Derion Kendrick - CB Georgia/Clemson

[*ochocincos*]

Through the 2021 season, Derion Kendrick was continuing to climb draft boards, as he was continuing to grow year-by-year at CB after converting from WR, culminating in arguably his best season this past year with National Champion Georgia where he had 4 INTs.
There were talks of him even pushing into the early 2nd or even potentially late 1st round...until the draft prep hit.

Kendrick had arguably one of the worst Combine/ProDay performances ever for a CB:
40 - 4.79
Vert - 31"
Broad - 9'6"

When he appeared for his Pro Day, he came in heavier than the Combine - 11 lbs actually. Went from 194 to 205(!!)

He's been falling down draft boards like crazy from the Senior Bowl until now due to these terrible workout performances.

With all that said, he was good on the field at both Clemson and Georgia.

Does his tape and college production give enough confidence that he's better than his pre-draft prep indicates?
Is Kendrick worth taking a Day 3 flier on?
Could he maybe succeed if shifted to safety?

[NUGDUKWE]

I don't know much about him. Has he had issues off the field? That's what I had heard and have not really looked into him much as I think that's the last thing we need.

[pulses]

(04-24-2022, 11:01 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Through the 2021 season, Derion Kendrick was continuing to climb draft boards, as he was continuing to grow year-by-year at CB after converting from WR, culminating in arguably his best season this past year with National Champion Georgia where he had 4 INTs.
There were talks of him even pushing into the early 2nd or even potentially late 1st round...until the draft prep hit.

Kendrick had arguably one of the worst Combine/ProDay performances ever for a CB:
40 - 4.79
Vert - 31"
Broad - 9'6"

When he appeared for his Pro Day, he came in heavier than the Combine - 11 lbs actually. Went from 194 to 205(!!)

He's been falling down draft boards like crazy from the Senior Bowl until now due to these terrible workout performances.

With all that said, he was good on the field at both Clemson and Georgia.

Does his tape and college production give enough confidence that he's better than his pre-draft prep indicates?
Is Kendrick worth taking a Day 3 flier on?
Could he maybe succeed if shifted to safety?

Sounds like the kid got kinda lazy and I would be concerned about his passion for the game. I would have to pass.

[Gdale_Bengal]

Reads like he lost his passion or something outside football effected his performance

[*ochocincos*]

(04-25-2022, 01:45 AM)pulses Wrote: Sounds like the kid got kinda lazy and I would be concerned about his passion for the game. I would have to pass.

(04-25-2022, 07:43 AM)Gdale_Bengal Wrote: Reads like he lost his passion or something outside football effected his performance

It kinda seems that way, but I find it really odd if that was the case.
You're literally on the verge of making a lot of money, so why would you get lazy right before to affect that?
I feel like if you're going to get lazy at all, you do it after you get your contract.

[Gdale_Bengal]

(04-25-2022, 09:33 AM)ochocincos Wrote: It kinda seems that way, but I find it really odd if that was the case.
You're literally on the verge of making a lot of money, so why would you get lazy right before to affect that?
I feel like if you're going to get lazy at all, you do it after you get your contract.

You never know when mental issues or issues outside your control hit you. Sometimes it’s not your fault. It kinda sucks if it’s that.

[*ochocincos*]

(04-25-2022, 10:53 AM)Gdale_Bengal Wrote: You never know when mental issues or issues outside your control hit you. Sometimes it’s not your fault. It kinda sucks if it’s that.

He's always had some concerns about his speed though, but 4.7+ was unexpected.
Perhaps he really just is about that slow.

He did have some off-field issues that resulted in his dismissal from Clemson - Arrested March 2021 on drug and gun charges.
But those charges got dropped.

He's won two national titles - one with Clemson and one with Georgia.

I think he can contribute to a NFL team, but he may not end up having the athletic traits to be a starter.

[kalibengal]

(04-24-2022, 11:01 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Through the 2021 season, Derion Kendrick was continuing to climb draft boards, as he was continuing to grow year-by-year at CB after converting from WR, culminating in arguably his best season this past year with National Champion Georgia where he had 4 INTs.
There were talks of him even pushing into the early 2nd or even potentially late 1st round...until the draft prep hit.

Kendrick had arguably one of the worst Combine/ProDay performances ever for a CB:
40 - 4.79
Vert - 31"
Broad - 9'6"

When he appeared for his Pro Day, he came in heavier than the Combine - 11 lbs actually. Went from 194 to 205(!!)

He's been falling down draft boards like crazy from the Senior Bowl until now due to these terrible workout performances.

With all that said, he was good on the field at both Clemson and Georgia.

Does his tape and college production give enough confidence that he's better than his pre-draft prep indicates?
Is Kendrick worth taking a Day 3 flier on?
Could he maybe succeed if shifted to safety?

4.79 forty? that has to be a typo

[*ochocincos*]

(04-25-2022, 11:06 AM)kalibengal Wrote: 4.79 forty? that has to be a typo

It's not.

Walter Football projected his 40 time to be 4.6, but he went well past that at Georgia Pro Day. He did not run at the Combine.
I do wonder if his agent convinced him to try to add some weight to appeal to being a safety given his slower speed but good ball skills.

NFL.com's Lance Zierlein compared Kendrick to former Bengals DB Darius Phillips.
I actually think that's a fair comparison.
Phillips was never a fast guy, but he was an adequate slot CB and some thought he should be converted to safety.
Like Kendrick, Phillips was a former WR converted to DB and had good ball skills as a DB.