2022 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Roger McCreary

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Roger McCreary, 5-11/189 Cornerback Auburn

Roger McCreary Scouting Report
By Charlie Campbell

Strengths:

Man-cover corner

Superb at not allowing separation

Great speed to run with fast receivers

Plays well in off-man coverage

Ability to run with receivers in their routes

Change-of-direction skills

Can play press-man coverage

Good size; put together well

Confident; has the man-corner mentality

Used to playing on an island

Loose hips; can turn and run

Has some length

Fast backpedal

Quick feet

Upside

Played well against elite competition

Scheme versatile

Special teams ability

Weaknesses:

Lacks ball skills

Doesn’t play the well when it comes his direction

Could stand to be more physical on 50-50 passes

Good, but not great, height

Doesn’t do much in run defense

Summary: McCreary was one of the most consistent and reliable cornerbacks in the SEC over the past three years. In 2019, he collected 36 tackles, an interception and 11 passes broken up. McCreary was excellent in 2020 as well, recording three interceptions, six passes defended, one forced fumble and 45 tackles. As a senior, McCreary had 49 tackles, 14 passes defended and two interceptions.

For the NFL, McCreary is a smooth cover corner who is very skilled at not allowing separation. He is a natural man-to-man corner for running the route and blanketing receivers. While McCreary does not have great size, he is fast and twitchy to run with wideouts to keep them from getting open. That fluid agility lets him flip his hips and run with wide receivers vertically and keep them from getting open downfield.

Thanks to his quality instincts and ball skills, McCreary does not have to resort to contact to break up passes. Instead, he is patient, doesn’t panic, and does a nice job of slapping the ball away. McCreary uses his soft hands, instincts, and body control to present a real threat to pick off passes, so it can be very dangerous to throw his direction.



With his versatility, McCreary is able to play off-man or press-man coverage. He can play zone as well, but he would be better playing in a man scheme. McCreary also is a willing tackler in run support who is willing to fly to the ball and make tackles.

The big concern with McCreary is being a touch short and lacking length. As a result, some scouts worry about McCreary being an outside corner in the NFL and think he might fit only in the slot. They feel he is a good player, just small. The size issue has some teams grading him in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Other team sources really like McCreary and project him as a first-round pick.



Player Comparison: Johnathan Joseph. There are a lot of similarities between Joseph (5-11, 188) and McCreary who are identical in size. Both are good man corners with the speed to prevent separation and enough strength to match up against bigger receivers. Joseph was the 24th-overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, and McCreary could get first-round consideration in the 2022 NFL Draft and should not go lower than Round 2. McCreary could turn into a good NFL starter comparable to Joseph.

2022 NFL Draft Player Previews - Choose Player 2022 NFL Draft Player Previews - Home Adam Anderson, OLB, Georgia Calvin Austin, WR, Memphis Tyler Badie, RB, Missouri Amaré Barno, OLB, Virginia Tech Andrew Booth, CB, Clemson David Bell, WR, Purdue Nik Bonitto, OLB, Oklahoma Jaquan Brisker, S, Penn State Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas Zachary Carter, DE, Florida Leo Chenal, LB, Wisconsin Lewis Cine, S, Georgia Damone Clark, LB, LSU Micheal Clemons, DE, Texas A&M Bryan Cook, S, Cincinnati James Cook, RB, Georgia Yusuf Corker, S, Kentucky Matt Corral, QB, Ole Miss Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State Nick Cross, S, Maryland Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State Greg Dulcich, TE, UCLA Arnold Ebiketie, DE, Penn State Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida Ikem Ekwonu, OT, N.C. State Martin Emerson, CB, Mississippi State Kingsley Enagbare, DE, South Carolina Daniel Faalele, OT, Minnesota Luke Fortner, C, Kentucky Ahmad 'Sauce' Gardner, CB, Cincinnati Luke Goedeke, G, Central Michigan Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington Kenyon Green, G, Texas A&M Breece Hall, RB, Iowa State Logan Hall, DE, Houston Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame Christian Harris, LB, Alabama Daxton Hill, S, Michigan Chasen Hines, G, LSU Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan Ed Ingram, G, LSU Drake Jackson, DE, USC Jermaine Johnson, DE, Florida State Zion Johnson, G, Boston College Travis Jones, DT, Connecticut Kerby Joseph, S, Illinois Cam Jurgens, C, Nebraska George Karlaftis, DE, Purdue Darian Kinnard, OT, Kentucky Charlie Kolar, TE, Iowa State DeMarvin Leal, DT, Texas A&M Isaiah Likely, TE, Coastal Carolina Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah Drake London, WR, USC Abraham Lucas, OT, Washington State Boye Mafe, DE, Minnesota Phidarian Mathis, DT, Alabama Trey McBride, TE, Colorado State Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington Verone McKinley, S, Oregon John Metchie, WR, Alabama Skyy Moore, WR, Western Michigan Chad Muma, LB, Wyoming David Ojabo, DE, Michigan Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State Cade Otton, TE, Washington Evan Neal, OT, Alabama Josh Paschal, DE, Kentucky Trevor Penning, OT, Northern Iowa Nick Petit-Frere, OT, Ohio State George Pickens, WR, Georgia Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh Alec Pierce, WR, Cincinnati Dameon Pierce, RB, Florida Jalen Pitre, S, Baylor Brock Purdy, QB, Iowa State Bernhard Raimann, OT, Central Michigan Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati John Ridgeway, DT, Arkansas Brian Robinson, RB, Alabama Wan'Dale Robinson, WR, Kentucky Justyn Ross, WR, Clemson Jeremy Ruckert, TE, Ohio State Jamaree Salyer, G, Georgia Tyler Smith, OT, Tulsa Isaiah Spiller, RB, Texas A&M Derek Stingley, CB, LSU Kayvon Thibodeaux, DE, Oregon Cameron Thomas, DE, San Diego State Tyquan Thornton, WR, Baylor Kenneth Walker, RB, Michigan State Rasheed Walker, OT, Penn State Quay Walker, LB, Georgia Travon Walker, DE, Georgia Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State Zamir White, RB, Georgia Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama Malik Willis, QB, Liberty Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State Perrion Winfrey, DT, Oklahoma Tariq Woolen, CB, UTSA Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia Jalen Wydermyer, TE, Texas A&M

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