With the NFL Combine in the rearview mirror, we at Pewter Report have you covered on which prospects the Bucs have spoken to. Over the next two weeks, I am going to provide you, the reader, with brief scouting reports on the players the team had formal visits with. You can check out our first article on the wide receivers here. We are now on to cornerbacks.
Shavon Revel – ECU
East Carolina Cb Shavon Revel Jr.
East Carolina CB Shavon Revel Jr. – Photo courtesy of ECU
Height – 6’2
Weight – 194
Arm Length – 32.625″
40 – N/A
Broad – N/A
3-cone – N/A
Short shuttle – N/A
Very few corners in this draft class can match the physical traits of Revel. His speed, explosiveness and movement skills are Zyon McCollum-esque. And he may be just as raw of a prospect. Revel played in just three games last year before an ACL tear ended his season prematurely. He had just 15 career starts at ECU over the last three seasons, and he will be 23 when the 2025 season begins.
But man, the high-end reps show a big, physical corner who can play man coverage against any of the high-end receivers in the NFL. Revel’s closing speed and second reaction reps are scary good. There are very few players who he cannot outrun when needed. But Revel’s play recognition and understanding of route developments as they relate to his zone coverage assignments can leave him chasing. He also had a relatively low level of competition to go along with his lack of experience.
Revel’s missed tackle rate is incredibly low and surely will be attractive to the Bucs. And those tackles come with a pretty big pop for his position. He also brings strength and power to his engagement at the line of scrimmage with his jams. He enjoys re-routing receivers to the sideline and ride them out of bounds and out of the progression.
While he still has a lot to learn in zone coverage, he will still enter the league as a player who will attack and pinch routes at the stem, forcing receivers to play strong through the catch point. But it will also leave him susceptible for routes developing behind him as well as double moves. And while his volume of ball production may seem low compared to his peers, he is the only player on this list with a ball production rate north of 3%.
East Carolina’s Shavon Revel Jr. has really impressive reaction skills + ability to find the ball in phase to go with his length and athleticism.
Revel had 14 forced incompletions in 15 games the last two seasons. pic.twitter.com/6C9ACUT81k
— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) March 4, 2025
Revel is currently seen as a late first-round or early second-round pick.
Career Stats (via PFF) – 55 tck, 12 atck, 5.6% MTR, 21 stops, 0 FF, 43.1% catch rate allowed, 1.05 yds/cov rep, 3 INT, 12 PBU, 14 FI
Benjamin Morrison – Notre Dame
Notre Dame Cb Benjamin Morrison
Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morris – Photo by: USA Today
Height – 6’0
Weight – 193
Arm Length – 30.375″
40 – N/A
Vert – N/A
Broad – N/A
3-cone – N/A
Short shuttle – N/A
Morrison is a tall corner with smooth drops into deep zones. His coverage grades in man and zone have been nearly identical for the majority of his career at Notre Dame, but I worry about how his stiffer hips will hold up in the NFL. And this was before Morrison went under the knife for a hip injury last year.
Beyond that, he is a smart player who quickly recognizes concepts. This gives Morrison a quick mental trigger to proactively pinch on routes and tighten throwing windows. He also has a knack to abandon his own assignment to make a play elsewhere on the field. And he rarely guesses wrong. This has helped him rack up 12 interceptions and 23 forced incompletions in just 2.5 seasons. That surely stands out to the Bucs, who are looking for better ball production than they have generated in the past few seasons.
Because of his rehab we do not have testing for Morrison. But I don’t expect him to match the impressive numbers of McCollum or Jamel Dean. I would classify him more as a Carlton Davis III type-of athlete but with much shorter arms. His sub 31″ arms would be shorter than almost every perimeter corner the Bucs have employed since Todd Bowles joined the team in 2019. That may also be part of the reason why he struggles to consistently bring down ball carriers as a tackler. He is not a strong hitter and fails to wrap up too often.
But Morrison may be the smartest corner in this year’s draft. And he would be a scheme fit for the Bucs’ cover-3 heavy system. Add in the ball production and you can see why the team has shown a cursory level of interest.
