Derek Stingley Jr. comes with a massive risk-reward tag; is he right for the New York Jets at No. 10?
Derek Stingley Jr. is competing with Kayvon Thibodeaux as the most controversial player atop of the 2022 NFL draft, and the New York Jets are surely noticing.
Stingley seemed to be a lock for a top-three pick—if not the first player off of the board—after his freshman campaign at LSU in 2019. The talented cornerback absolutely dominated, racking up six interceptions and 15 passes defended.
And he did all of this as a young freshman.
The full Derek Stingley Jr. film breakdown can be seen at the bottom of this article.
Unfortunately for Stingley, he only played in 10 total games the next two seasons, while battling a plethora of injuries. Needless to say, after his stellar freshman campaign, his production drastically dipped and his overall effort has since been questioned on occasion.
- Could he have dropped from a top-three lock to a prospect that Jets fans would be disappointed with at the 10th overall pick?
- Where is the kid’s appropriate slotting in this specific draft?
- Did his play actually dip, and if so, what changed?
- Is he worth the very real injury risk that comes along with his legitimate talent?
- What made him so special in the first place?
All of those questions and much more are answered in the latest edition of Blewett’s Blitz. The full Derek Stingley Jr. film breakdown (over an hour and twenty minutes in length) can be seen at the bottom of this article.
YouTube clip and podcast episode
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Speed
- Fluidity great for size
- Monster freshman season
- Acceleration
- Smooth hips
- Awareness
- Instincts
- Ability to mirror in press
- Flashes of brilliance in press
- Balanced backpedal (still could clean up)
- Explosive
- Aggressive in run game (when he wants it)
- Can play in zone or man
- Comfortable with many coverage techniques
- Ability to stay square in press
- Patient in press (at times)
- Great ball skills
- Length
- Lateral quickness
- Top-notch athlete
- Strike timing
- Leverage in off coverage
- Eyes low in press
- Pre-snap stance
- Can get shuffles in press (when engaged)
- Has some thump behind pads
- Replaces hands in press
- Rarely reaches for contact
- Fights to maintain contact if near stem
- Plays ball through hands
- Strong hands
- Will chop down on hands/force incompletions if beaten
- Added fake punches in 2021 (games I watched)
- Trigger in run game
- Was willing in run game in 2021
- Changes up press technique
- Good tackler
Weaknesses
- Didn’t follow up freshman season with productivity and consistency (6 INT)
- Effort
- 10 games played in last two years (3 last season)
- Looks bored on some reps
- Can be over aggressive with press
- Didn’t get shuffles in press in 2021 as compared to 2019
- Opened hips early and often played in “no man’s land” in 2021 more often
- Jump splits
- Shoots two hands too often
- Can be risky with eyes looking back to QB
- Can he handle double moves in pros
- Let’s WR work into blind spot in bail
- Can lose WR while breaking on route because of eyes
- Can be too patient in pedal/flat-footed
- Can hop/get clunky in pedal (still works well from it)
- 2021 wasn’t getting hands-on as much with press, getting shuffles in and opening early
- Can be a little jumpy in press
