2022 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Verone McKinley III

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Verone McKinley III, 5-10/196 Safety Oregon

Verone McKinley III Scouting Report
By Charlie Campbell

Strengths:

Instinctive

Dangerous coverage safety

Can play single high free safety

Very fast; covers a lot of ground

Advanced ball skills

Good hands

Plays the ball well

Good vision

Doesn’t take false steps in coverage

Disciplined on the back end

Willing to get physical

Solid tackler

Keeps plays in front of him

Steady at covering receivers over the top

Man coverage ability on slot receivers

Fluid; can flip his hips and run

Always around the ball

NFL pedigree

Experienced

Weaknesses:

Short

Will struggle with receivers and tight ends making catches over him

Can get boxed out

Can get pushed around

Lacks elite speed

Doesn’t fit as the eighth man in the box

Not interchangeable to play free or strong safety

Summary: McKinley will be a test of scouting because he lacks the physical skill set of a prototypical NFL safety, but he was a very good college football player and made a lot of splash plays for the Ducks over the past few seasons. In 2019, McKinley made his presences felt with four interceptions, two breakups and 46 tackles. In the shortened 2020 season, he notched 41 stops, an interception, forced fumble and two passes broken up. He played his best football as a senior with 77 tackles, six interceptions and six passes broken up.

In zone coverage, McKinley displays solid instincts and quality route-recognition. He has good vision to read the eyes of the quarterback and sees receivers well to pick them up coming into his area. McKinley uses his speed, vision and instincts to be a rangy safety in zone coverage who covers a lot of ground in the middle of the field. He has a burst to close on receivers and eat up space in a blur. His size, however, limits him to free safety in the NFL because he does not have the weight and strength to play zone as a strong safety.



McKinley also lacks the size to be a man-to-man coverage safety on tight ends because they will be able to box him out, make catches over him, and present a significant size mismatch. Versus smaller receivers, McKinley showed some man-coverage ability in 2021, doing a nice job of running with slot receivers and covering up wideouts in the deep part of the field.

McKinley is a willing run defender who uses his speed to come downhill and get in on tackles. While he is not the biggest of safeties, he does not hesitate to get physical and will seek to deliver some hard hits. As one can tell from his tackle total at Oregon, McKinley did not shy away from contributing to run defense.

In the 2022 NFL Draft, McKinley looks like a mid-round pick. He could be a valuable backup safety who contributes on special teams and potentially works his way into more playing time and a bigger role on the defense.



Player Comparison: Karl Joseph. Winfield is a good player like Joseph, and both of them have the problem of being 5-foot-9. Joseph is more physical, while Winfield is better in coverage. In the NFL, Winfield could be a solid contributor like Joseph but faces size limitations.

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