Benjamin Morrison has really great instincts. I get the concern following 2024 but he could be a steal. pic.twitter.com/Da1nQprVjL
— Ryland Bickley (@_Ryland_B) March 5, 2025
Morrison is currently seen as a second-round option on most consensus boards.
Career Stats – 78 tck, 10 atck, 16.2% MTR, 26 stops, 0 FF, 45.7% catch rate allowed, 0.80 yds/cov rep, 12 INT, 9 PBU, 23 FI
Maxwell Hairston – Kentucky
Kentucky Cb Maxwell Hairston
Kentucky CB Maxwell Hairston Photo by: USA Today
Height – 5’11
Weight – 183
Arm Length – 31″
40 – 4.28
Vert – 39.5″
Broad – 10’9
3-cone – N/A
Short shuttle -N/A
Hairston is one of several corners in this draft who check in at under 6 feet but play much bigger and more physical than their statures suggest. You can see it in how he competes at the catch point and throws his all into each tackle attempt. He rarely gets bullied at the top of the stem. In fact, it’s often the opposite as he is willing to get physical and disrupt transitions.
His movements are explosive and compact, which means he has awesome hip sink to react and drive down on curls and comebacks quickly. His 4.28 speed is legit and shows up on film. He kept up with Texas’ speedy receiving corps due to his quick foot speed and willingness to open his pace wide.
He can open too wide on horizontal stems giving space and opportunity for well-timed throws and nuanced route runners to take advantage. This is also why he is best in a zone system, where he can keep things in front of him and drive down rather than across in phase. Hairston can rely too much on his closing speed to fight against this and needs to tighten up his hip-transitions. He will also need to clear medicals as he missed a decent chunk of time with a shoulder injury last year.
Maxwell Hairston is a twitched up PLAYMAKER.
In 20 starts, Hairston has allowed a 72.7 passer rating with 6 INTs and 8 PBUs.
At 5’11 179lbs, Hairston is an asset coming downhill vs. the run/RPO game, missing only 8% of tackles in 2023 as an outside CB.
Day 2 talent, for now. pic.twitter.com/UiQtrxDsqH
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) January 28, 2025
Hairston is currently close to Morrison on consensus boards as an early second-round option.
Career Stats – 78 tck, 6 atck, 12.5% MTR, 23 stops, 3 FF, 63.7% catch rate allowed, 1.26 yds/cov rep, 6 INT, 8 PBU, 11 FI
Cobee Bryant – Kansas
Kansas Cb Cobee Bryant And Unlv Wr Ricky White
Kansas CB Cobee Bryant and UNLV WR Ricky White – Photo by: USA Today
Height – 6’0
Weight – 180
Arm Length – 31.25″
40 – 4.53
Vert – N/A
Broad – N/A
3-cone – N/A
Short shuttle – N/A
Bryant is another standout run-defending corner in a class that has few. His slender frame does not match the physicality with which he plays. He’s an opportunistic playmaking zone corner who keeps his eyes in the backfield and smartly takes calculated chances. Despite a lack of top end speed, he can close/burst in shorter areas that make him ideal for a zone heavy scheme where he can capitalize on his strengths by breaking on the ball in the air.
Bryant is fearless on the field, throwing his all into every decision he makes. It is that confidence that really helps him stand out on tape. Smooth hips and a willingness to use his hands to stay attached to receivers through the stem of the route. This is an essential skill to play at the next level. But equally as important is knowing how to stay attached without drawing flags, and Bryant toes the line pretty well.
He has smoother hips than I think he is given credit for and uses leverage well. But he will struggle in press and man coverage due to his leaner frame and slower long speed. A Cover 2/3 – quarters heavy system will help to minimize his weaknesses and maximize his strengths. I also think his aggressiveness, agility and tenacity could give him inside/outside versatility to play the slot if need be. But it is fair to wonder if his strengths as a run defender won’t fully translate to the next level given his light weight.
