three-star recruit of out Pennsylvania. A First-Team All-State member during his senior year, Geno Stone played sparingly as a true freshman. Seeing the field for 67 snaps, Stone ended his first season with five tackles and three assists. He earned a larger role in 2018, playing in 580 snaps while recording 36 tackles, nine assists, and six missed tackles.

Strengths

Instinctual player that usually knows where the ball is going;

Classic ballhawk in zone coverage that excels at diagnosing route combinations;

Ability to play receiver while looking back at quarterback allows him to break up more passes;

Football IQ is off the charts for a college player;

Ideal range to play center field in Cover 1.

Weaknesses

Did not test well at the NFL Combine, although tape suggests his poor 40 time was a fluke;

Small arms, height, and strength lead to tackling questions at the next level;

Considerably better in the pass game than the run game;

Lack of size sometime means he won’t make plays, even if he’s in the right position;

Rarely played man coverage and is almost exclusively a zone player.

NFL Comparison: Duron Harmon

Projection: Round 3

Bottom Line on Geno Stone

Geno Stone is a good safety without superstar upside. The Iowa product is a fantastic player against the pass, and it all is thanks to his impressive football IQ. The former three-star recruit excels at reading the quarterback and diagnosing plays while in zone. He knows exactly where the ball is going and keeps his eyes on the quarterback, allowing him to make more plays on the ball.

Unfortunately, Stone comes with quite a few holes in his game. He’s not an active liability in the run game, but he’s definitely more comfortable playing off the line of scrimmage. Additionally, he had one of the worst combine performances of anyone in the class. While his 40 time doesn’t match up with the film, nobody can deny his underwhelming overall build. On top of that, he hardly ever played in man coverage, so nobody knows whether or not he can do that at an NFL level. Ultimately, Stone is probably going to spend his career as the third safety on the depth chart and the first off the bench in nickel packages.

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Geno Stone 2020 NFL Draft Profile