Damarious Randall, S/CB, ASU

DuDa

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Demarious Randall is a good looking safety/corner tweener prospect that is starting to gain some steam heading into the draft.

His combine numbers were very good:
5-11, 196
4.46 40
38 vert
10 foot broad
6.83 3-cone
4.07 short shuttle

Check out a few of his scouting reports:

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.

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.

-Lance Zierlein

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/damarious-randall?id=2552389

STRENGTHS: Above average speed for the position with transitional quickness and natural footwork. Highly aggressive and plays at full speed at all times. Never gives up on plays and has a knack for chasing down ballcarriers downfield from behind. Understands angles and sees things happening quickly. Decisive sideline angles with closing burst to make up ground. Good anticipation to jump routes, reading the quarterback and baiting throws.

Heady awareness and won?t fall asleep at the wheel. Adequate ballskills and knows what to do with the ball once he gains possession (six career interceptions, averaging 29.8 yards per return with two touchdowns). Plays bigger than he looks and initiates the action, seeking out contact with a violent mentality to strike through his target. Plays ticked off and sets the tempo. Unselfish team-first type with ideal training habits.

Played on special teams coverages at Arizona State with experience as a return man. Productive starter in only two seasons at the FBS level, creating 10 turnovers (six interceptions, four forced fumbles).

WEAKNESSES: Undersized and lacks ideal strength and bulk for the safety position. Willing tackler, but too often needs help to finish stops and can be taken for a ride. Too many ankle biting tackle attempts. Needs to break down better on the move and keep his feet underneath him to be more reliable in open-field opportunities. Overaggressive, leading to wasted steps and motion. Will get fooled by play fakes due to his overaggressive nature.

Needs to stay patient in his pedal and often bites too early, which will lead to disaster when lined up in man coverage. Still very unpolished with the technical side of the game. Needs to harness his hostility to avoid unnecessary contact and late hit penalties. Size and violent play style draw durability concerns as he was often dinged up in college.

--Dane Brugler

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/2061049/damarious-randall

Randall is projected to get drafted between round 2-4.
 

Hailmary

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The knock on him being undersized is overrated imo. He's about the same size as Reed and Polamalu were when they came into the league. His size would be suspect if he were asked to play in the box, but that not being the case I have no problems with his size.
 

speedkilz88

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Broaddus and Brugler have him as a 3rd right now. But I have heard that he could possibly go late 2nd. Giants, Eagles, and Cowboys all have visits planned with him.
 

bodi

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Cowboys all have visits planned with him.

that's good news
 

ccb04

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Think where he goes could depend on how a team views him.

I like him. Think he's the type of versatile DB teams could covet given the passing games some teams boast. He'd certainly give the Boys staff some options...given they could use help/depth at both CB & safety. Kiper thought Randall could be over-drafted. Of course...many talking-heads said the same regarding T-Fred and Hitchens when they were selected. He was very solid in forcing turnovers, which Marinelli of course stresses. Added special teams value is another potential asset...especially if he could contribute as a return man with Harris gone.
 

KingintheNorth

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I'm biased obviously but Damarious is one of the few true free safeties in this year's draft (Gerrod Holliman being another). Unlike Holliman, Randall showed himself to be a willing tackler although he should not be considered a "hitter" by any means. Also unlike Holliman, Randall has corner coverage skills. He was the # 1 shutdown CB in all of Junior College in 2012. He has amazing ball skills and he was playing both ways for us by season's end. ASU splits their two safeties so they end up looking and playing like two strong safeties. I believe that if Damarious gets used the way Seattle uses Earl Thomas or that Baltimore used Ed Reed, that he will be a turnover machine at the next level.
 

RS12

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I am not sold on either of the current safties, so I am open to him for sure.
 

bodi

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I am not sold on either of the current safties, so I am open to him for sure.

me either but I guess the cowboys are
 

CF74

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I'm biased obviously but Damarious is one of the few true free safeties in this year's draft (Gerrod Holliman being another). Unlike Holliman, Randall showed himself to be a willing tackler although he should not be considered a "hitter" by any means. Also unlike Holliman, Randall has corner coverage skills. He was the # 1 shutdown CB in all of Junior College in 2012. He has amazing ball skills and he was playing both ways for us by season's end. ASU splits their two safeties so they end up looking and playing like two strong safeties. I believe that if Damarious gets used the way Seattle uses Earl Thomas or that Baltimore used Ed Reed, that he will be a turnover machine at the next level.

I will add him to my radar...
 

bodi

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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.

add him to the squad - he can play either position - CB - FS
 

Gaede

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I'm biased obviously but Damarious is one of the few true free safeties in this year's draft (Gerrod Holliman being another). Unlike Holliman, Randall showed himself to be a willing tackler although he should not be considered a "hitter" by any means. Also unlike Holliman, Randall has corner coverage skills. He was the # 1 shutdown CB in all of Junior College in 2012. He has amazing ball skills and he was playing both ways for us by season's end. ASU splits their two safeties so they end up looking and playing like two strong safeties. I believe that if Damarious gets used the way Seattle uses Earl Thomas or that Baltimore used Ed Reed, that he will be a turnover machine at the next level.

I'm sold!
 

Leadbelly

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It can be hard to assess Safeties because they're mostly off screen, so I've been waiting on some video to show up on this guy. Draftbreakdown.com finally added game tape of him on Saturday. It's vs Oregon St. He looked like garbage. What are people looking at lol? Maybe it was a really bad day at the office and they can find a couple more games.

http://draftbreakdown.com/video/damarious-randall-vs-oregon-state-2014/

I don't see how he's a consideration at CB either. Seems like a nice way of saying his reads and tackling are too poor to stay at Safety. I'm sure 80% of it is he ran 4.46 at the combine.
 
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