Safety Xavier McKinney is projected to be a first-round draft pick or at worst case an early second-round pick. Coming out of high school McKinney was a four-star recruit in the class of 2017. McKinney was the sixth-ranked safety and eighth-ranked player out of the state of Georgia.
College Career: As a freshman with the Alabama Crimson Tide, McKinney wasn’t used a whole lot and only had eight tackles. As a sophomore, McKinney really took off winning the starting safety job.
During that season he was named the MVP of the Orange Bowl and helped the team make it to the National Championship game.
During his junior year, McKinney started all 13 games and was named first-team All-Sec. He finished the season with four forced fumbles and three passes intercepted.
Pros: The best thing about McKinney is he is versatile. McKinney can play can man,, deep zone, and also up on the line of scrimmage. McKinney is a standout at all three positions and should be able to do them all at the next level. He is a good tackler and does a good job of breaking on the ball when it’s up in the air.
He is good in man coverage and will make a play on the football. He is good with his angles when he is going after a wide receiver, and knows when to take chances and be conservative.
Cons: For the most part he is a good tackler, but sometimes in space against big wide receivers he can struggle. If he is playing the deep safety role, he isn’t as strong against the run, and that is something that will need to be worked on.
Projected Teams: The Cowboys need some secondary help, and McKinney would make a lot of sense with their first-round draft pick. McKinney is a guy who can come in and play right away, and there is no reason he couldn’t be one of the better players on their defense in a year or two.
The Vikings is another team that needs secondary help and depending on what they do with Anthony Harris. McKinney would make sense.
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AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
Mitch's Take...
