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Maxwell Hairston Prospect Preview
By Charlie Campbell
Career Recap:
Kentucky’s Mark Stoops is one of the most underrated coaches in college football. During Stoops’ run in Lexington, the Wildcats have produced many quality NFL prospects, including many hard-nosed players with good fundamentals. Hairston will keep that tradition going for the 2025 or 2026 NFL Draft after he had a breakout season in 2023. Hairston was one of the top defensive backs in college football, totaling five interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns, to go along with six passes broken up and 66 tackles.
2024 Season Outlook::
Hairston is going to see a lot of good receiving talent during the 2024 season. Some good passing talent will challenge him in games against South Carolina (Sep. 7), Georgia (Sep. 14), Ole Miss (Sep. 28), Florida (Oct. 19), Tennessee (Nov. 2), and Texas (Nov. 23).
Prospect Summary:
In the passing-driven NFL, teams are always on the lookout for cover corners. A good NFL defense will have at least three quality cornerbacks, and typically, four solid corners are needed to withstand injuries during the course of the season. With a robust need around the league, Hairston should have plenty of interest in his draft class.
Based on his 2023 performance, Hairston’s game has some definite strengths. He is a good athlete, a smooth mover, and has a good twitch. In addition to his athleticism, Hairston is tall and has good length to match up against bigger receivers. Hairston really excelled in zone coverage, as he has quality instincts and used those to get in good position while reading routes in zone coverage. Perhaps his best trait is his ball skills. Hairston really attacks the football, and he has good hands to grab an interception or slap passes away. Hairston’s zone coverage and ball skills make him a nice fit for zone-based defenses and teams that like to run Tampa 2 coverage.
There are areas for Hairston to improve in 2024 and beyond. He needs to get stronger as he is thin for the NFL. Hairston’s play strength is lacking, so adding some power to his frame is necessary for battling pro wide outs. Based on the tape, there are questions about Hairston’s explosion and how fast he is. It will be interesting to see how he performs against speed receivers in 2024 and how he times in pre-draft workouts.
2025 NFL Draft Expectations:
Entering the 2024 season, Hairston looks like he has early-round potential for the 2025 NFL Draft.
RELATED LINKS:
NFL Picks - Oct. 30
2025 NFL Mock Draft - Oct. 30
NFL Power Rankings - Oct. 28
Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 4
