Trent McDuffie is carrying on Washington’s reputation forged by Keith Taylor Jr. and Elijah Molden as the underrated “DBU.” He adds to an already loaded class featuring Ahmad Gardner, Derek Stingley Jr., and Kaiir Elam. If any team is hunting for a high-end cornerback, this is the class. McDuffie may not provide much with his height, but will his playstyle make up for it? With first-round buzz, that must be the case. Let’s find out.
Player Bio
Name: Trent McDuffie
Jersey: #22
Position: Cornerback
School: Washington
Class: Junior
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 195 lbs
Man Coverage (12.0/15)
McDuffie shines in his ability to mirror opposing receivers. His eyes lock onto his target and every step onward is copied perfectly. McDuffie showed the ability to flip his hips both inside and outside while mirroring his opponent, which is an amazing trait to have. There is one red flag that will get discussed later on: a lack of deep speed. Simply put, the Washington product looks burnable.
Zone Coverage (8.5/15)
McDuffie offers a solid foundation in press. Like all Washington corners, he has a solid bailout to gain depth quickly. Given the role he played in zone, McDuffie shows a schematic fit to cover three and cover four defenses. That being said, his command over the zone area appears awkward and forced, especially when compared to Molden’s comfortability a year ago. This leads to gaps in coverage due to too much cushion. This may be a red flag to monitor.
Note: 7.5/15 is average, 13.0/15 is elite
Instincts (6.5/10)
McDuffie flashed quick-twitch ability in man coverage a multitude of times. His reaction time from pass to pass break up was NFL caliber. Once again, issues in zone coverage need to be mentioned. The cushion McDuffie allows receivers to have causes enormous gaps of separation that are due to a combination of positioning and comfortability in his zone.
Ball Skills (4.5/10)
Interestingly enough, McDuffie’s ball skills have been quite inconsistent over his career. He lacks interceptions (two for his college career) and pass breakups (nine). McDuffie is rarely challenged, however, so the numbers represent a smaller sample size than the figures suggest. With five pass breakups this year (up from zero in 2020), it seems as if there is a chance he continues to improve in his NFL career.
Press/Physicality (6.75/10)
McDuffie is not afraid to get physical. Whether it is in the pass or run game, the Washington product will not shy away from making his direct opponent pay. That being said, in run defense, McDuffie only applies this physicality to his blocker, not to anyone else (even the ball carrier). He has earned a solid score. Just beware of what happens after the initial contact (this will be highlighted later).
Long Speed (5.0/10)
McDuffie has 4.55 speed at best. Even when he is at his best (in man coverage), it is obvious that his speed is insufficient past ten yards. Washington’s use of McDuffie only confirms this. Rarely is the Washington product standing the wide receiver up at the line of scrimmage: he usually is backing up immediately. What is even more worrisome is how deep McDuffie plays in zone. There is an uncomfortable amount of space generated off the snap to get deep. The bottom line is this: Washington is afraid of McDuffie getting burned deep.
Tackling/Run Support (5.0/10)
As stated before, McDuffie gets physical with his blocker. He attempts to shed blocks, but he is not very effective. A very worrisome red flag popped up multiple times in the run game: McDuffie only engages when the play is coming in his direction. He also rarely commits to impact the run, standing idly by when the play is more than three yards away. McDuffie is also a high tackler. This said, he only has an 11% missed tackle rate.
Athleticism (6.5/10)
McDuffie has solid burst and hip mobility. The long speed was highlighted before as sub-par. Within ten yards, he has an excellent ability to perfectly mirror opponents and control them to his will. McDuffie could fix his speed by dropping a few pounds, but that would hurt his physicality. Unfortunately, at his stature, physicality is the only way to make up the difference against larger receivers. The lateral movement is phenomenal: it is almost as fast as McDuffie’s vertical long speed.
Change of Direction (4.0/5)
As stated previously, McDuffie has smooth hip movement and excellent burst. He is perfectly made for a cover two scheme if forced away from his strength in man. McDuffie within ten yards is an elite corner. It is hard to think of any prospect that is better (that is not named Derek Stingley Jr.). There is a slight concern with vertical change of direction, especially in zone coverage. That is the only concern, however.
Length (2.5/5)
Well, so much for a happy ending. There really is not much of a need to go deep into this explanation, but McDuffie is not very lengthy. At sub-six foot, there is not much room for the Husky to get bailed out with his length. Again, in the right scheme, this could be mitigated. Does this make McDuffie undraftable? Absolutely not, but it does limit his ceiling.
Player Summary
Although many of these scores are not in the elite zone, it does not mean that McDuffie is not amazing. If the Washington product is put into a cover two man scheme, watch out. McDuffie’s mirroring, burst, and hip movement work perfectly with it. The issue with scouting reports is that they are looking at the player overall. In reality, every scheme evaluates players differently. The score may be lower than the verdict suggests, but no team that wants a speedy, lengthy corner would even consider drafting him to their squad. McDuffie is a prize for his scheme fit, no doubt about it.
Final Grade (61.25/100): Late Second Round
Player Comp: Shorter Xavier Rhodes