If you're not dynamic you better be reliable, and he's neither. He's improved a bit in coverage since last year, and can be assigned underneath zones or man against the fourth option, but anything else and he goes into hero mode. That is, freelance into a play he *thinks* he can make (although he can't), while abandoning all discipline and throwing his teammates into compromising positions. Alabama and Auburn really exploited him there: once a quarterback starts looking in a certain direction, he will flat out leave his man and try to get to the other side of the field.

But hey, not everybody is Ed Reed, what about his reputation a big hitter? Well, the big hits are there, but the problem with that is he goes exclusively for those. His actual technique is poor, rarely wrapping up unless he's getting run over or run past. Most of the time he tries to knock runners out, which is the surest way to get embarrassed at the NFL level. Still, he looks a lot more natural near the line of scrimmage in run support and moving forward than he does trying to play up high. In summary, a box safety with bad tackling habits. Not the endorsement I want before the fifth round.

+ Gets into position against the run quickly, often shooting gaps and fighting through weak blocks with his rangy frame
+ Has a knack for stumbling into the right spot and playing through the whistle (15 career forced turnovers)
- Way too aggressive on coverage, running play-action at him is like playing against 10 defenders
- His specialty is the up-high shove tackle, which works best in college
- Legally blind when playing deep passes