Washington Redskins 2017 Draft Profiles: Kevin King, CB

Kevin King, CB
School: Washington | Conference: PAC-12
College Experience: Senior | Age: 22?
Height / Weight: 6-3 / 200 lbs
Projected Draft Status: 2nd or 3rd Round
NFL Comparison: Sean Smith

College Statistics

Player Overview

Sidney Jones and Budda Baker have gotten most of the attention this draft season as the Huskies best secondary prospects. Rightly so, both have obvious 1st round or borderline 1st round talent and have made a lot of plays. Washington’s other corner Kevin King is severely overlooked though and may be the most versatile of the three. King actually started his career at Washington as a FS. In 2015 when Marcus Peters was kicked off the team for behavioral issues King was moved to cornerback and has excelled there ever since. King has the prototypical size and length NFL teams covet in boundary corners. He has more than size, though. He has good zone cover skills and is decent in man as well. King made plays on the ball all season and racked up an impressive 13 passes defended on the year. He also has the athleticism to stick with a lot of receivers and contest 50/50 balls and tough breakups. He backed up his athleticism at the combine posting a very impressive 40 time and looking good in positional drills. Teams who may not specifically be looking for corner help early in the draft may still take a look at King. That’s because King has the skillset and athleticism to translate back to FS if an NFL team wanted him to.

Strengths

• Coveted size at the cornerback position and good size to play FS too. Has the length to contest catches and break up passes.
• Fluid in coverage and shows good change of direct skills and ability to close.
• Versatile at corner as well, he played sometimes nickel when teams ran 3-4 WRs sets.
• Can read the QBs eyes, uses his instincts, and can drive to get into position.
• Willing and able tackler plus ball skills.

Weaknesses

• Much better in zone coverage than in press coverage. Extends his arm but is unable to give the WR a good jam at the LOS.
• Inconsistency in play speed. Occasionally seems hesitant. On vertical throws can sometimes get exposed by the receiver over the top. Inexplicable with 4.4 speed.
• To the above point needs to work on ball technique and keep eyes on the ball and not the receiver when it's in the air. Posted great combine numbers but where is the twitch consistently on tape?

Let’s see his work:

How He Would Fit On The Redskins

Kevin King would be a presence on the field as a boundary corner or as a FS. His blend of size, length, athleticism, and versatility increase his value dramatically. Though he has his consistency issues to iron out he may present good value to the Redskins as early as the 2nd round depending on how the team views his current position or potential transition to a new one. King has the potential to excel in the Redskins zone cover scheme but do to his somewhat slow twitch might be a better at FS for the Redskins. There King could use his length and athleticism to provide great range for the back half of the field. He’s at his best when he has eyes on the QB and can anticipate where the ball is going allowing him to provide support, breakup passes, or make a pick.