RJ Mickens has been a consistently strong presence in the Clemson secondary for three years, but how does his full NFL scouting report look?
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Overview, Film Analysis, And 2025 Scouting Report Of Clemson DB RJ Mickens
Measurables:
5’11”
221 lbs
Player Background:
A class of 2020 graduate, RJ Mickens spent his HS career at Southlake Carroll in Texas. He committed to Clemson as a four-star recruit, top-15 safety prospect, and top-200 player in the nation. He saw limited action in 10 games his freshman year, only recording one tackle on 36 total snaps. His sophomore season saw him start two games and play in 13. He accumulated 37 total tackles with 0.5 for loss, two pass breakups, and two interceptions.
Mickens started six of his 13 games in 2022, making 55 tackles and three interceptions with two pass breakups. He started nine games in 2023, appearing in 11 total contests. His finished the season with 50 tackles, four tackles-for-loss, and four passes defended. 2024 was his final season with Clemson, starting every one of his 13 games. He set multiple career highs with 85 tackles, six TFLs, seven PBUs, and two interceptions.
Accolades:
Third Team All-ACC (2021)
Third Team All-ACC (2022)
Fourth Team All-ACC (2024)
Strengths/Pros:
Mickens is a disciplined multi-zone worker against play action, making good choices in drifting toward assignments and keeping himself in an area to make plays. He has solid backfield vision and flies to the line of scrimmage to stop boundary-aimed rushes. He knows how to stay fluid laterally in intermediate zones. It lets him keep himself attached to assignments and pass them off to expand his impact area. He turns his head well mid-play while staying aligned toward the LOS to work within traffic.
His change-of-direction skills are fantastic, giving him a natural foundation in man coverage. He navigates traffic well when being downhill-aggressive and maintains his momentum through smaller adjustments. Mickens sinks low into his hips to hold his ground in traffic against the run, sitting into his base, and uses his size to be a wall. His hips stay fluid through constant transitions, and he moves smoothly with a consistent pad level to stay in sync. He has a good initial identification of peripheral routes, allowing him to stay fluid in zone coverage while accounting for his surroundings.
Weaknesses/Cons:
He often gets stuck between being too passive and too aggressive, especially in open space. He has lapses where he gets too aggressive toward one choice against option plays. He lets his early drifting go too far sometimes, subconsciously working himself out of running lanes. Mickens needs to be more aggressive when attacking blocks against the run, letting himself be too passive and get taken advantage of.
He doesn’t scan the field much after choosing his way; if he’s wrong, it takes him too long to rotate out. Mickens’ upper half and hips drift too far back in his backpedal at times, and he can get put off balance when forced to plant and drive. He takes too long to extend toward ball carriers in close quarters, forcing his tackle attempts to be strictly with his arms. His speed isn’t elite, and he can get beat by faster wideouts, and he gets too grabby when he loses initial leverage. He tries to be too cute when attacking ball carriers’ ankles, missing entirely too much.
Potential Team Fits:
NFL Projection:
Mickens will need to find a true home in a defense to be able to reach his potential, but both his floor and ceiling are more than enough to warrant a Day 2 selection. His prowess when crashing downhill and change-of-direction skills project him well as a future starter. He’s good enough in coverage and against the run to be immediately slotted into a large role. He might run into early struggles, but some refinements in his tackling technique and man coverage skills could make him a true impact player in the secondary.
Prospect Grade:
Mid 3rd Round
Film Exposures:
2024 vs. South Carolina
2024 vs. Texas
2024 vs. Stanford
Main Photo: Ken Ruinard – Imagn Images