Josiah Scott Overview
Name: Josiah Scott
Position: Cornerback
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 185 pounds
School: Michigan State University
NFL Combine Performance Data
40 Yard Dash: 4.42 seconds
Bench Press: 17 reps
Josiah Scott 2020 NFL Draft Profile
As the world continues to countdown the days until the NFL Draft begins, we here at Last Word On Pro F0otball continue to release draft profiles for many of the top prospects participating in this year’s festivities. In today’s installment in the series, we are featuring Michigan State cornerback Josiah Scott.
After coming out of high school ranked as a three-star recruit, Scott turned down schools like West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Purdue to sign with Michigan State, where he would become one of the most decorated football players in the university’s history. In three years at MSU, Scott finished with 98 tackles, 32 passes defended, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery in 30 games played. Unfortunately, Scott missed eight games in 2018 due to an injury, which hurt his final stats.
Despite his injury, Scott still went on to win the Redbox Bowl Defensive MVP that same year. In addition to that award, Scott has collected many different awards during his time at MSU, with some of the most notable being his Second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2019, Third-team All-Big Ten selection in 2019 by PFF, and his Big Ten Network All-Freshman team selection in 2017. With Scott’s impressive list of achievements already presented to our readers, let’s take a look at some of the more technical sides of Josiah’s game
Strengths
- Possesses impressive ball skills and tight coverage ability;
- Can play in a variety of coverage schemes, making him an easy plug-and-play type of guy for defensive coordinators;
- Is a willing tackler despite his build;
- Can flip his hips and turn in a nice, smooth motion;
- Not necessarily a speedster, but can still go stride-for-stride with many quick receivers.
Weaknesses
- Scouts and analysts alike have continued to question whether or not Scott has the strength to compete at the next level;
- Concerning injury history;
- Small in stature; may have trouble lining up with taller, more physical receivers;
- Smaller wingspan may make it hard for him to make a play on the ball against bigger receivers;
- His durability has come into question since his string of injuries occurred.
NFL Comparison: Brent Grimes
Teams with Need at Position: Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers
Projection: Early 4th – Late 5th
Bottom Line on Josiah Scott
In the end, whichever team that lands Josiah Scott will be getting one of the most skilled cornerbacks available in the draft. With great speed, nifty ball skills, and a high football IQ, Scott could very well become a solid corner in the NFL. While he may not be the ideal “day 1” starter on an NFL team, he still can handle a quality backup/rotational role. Any team looking to improve their squad’s depth at the cornerback position should definitely keep an eye on Josiah Scott during the 2020 NFL Draft.
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