I know he’s 170 lbs but Cobee Bryant is one of my favorite players in this class. 11 INTs/16 PBUs/3 FF over the last 3 seasons and the most physical CB in run support that I’ve watched pic.twitter.com/nWVzBC1vg0
— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) January 21, 2025
Bryant is seen as a late day-two/early day-three pick according to consensus boards at this time.
Career Stats – 125 tck, 19 atck, 14.3% MTR, 48 stops, 4 FF, 57.9% catch rate allowed, 1.12 yds/cov rep, 13 INT, 18 PBU, 24 FI
Jaylin Smith – USC
Usc Cb Jaylin Smith
USC CB Jaylin Smith Photo by: USA Today
Height – 5’10.5
Weight – 187
Arm Length – 29.875″
40 – 4.45
Vert – 32.5″
Broad – 10’02
3-cone – N/A
Short shuttle – N/A
Smith was a fun watch. He has great foot speed, which helps him hit over 20 MPH in real game settings. Even if his testing isn’t fantastic, the tape is strong as a versatile defensive back who can move all around the defense. The most impressive part of his game is his twitchiness that allows him to stay attached to receivers as a better man corner than as a zone dropper.
Smith, like Bryant, is a willing run defender with the best career stop rate, 6.31%, of any corner I have evaluated to this point. This is partly because he has spent the majority of his career inside playing the slot. He only got extended action on the perimeter this past season. At the NFL level, I think he’s best as a nickel where his run defense will be best utilized. He has better press reps than other corners on this list due to flexible joints that allow him to mirror and match quick adjustments.
Now while he is a willing run defender, his tackling isn’t consistently strong. In general, he lacks play strength at the catch point and as a hitter due to a lack of size and mass. His footwork can get choppy and leads to slower transitions across multiple planes. And when driving down on routes breaking in front of him, Smith doesn’t sink into his hips to explode back to the line of scrimmage. You can see this in his deceleration/acceleration numbers from his tracking data. That has contributed to his low ball production as well.
USC CB Jaylin Smith has some awesome press man reps pic.twitter.com/Mlkhu2pXaE
— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) December 19, 2024
Smith is currently projected to be a day-three pick.
Career Stats – 147 tck, 33 atck, 11.3% MTR, 50 stops, 1 FF, 53.6% catch rate allowed, 0.76 yds/cov rep, 3 INT, 4 PBU, 7 FI
Tommi Hill – Nebraska
Nebraska Cb Tommi Hill
Nebraska CB Tommi Hill Photo by: USA Today
Height – 6’0.5
Weight – 213
Arm Length – 32.875″
40 – N/A
Vert – N/A
Broad – N/A
3-cone – N/A
Short shuttle – N/A
Hill is one of the thickest corners in this draft at 213 pounds. His build would make him a strong candidate to move to safety. And that’s where I think he might be best as a fit. His athleticism and route recognition would play up in that role and he would provide versatility that the Bucs might find alluring. It would also minimize one of my bigger concerns for him which is recovery speed.
Hill’s best trait are his eyes, as he keeps them moving constantly between the quarterback and the routes developing around him. This leads him to making plays in an instinctual manner, as evidenced by his 3.29% ball production rate in 2023 when he was fully healthy.
He gets high marks for his run defense from Pro Football Focus, but I have my concerns in his form and willingness to stick his head in and really blow up a play. And while others like his hip fluidity, I feel like they are a bit stiffer than most and that’s why he opens up and declares early which can lead to receivers getting behind him.
Oh no, Shedeur. Late/bad decision = pick 6.
CB Tommi Hill is Nebraska’s top NFL guy. Day 2 grade. pic.twitter.com/5cn0neGlmt
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) September 8, 2024
Hill is currently seen as a day-three pick by consensus boards.
Career Stats – 61 tck, 13 atck, 10.8% MTR, 26 stops, 0 FF, 61.1% catch rate allowed, 1.00 yds/cov rep, 5 INT, 10 PBU, 10 FI
My current draft board features these corners in the following tiers:
Tier 2 – Shavon Revel
Tier 4 – Cobee Bryant
Tier 6 – Maxwell Hairston, Benjamin Morrison
Tier 7 – Jaylin Smith, Tommi Hill