Eli Ricks 2023 NFL Draft profile: Scouting report for the Alabama CB

Allstate Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Kansas State

The No. 2 cornerback recruit for LSU in 2020, Eli Ricks was the best true freshman corner in the country. He only allowed 13 catches on 28 targets for 237 yards, breaking up five passes and intercepting another four, of which he took half back to the house.

In 2021, he only had ones for both those statistics, as the Tigers struggled before he transferred to archrivals Alabama. Head and back injuries limited him to only nine games with the Crimson Tide, breaking up four passes along the way.

Eli Ricks, Alabama

6-foot-2, 195 pounds; junior

Positives

+ Long, loose athlete who plays the position with a ton of confidence

+ Was routinely put on the single receiver side and left in man/match-coverage with a lot of space to work

+ Has the light feet, hands-on approach and length to negate slant routes. The same is true when not allowing quick separation against crossers, while being able to elude traffic on natural rubs off mesh concepts

+ Can change up his approach in press-coverage, and when he doesn’t feel like guys are real vertical threats, he may sell out for aggressive two-handed jams

+ Shows the easy flip of the hips, quick acceleration off the line and long speed to carry routes down the sideline

+ Glides through breaks towards the post or corner without losing speed typically

+ He can also stop his weight pretty well and redirect against curl and deep in-breaking routes for how lanky he is

+ Even when he’s playing off and receivers try to release outside, he can use those long arms to target the near-shoulder and guide them into the sideline, minimizing the space for the ball to arrive towards

+ Displays that sudden burst to not allow late separation on secondary routes or close the gap to guys drifting towards open grass

+ Makes sure he stays capped over the top of routes in deep zone responsibility

+ Playing cover-three, he does a good job of falling underneath deep crossers and corner routes as he becomes the hang-defender

+ In split-safety coverage, where he plays with his butt to the sideline, he’s quick to key on the quarterback getting the ball out to the flats even as the other receivers push vertically

+ Was used as a nickel a few times in 2020, where he showed the ability to decipher patterns and drive on routes breaking inside of him

+ Defending go balls, Ricks actively turns his head from inside position and high-points the ball. He had an impressive interception on a go route in the 2020 Mississippi State game like that as a true freshman

+ Plays the back-shoulder exceptionally well, not overrunning the point of arrival and maximizing his length to reach around

+ While the sample size is certainly limited, Ricks’ 31.6% completion percentage allowed in 2022 was the best among all corners in the nation

+ Altogether, opposing passers have gone 17-for-36 for 213 yards, with one touchdown and one INT each across 428 coverage snaps these last two years

+ Reliable, willing tackler in space, who typically lassoes ballcarriers to the ground

+ Quick to come up into the flats when in zone coverage and hold those underneath completions to limited yardage

+ Doesn’t shy away from attacking downhill and actively shutting down runs out on the perimeter, at times diving at the legs of blockers trying to lead the way

Negatives

– His frame lacks muscle, and you see play-strength not being up to par trying to hold his ground against push-offs and not dislodging the ball from the intended target, as he arrives there to place a hit

– Can float around a little too much and get off him landmarks unjustified in zone coverage

– Allows motions to completely take him out of the picture at times, where he’s just blindly trailing across the field and doesn’t even look at the backfield (even if he may be in man-coverage)

– Wideouts get into his chest and control reps in the run game more often than not, despite his long arms (PFF run defense grade of just 50.4)

– Only played 735 snaps the last two seasons due to shoulder (2021) and back (2022) injuries

The fact that Ricks seems to be outside the top 10 cornerbacks of pretty much any board you look at is shocking. He was looked at as a consensus top two name at the position heading into this season, and when you look at the numbers in coverage, he may have actually had his best year.

He needs to get stronger to battle the physical wideouts the NFL has to offer and to start to help out in run support more. However, I believe the only reason Ricks isn’t being discussed as a first-rounder is his injury history. That’s also why I don’t have him even higher, because that is certainly a concern. But I also can’t ignore the results on the field and overall talent. You just don’t let guys this long and loose fall too far.

Grade: Second round

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