by It’s that time of the year again! NFL Draft season.
Over the next few months, I’ll be breaking down and highlighting a handful of notable college football stars entering the draft — most who may be flying under the radar.
Today’s scouting report will be focused on Toledo defensive back Quinyon Mitchell.
With two All-MAC selections and back-to-back seasons leading the country in PFF cornerback grades on his resume, Mitchell is poised to be one of the top defensive backs selected in this year’s draft. The Toledo product will only be the Rockets’ 17th player drafted this century and the program’s fourth defensive back selected since 2019.
Production
The 6’0”, 196-pound Mitchell was just a three-star prospect coming out of high school. After limited action in 2020 and a decent 2021 season, the Rocket bursted onto the scene in 2022 and was a true shutdown CB1. Mitchell earned the best coverage grade out of any DB in college football (92.5) and allowed a stellar QB rating when targeted of 32.4. He also broke up 19 passes with five interceptions (four in one game).
This past season, Mitchell ever so slightly fell off in terms of production mainly because he was targeted significantly less compared to 2022. He was still an exceptional, forcing an FBS-high 18 passes to go along with one interception.
Strengths
Mitchell is a terrific man-cover corner that thrives in the red zone. His tall frame and wingspan challenges opposing receivers for jump balls. He is also physical and aggressive, which are obviously two traits that immediately translate well to the next level. Don’t sleep on his athleticism either, as Mitchell clocked in the 4.3s twice for NFL scouts last spring (official 40 times obviously TBD).
My Comp: Xavier Rhodes
One can draw a lot of comparisons between Mitchell and the 2017 first-team All-Pro. Both are outside corners that have very similar builds — although Rhodes is an inch taller — and are solid open-field tacklers that have excellent physical traits (tall, lengthy, fast) and play with a chip on their shoulder. And like Rhodes, Mitchell thrives in off-man coverage and can be relied upon to shut down receivers in separation. While it took Rhodes a few seasons to adjust and reach his full potential at the pro level, Mitchell might reach his prime a little sooner in his young career. He’s that promising.
Projected Round: Late 1st
Mitchell and Alabama’s Terrion Arnold are the top-two rated corners in this draft and depending on his combine results, Mitchell could very well be the first one off the board. He’s a legit ballhawk that can be a high-impact DB in the proper system right away.