2021 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Elijah Molden

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Elijah Molden, 5-9/192 Cornerback Washington

Elijah Molden Scouting Report
By Charlie Campbell

Strengths:

Aggressive defensive back

Attacks downhill

Willing tackler

Good tackling technique

Physical gritty defender

Instincts

Good read-and-react skills

Overachiever

Could be solid contributor on special teams

Weaknesses:

Undersized

Short

Under weight

Not especially fast

Lacks long speed; could struggle to run with speed receivers

Has problems on play action

Will have issues with receivers making catches over him

Limited to being a slot corner or safety

Summary: Over the past decade, Washington has been a factory for good NFL cornerback and safety talent, with head coach Jimmy Lake churning out quality players year in and year out. Lake was previously a defensive backs coach in the NFL with Tampa Bay, and under Chris Peterson, he was a very good defensive coordinator. Lake then landed the head coaching position after Peterson retired. Recent Washington defensive backs products include Desmond Trufant, Marcus Peters, Sidney Jones, Kevin King and Byron Murphy. All of them were first- or second-round picks, and Molden has a shot at going on the second day of the 2021 NFL Draft as well.

Molden saw his first signifiant playing time in 2018, recording 29 tackles with five passes defended and a forced fumble. As a junior, he broke out by totaling 79 tackles , four interceptions, three forced fumbles and 12 passes defended. Molden recorded 26 tackles and an interception in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Molden’s big plays and instincts from an undersized corner/safety have drawn comparisons to Kansas City Chiefs defensive back Tyrann Mathieu.

On the positive side, there is no doubt that Molden has quality instincts. His route recognition is advanced, and he seems to be a step ahead with his ability to get in position to make plays for his defense. Molden is a physical defender who comes downhill hard and is a willing tackler in the ground game. The lack of size doesn’t prevent Molden from being a good tackler, as he shows nice fundamentals to wrap up and get ball-carriers to the ground. In college, Molden was an overachiever and figured out a way to make a lot of impactful plays.



While Molden is an instinctive defender, he faces real skill-set limitations for the NFL. Molden is short, underweight, and does not have special speed to make up for his size. He could lack the fluidity of movement to be a cover corner in the slot as a pro. He also may not have the deep speed that teams like their deep free safeties to possess. With his short stature, Molden is always going to have issues with defenders making catches over him. He can also have issues biting on play-action because he is such an aggressive defender, so he could stand to develop more discipline in the NFL. As a pro, Molden’s best fit could come as a safety, but one who has to be used in a way to highlight his strengths and shadow his weaknesses.

Molden has a range between the second and fourth rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft because there are some teams that have Molden graded in Round 4, but there are media projections of him being selected in Round 2.


MISSING
Player Comparison: Ricardo Allen. Some team sources said Molden is similar to Allen. They feel Molden lacks the size and speed to be an every-down slot corner, but he is tough and instinctive, plus has the tackling ability such that he might be able to contribute as an undersized safety, like Allen has in the NFL.

2021 NFL Draft Player Previews - Choose Player 2021 NFL Draft Player Previews - Home Paulson Adebo, CB, Stanford Tutu Atwell, WR, Louisville Jhamon Ausbon, WR, Texas A&M Aaron Banks, G, Notre Dame Christian Barmore, DT, Alabama Carlos Basham, DE, Wake Forest Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota Nick Bolton, LB, Missouri Baron Browning, LB, Ohio State Dyami Brown, WR, North Carolina Spencer Brown, OT, Northern Iowa Tyson Campbell, CB, Georgia Jackson Carman, OT, Clemson Ja'Marr Chase, WR, LSU Andre Cisco, S, Syracuse Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa Sam Cosmi, OT, Texas Jabril Cox, LB, LSU Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech Jamin Davis, LB, Kentucky Wyatt Davis, G, Ohio State Landon Dickerson, C, Alabama Liam Eichenberg, OT, Notre Dame D'Wayne Eskridge, WR, Western Michigan Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State Paris Ford, S, Pittsburgh Pat Freiermuth, TE, Penn State Kenny Gainwell, RB, Memphis Richie Grant, S, Central Florida Najee Harris, RB, Alabama Kylin Hill, RB, Mississippi State Trey Hill, C, Georgia Jevon Holland, S, Oregon Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina James Hudson, OT, Cincinnati Talanoa Hufanga, S, USC Creed Humphrey, C, Oklahoma Teven Jenkins, OT, Oklahoma State Mac Jones, QB, Alabama Patrick Jones, DE, Pittsburgh Brevin Jordan, TE, Miami Kelvin Joseph, CB, Kentucky Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson Alex Leatherwood, OT, Alabama Walker Little, OT, Stanford Hunter Long, TE, Boston College Terrace Marshall Jr., WR, LSU Jalen Mayfield, OT, Michigan Tre' McKitty, TE, Georgia Davis Mills, QB, Stanford Trevon Moehrig, S, TCU Elijah Molden, CB, Washington Kellen Mond, QB, Texas A&M Dan Moore Jr., OT, Texas A&M Elijah Moore, WR, Ole Miss Rondale Moore, WR, Purdue Dylan Moses, LB, Alabama Israel Mukuamu, CB, South Carolina Jamie Newman, QB, Wake Forest Greg Newsome, CB, Northwestern Daviyon Nixon, DT, Iowa Dayo Odeyingbo, DE, Vanderbilt Osa Odighizuwa, DT, UCLA Azeez Ojulari, LB, Georgia Levi Onwuzurike, DT, Washington Joseph Ossai, LB, Texas Jayson Oweh, DE, Penn State Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah, LB, Notre Dame Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State Kwity Paye, DE, Michigan Ronnie Perkins, OLB, Oklahoma Jaelan Phillips, DE, Miami Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida Dillon Radunz, OT, North Dakota Aaron Robinson, CB, Central Florida Quincy Roche, OLB, Miami Larry Rountree, RB, Missouri Gregory Rousseau, DE, Miami Asante Samuel Jr., CB, Florida State Trey Sermon, RB, Ohio State Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon Tyler Shelvin, DT, LSU Rashawn Slater, C, Northwestern DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama D'Ante Smith, OT, East Carolina Trey Smith, G, Tennessee Marquez Stevenson, WR, Houston Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, Oklahoma Eric Stokes, CB, Georgia Chazz Surratt, LB, North Carolina Sage Surratt, WR, Wake Forest Patrick Surtain, CB, Alabama Tamorrion Terry, WR, Florida State Kadarius Toney, WR, Florida Kyle Trask, QB, Florida Joe Tryon, DE, Washington Jay Tufele, DT, USC Payton Turner, DE, Houston T.J. Vasher, WR, Texas Tech Alijah Vera-Tucker, OT, USC Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama Tylan Wallace, WR, Oklahoma State Rashad Weaver, DE, Pittsburgh Javonte Williams, RB, North Carolina Rodarius Williams, CB, Oklahoma State Marvin Wilson, DT, Florida State Zach Wilson, QB, BYU

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