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<blockquote data-quote="Thirteen Below" data-source="post: 1061504" data-attributes="member: 18006"><p>I know I'm on record as going back and forth on Hairston (assuming anyone pays any attention to anything I say, lol) but now it's early Thursday morning and Thursdays are one of the days that I'm scheduled to love the guy.</p><p></p><p>I live in Kentucky, and have seen a lot of him, and I like him a lot as a college player. He's got all the tools (and most of the instincts) to do very well at the next level, but one thing he does not have and you can not coach is - body mass. He doesn't have a lot of that to spare.</p><p></p><p>On the plus side, he has terrific speed, and is an aggressive and confident press defender. He gets his hands all over his man right from "hut", and harasses him all the way downfield - something that Hafley values very highly, which may suggest that Green Bay has him higher on their christmas list than other teams might. And when is in zone coverage, he is very quick to read the flow of the play, and recognize his responsibilties. He rarely gets caught out of position.</p><p></p><p>IMO, he does have some weaknesses that are mental rather than physical, and can be coached up. He's a ballhawk, and while one of his innate strengths is that he has a high football IQ and is able to read a QB's intentions with just a glance - but by the same token, there are a lot of times when he spends too much time looking at the quarterback and not enough looking at the man he is covering.</p><p></p><p>But again, that can probably be coached out of him. Hafley is known to be a guru for DBs, and Hairston is a bright, motivated kid who wants to succeed.</p><p></p><p>Also, despite his fluid movement skills, defensive instincts, and exceptional athleticism (9.68 RAS), he often gets crossed up running with his man, and his footwork is awkward. He's not always a smooth defender when he's going stride for stride with a WR, and seems to get out of step with his man more than you would expect from a player with his skills - which probably makes it stand out more to me, but it seems to be one area where his instincts are lacking.</p><p></p><p>But... again... NFL-level coaching can often turn college-level players into NFL-level players.</p><p></p><p>But the biggest issue I have is his tackling. Overall, he's a willing and sometimes aggressive tackler, but he consistently seems to shy away from the truly big hits - especially when a running back breaks through the first level and becomes his responsibility.</p><p></p><p>And that's what I mean when I speak of his body mass - he has a very light frame, and while overall he is a good tackler, he noticeably shies away from shoulder tackles even at the college level. What's going to happen when he's the only man left in front of Saquon Barkley or Derek Henry, storming out of the backfield already in 3rd gear?</p><p></p><p>I was thrilled when Green Bay drafted Jaire Alexander, because I saw a lot of him here in Louisville back when we owned a rental property there and I had to be up there a lot. And i see a lot of similarities between Jaire and Hairston - football "IQ", the ability to recognize where the ball is going to go before it even leaves the QB's hand, and the speed and athleticism to react to that.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, one of those similarities is that they are frail and don't have the "build" to reliably defend the run at the NFL level without getting injured. I fear that if we draft Hairston as the heir apparent to Jaire, we're just replaicing Jaire I with Jaire II - a truly exceptional CB who can't handle the violent physicality of the NFL game and will be increasingly injury prone with each passing season.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Thirteen Below, post: 1061504, member: 18006"] I know I'm on record as going back and forth on Hairston (assuming anyone pays any attention to anything I say, lol) but now it's early Thursday morning and Thursdays are one of the days that I'm scheduled to love the guy. I live in Kentucky, and have seen a lot of him, and I like him a lot as a college player. He's got all the tools (and most of the instincts) to do very well at the next level, but one thing he does not have and you can not coach is - body mass. He doesn't have a lot of that to spare. On the plus side, he has terrific speed, and is an aggressive and confident press defender. He gets his hands all over his man right from "hut", and harasses him all the way downfield - something that Hafley values very highly, which may suggest that Green Bay has him higher on their christmas list than other teams might. And when is in zone coverage, he is very quick to read the flow of the play, and recognize his responsibilties. He rarely gets caught out of position. IMO, he does have some weaknesses that are mental rather than physical, and can be coached up. He's a ballhawk, and while one of his innate strengths is that he has a high football IQ and is able to read a QB's intentions with just a glance - but by the same token, there are a lot of times when he spends too much time looking at the quarterback and not enough looking at the man he is covering. But again, that can probably be coached out of him. Hafley is known to be a guru for DBs, and Hairston is a bright, motivated kid who wants to succeed. Also, despite his fluid movement skills, defensive instincts, and exceptional athleticism (9.68 RAS), he often gets crossed up running with his man, and his footwork is awkward. He's not always a smooth defender when he's going stride for stride with a WR, and seems to get out of step with his man more than you would expect from a player with his skills - which probably makes it stand out more to me, but it seems to be one area where his instincts are lacking. But... again... NFL-level coaching can often turn college-level players into NFL-level players. But the biggest issue I have is his tackling. Overall, he's a willing and sometimes aggressive tackler, but he consistently seems to shy away from the truly big hits - especially when a running back breaks through the first level and becomes his responsibility. And that's what I mean when I speak of his body mass - he has a very light frame, and while overall he is a good tackler, he noticeably shies away from shoulder tackles even at the college level. What's going to happen when he's the only man left in front of Saquon Barkley or Derek Henry, storming out of the backfield already in 3rd gear? I was thrilled when Green Bay drafted Jaire Alexander, because I saw a lot of him here in Louisville back when we owned a rental property there and I had to be up there a lot. And i see a lot of similarities between Jaire and Hairston - football "IQ", the ability to recognize where the ball is going to go before it even leaves the QB's hand, and the speed and athleticism to react to that. Unfortunately, one of those similarities is that they are frail and don't have the "build" to reliably defend the run at the NFL level without getting injured. I fear that if we draft Hairston as the heir apparent to Jaire, we're just replaicing Jaire I with Jaire II - a truly exceptional CB who can't handle the violent physicality of the NFL game and will be increasingly injury prone with each passing season. [/QUOTE]
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