Kyu Blu Kelly 2023 NFL Draft profile: Scouting report for the Stanford CB

Arizona v Stanford

Kyu Blu Kelly, Stanford

Kyu Blu Kelly: 6’0”, 190 pounds; SR

One of the top-1000 overall recruits in 2019, Kyu Blu Kelly immediately got onto the field for Stanford’s defense as a true freshman. He and became a fixture in the starting lineup after the first three weeks, logging a grand total of 35 starts. In his career, he racked up 23 pass break-ups and three interceptions, with one of those taken back to the house, earning back-to-back second-team All-Pac-12 nominations to end his time with the Cardinal.

Positives:

+ In press-alignment, Kyu Blu Kelly can widen the release of the outside receiver with one-handed stabs, using those 32 and ½-inch arms, and then has enough speed to stick with them down the sideline

+ Fans see him run right in the hip-pocket of outside threats 40+ yards down the field consistently

+ Really patters those feet and bounces along in order to stay in front of receivers hesitating on their release

+ How disciplined Kyu Blu Kelly is to just stay square through multiple step-sequences and not take the cheese is outstanding

+ Excellent hand-placement to stay attached to his man despite dipping his shoulder away from contact and feeling the route

+ Shows the twitch off the line and is regularly able to play sticky coverages against receivers working across the field

+ Has a knack for peaking at the quarterback and feeling the receiver throttle down/get into his breaks in off-coverage

+ You see a bunch of reps where his eyes start inside, in order to recognize the quick game and the transition to the hips of the guy running at him

+ Kyu Blu Kelly’s spatial awareness and ability to mid-point routes when he’s supposed to be a high-low stretch really stands out

+ Plays with active eyes and feet sitting between targets, while showing easy transitions to crowd catching windows

+ Even when Stanford was in quarters and he needed to open the hips against wider stems, you could tell he had a beat on curl routes coming and him driving on them, to deny easy completions

+ Displays the peripheral vision to ID crossers coming towards his area and can lay the wood on those guys

+ Picks up targets off cross-releases without getting himself out of position and maintaining outside leverage

+ Going up against USC standout Jordan Addison last season, Kyu Blu Kelly gave up a 75-yard touchdown on a perfectly thrown post route, where the receiver didn’t even have a full step on him. Otherwise, the only way those guys got the WR involved was on screens and rub-plays, while Kelly perfectly carried him vertically on multiple occasions

+ Other than that, Kyu Blu Kelly held opposing quarterbacks to 21-of-41 for 298 yards and one other TD for the season

+ You can tell his father was an 11-year pro and that he was a four-year starter with no mental hiccups to speak of

+ Regularly becomes the one to initiate contact and is then working to disengage from blocks

+ Against condensed formations and when his man cracks back on the safety, Kyu Blu Kelly shows no hesitancy in filling the C-gap in the run game

+ Attacks downhill and doesn’t shy away from going straight through the chest of receivers in his path against quick screens

Negatives:

– Ran a disappointing 4.52 at the combine. While he did have a bunch of reps where he was right there with guys running down the sideline, when guys were able to get off clean and gain a step on him, Kyu Blu Kelly wasn’t able to get back into phase – especially down the post

– Not really somebody who will actively try to find the ball in the air and make plays on it – didn’t pick off any passes since week two of 2021 (over 600 coverage snaps since then)

– Too eager to jump inside of his blocker and bail on his contained responsibilities

– The way Kyu Blu Kelley comes downhill and initiates contact as a tackler is good, but then Kelly doesn’t always drives his feet through, but rather drapes himself onto guys

I was already familiar with Kyu Blu Kelly’s game heading into the past season. He showed up big-time down in Mobile against some of the top receivers in the country, getting his hands on a bunch of passes. However, when I put on the ’22, I was just blown away. There were so many textbook reps, where I went “that’s perfect” over and over again, playing man or zone. Now, as I dove deeper, I did start to see some of the things typically listed as negatives for him. For example, if he lost contact on routes and lacked the make-up burst to get himself back in position, as well as moments where I would have liked to see him try to find and play the ball in the air. Nevertheless, with his pedigree and technical prowess, I have no doubt that Kyu Blu Kelly will play in the league for a long time and will most likely find his way into the starting lineup early on already.

Grade: Late second / early third round

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