Damarious Randall is, perhaps, one of the more contested prospects in the current draft. It has been widely undisputed that Landon Collins is the best safety available in this draft for some time. However, there is a growing contingency of people who believe that Collins is not an ideal “scheme fit” for Billy Davis’ defense. Landon Collins was previewed here by Patrick Causey a couple days ago, who reached that same conclusion.
If you ask Greg Cosell (NFL Films), he will tell you the following, courtesy of Sheil Kapadia (Phillymag.com):
“I think he’s a better prospect than [Alabama safety] Landon Collins. He's a better mover. He can do more. The Eagles like to play with interchangeable safeties. I, personally, based on my film study don't see Landon Collins as an interchangeable safety with multi-dimensional skills."
Randall (5’11”, 196 lbs) is one of the smallest safeties in this (weak) draft class. Despite his size, however, he tested well in several areas at the NFL Combine: notably in the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, 3-cone drill, and 20-yard shuttle. What does this mean? It means he can cover ground fast &, when needed, explode in directional changes: skills which make for a decent cover safety. His spider graph (via mockdraftable.com) is below with some interesting player comparisons:
Randall is a former two-sport athlete: having played baseball in junior college prior to a shoulder injury in 2011. After transferring to Arizona State in 2013, he started eight games and tallied 71 tackles, three interceptions and a touchdown. His senior year (2014) saw continued improvement as he filled up the defensive stat sheet with 106 total tackles, three interceptions, one sack, and one touchdown.
So if respected NFL scouts are high on him, he tested well at the combine, and was productive in college, why isn’t he being considered as top-end prospect? It’s a great question. First, he is small or, rather, he is slight. NFL teams would like for him to bulk-up prior to enduring the 16 game NFL regular season in a taxing spot at safety. Take a look at the NFL.com analysis below. At some points it sounds like a Dawkins-type impact safety…at others, like a Chris Conte type big-play sieve:
Strengths: Plus athlete with good speed. Scouts love his toughness and effort. Inspired effort as a tackler, racking up 177 tackles during two-year stint at Arizona State. Looks to punish. Explodes into targets and jolts his victims. Takes very good angles in space in run support. Instinctive blitzer who times snap and has a nose for the quarterback. Senses throws underneath and breaks on them early. Highly competitive on 50/50 throws and won't give an inch to receiver. Took two interceptions for scores. Good hands — played some wide receiver in junior college and was also an explosive returner while there.
Weaknesses: Small for safety position. Has box characteristics but lacking box size. Instincts as a free safety are average. Could be forced to play cornerback. Needs technique work in coverage. Must learn line-of-scrimmage skills and work on coordinating feet and hips. Allows wideouts to eat up cushion. Desire to attack leads to false steps against play-action. Fails to play with proper depth at times. Gets a little loose with technique as a tackler at times, causing him to miss.
Draft Projection: Round 2
Sources Tell Us: "I have him as the top safety in this draft so that should tell you what I think of his ability to play with his size. Just give me a good player." NFC defensive backs coach
NFL Comparison: Jimmy Ward
Bottom Line: Randall is considered undersized for the safety position and some teams have him projected as a cornerback. While he has the speed and athletic traits to transition to cornerback, his cover skills and technique need quite a bit of work to be ready for the NFL level. Randall has a nose for the ball and a strong desire to make an aggressive tackle in space, so there could still be teams that give him a legitimate shot at safety, where he carries a higher draft grade.
If the Eagles feel that Randall is a better option at safety than a converted cornerback—like Byron Jones or Eric Rowe later, for example—then they could easily be seen drafting him in the second round.
Michael Coggin is a writer for Eagledelphia and can be followed on Twitter @mqcoggin
