2013 NFL Draft Scouting Report: T.J. McDonald

Career Recap: McDonald made his presence felt in his first season as a starter in 2010. He led USC in tackles with 89, including three tackles for a loss, four passes broken up, three interceptions and a blocked punt. He was named an All-Pac-10 Second-Team selection. McDonald then had a solid junior year with 67 tackles with three interceptions, two passes broken up and a blocked kick. He had two interceptions against Arizona quarterback Nick Foles.

McDonald is a hard hitter and physical defender. He drew a half-game suspension for a hit during USC’s triple overtime loss to Stanford. McDonald could have been a late first-round or second-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, but decided to return for his senior campaign.



2012 Season Outlook: McDonald enters the 2012 season as one of the top safeties in college football. He is a leader on the USC defense. The Trojans lost a couple quality defensive linemen, but McDonald should have the supporting cast in place to keep him from having to do to much. It’s worth noting, however, that former Trojans safety Taylor Mays lost a lot of good teammates and was exposed without those players next to him. That caused Mays to go from a first-rounder to the second day of the draft.

That shouldn’t happen with McDonald in 2012. McDonald should be the best safety in the Pac-12 and teams will avoid him. That would impact his production, but McDonald should be able to accumulate totals similar to his 2011 campaign.

Skill-Set Summary: McDonald has a fantastic and versatile skill set. He has the speed to play free safety and cover a lot of ground in the deep part of the field. He does a good job of picking up receivers running deep and seldom ever gets beat in coverage. He also has good size and strength to play in the tackle box. He is a tough run defender that is adept at operating in the short part of the field.

McDonald looks like an ideal safety for the majority of NFL defenses that like their safeties to be interchangeable. McDonald has the speed to cover tight ends in man-to-man or run with receivers going deep. He also can play in the tackle box. His physical style of play will also appeal to many defensive coaches.

McDonald has received good preparation for the NFL at USC. Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin uses him in a manner that will be identical for many pro defenses. McDonald also practices against a pro-style West Coast offense. Mentally, he is more advanced than most safeties entering the next level.



2013 Draft Expectations: From a draft perspective, McDonald made a mistake returning for his senior season. The 2012 draft class was very weak at safety, and as a result, McDonald definitely would have been the second-rated safety after Alabama’s Mark Barron. McDonald could stay in the same general range of the 2013 NFL Draft if he plays well, but he will have a lot more competition. There is a strong class of safeties combining seniors and juniors. As a result, it wouldn’t be that surprising if some have big seasons and leap McDonald in the safety rankings. As long as he has a quality 2012 campaign and stays healthy, he should be a second-round pick at the very worst.

2013 NFL Draft Scouting Reports - Choose Player 2013 NFL Draft Scouting Reports - Home Oday Aboushi, OT, Virginia Keenan Allen, WR, California David Amerson, CB, N.C. State Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin Johnthan Banks, CB, Mississippi State Matt Barkley, QB, USC Giovani Bernard, RB, North Carolina Jon Bostic, ILB, Florida Tyler Bray, QB, Tennessee Arthur Brown, OLB, Kansas State Jonathan Brown, DE/OLB, Illinois Michael Buchanan, DE, Illinois Rex Burkhead, RB, Nebraska Tank Carradine, DE, Florida State Jonathan Cooper, G, North Carolina Jonathan Cyprien, S, Florida International Tyler Eifert, TE, Notre Dame Matt Elam, S, Florida Zach Ertz, TE, Stanford Gavin Escobar, TE, San Diego State Chris Faulk, OT, LSU Joseph Fauria, TE, UCLA Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida D.J. Fluker, OT, Alabama Johnathan Franklin, RB, UCLA Travis Frederick, G, Wisconsin William Gholston, DE, Michigan State Mike Gillislee, RB, Florida Mike Glennon, QB, N.C. State Khaseem Greene, OLB, Rutgers Johnathon Hankins, NT, Ohio State Khaled Holmes, C, USC DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Clemson Justin Hunter, WR, Tennessee Margus Hunt, DE/DT, SMU Alex Hurst, OT, LSU Micah Hyde, CB, Iowa Jackson Jeffcoat, DE, Texas Tony Jefferson, S, Oklahoma Brandon Jenkins, DE/OLB, Florida State Jelani Jenkins, OLB, Florida John Jenkins, NT, Georgia Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma Nico Johnson, ILB, Alabama Barrett Jones, C/G/OT, Alabama Datone Jones, DE, UCLA Jarvis Jones, DE/OLB, Georgia Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma Dion Jordan, DE/OLB, Oregon Eddie Lacy, RB, Alabama Marcus Lattimore, RB, South Carolina Robert Lester, S, Alabama Kyle Long, G/OT, Oregon Star Lotulelei, NT, Utah E.J. Manuel, QB, Florida State Cameron Marshall, RB, Arizona State Tyrann Mathieu, CB, LSU Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M T.J. McDonald, S, USC Christine Michael, RB, Texas A&M Dee Milliner, CB, Alabama Barkevious Mingo, DE/OLB, LSU Kevin Minter, ILB, LSU Sam Montgomery, DE, LSU Damontre Moore, DE, Texas A&M Ryan Nassib, QB, Syracuse Xavier Nixon, OT, Florida Alec Ogletree, LB, Georgia Alex Okafor, DE, Texas Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Tennessee Quinton Patton, WR, Louisiana Tech Sean Porter, DE/OLB, Texas A&M Jordan Poyer, CB, Oregon State Justin Pugh, OT, Syracuse Bacarri Rambo, S, Georgia Joseph Randle, RB, Oklahoma State Kevin Reddick, ILB, North Carolina Jordan Reed, TE, Florida Eric Reid, S, LSU Xavier Rhodes, CB, Florida State Sheldon Richardson, DT, Missouri Da'Rick Rogers, WR, Tennessee Tech Logan Ryan, CB, Rutgers Brian Schwenke, C, California Kawann Short, DT, Purdue Dion Sims, TE, Michigan State Shayne Skov, ILB, Stanford Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia Baker Steinkuhler, DT, Nebraska Kenny Stills, WR, Oklahoma D.J. Swearinger, S, South Carolina Ryan Swope, WR, Texas A&M Jamar Taylor, CB, Boise State Stepfan Taylor, RB, Stanford Manti Te'o, ILB, Notre Dame Chase Thomas, OLB, Stanford Dallas Thomas, G/OT, Tennessee Logan Thomas, QB, Virginia Tech Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas Ricky Wagner, OT, Wisconsin Larry Warford, G, Kentucky Chance Warmack, G, Alabama Menelik Watson, OT, Florida State Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State Markus Wheaton, WR, Oregon State Jesse Williams, NT, Alabama Michael Williams, TE, Alabama Sylvester Williams, DT, North Carolina Terrance Williams, WR, Baylor Marquess Wilson, WR, Washington State Tyler Wilson, QB, Arkansas Robert Woods, WR, USC Tom Wort, ILB, Oklahoma

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