Through the first part of the 2021 pre-draft analysis process, there have been four cornerbacks generally regarded as first-round talents: Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II, Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley, South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn, and Florida State’s Asante Samuel Jr. All great players for different reasons, and all first-round talents, but it’s time to add another name to the list. That name belongs to Greg Newsome of Northwestern, who blew it up at his pro day on Tuesday and finally started to get a fraction of the national attention his game deserves.
Rashawn Slater, Greg Newsome solidify first-round status at Northwestern’s pro day
Northwestern has never been a powerhouse program when it comes to feeding talent to the NFL — there have been just five first-round picks in the school’s history — but there are two legitimate first-round Wildcats in the 2021 class. Offensive tackle Rashawn Slater is a slam-dunk high first-round pick, and Newsome’s tape is just as impressive in its own way as Slater’s.
Toughest phone call last summer was when @NUFBFamily told us junior CB Greg Newsome wouldn’t be December grad for @seniorbowl. Cleanest feet of any CB in draft. Easy first-rounder.
6000
192
8 7/8 hand
31 1/8 arm
73 6/8 wing
4.37/4.40
40 VJ
10-3 BJ
4.28 SS
6.94 3-cone
18 reps pic.twitter.com/LVRc1jSAws— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) March 9, 2021
The stats don’t lie, either. In 2020, Newsome posted the lowest opponent quarterback rating allowed of any cornerback in the 2021 draft class — 31.7 — by allowing just 12 completions on 34 targets for 93 yards, 49 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, and one interception. He allowed seven catches against Purdue on 14 targets… for just 59 yards. Outside of that, he wasn’t targeted at all in his last three collegiate games, against Michigan State, Illinois, and in the B1G Championship game against Ohio State. Newsome left that final game in the first half with a groin injury and eschewed the Citrus Bowl game against Auburn to declare for the 2021 draft, but it was still interesting that the Buckeyes refused to throw Newsome’s way on his 17 coverage snaps.
This was Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields’ worst game as a starter — the one people automatically bring up when they talk about his dings as a player. Fields completed 12 of 27 passes for 114 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions, and things might have been even worse had Newsome been a target. It’s also where people may have started to come up with the (mostly) erroneous assumption that Fields is a one-read quarterback, because Newsome was playing 10 yards off to Fields’ back side a lot of the time, and receiver Jameson Williams had openings Fields didn’t see with curls, comebacks, and outs underneath.
But when Newsome did engage to Fields’ front side, as he did on this red zone play in the first quarter against receiver Garrett Wilson, Fields quickly realized that he was better off running the ball.
That touchdown was negated by a holding call, and on the next play, Newsome was back on Fields’ back side. Now, it’s okay to throw to the front side with a quick swing pass to running back Trey Sermon.
But it’s as an intermediate and deep eraser that Newsome shines as well or better than any other cornerback in this class. Per Pro Football Focus, against throws of 10-19 air yards in 2020, Newsome allowed just one reception on eight targets and an opponent passer rating of 0.0. Against throws of 20 or more air yards, Newsome was targeted seven times and didn’t allow a single catch. Whether in press or off coverage, he’s going to get sticky with his receiver throughout the route, and life will be very tough for the opposing quarterback when he decides to grip it and rip it with Newsome as the barrier.
Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez discovered that very quickly on November 7…
…and Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz experienced an even more unpleasant phenomenon two weeks later when he tried to hit receiver Chimere Dike on a deep sideline route, only to find that Newsome had run Dike’s route better than Dike had. The result? Newsome’s one interception last season. Dike had two catches for 52 yards and a touchdown in this game, but nothing good happened for him when Newsome was on his tail.
“There’s really no secrets,” Newsome told me after his Tuesday pro day drills regarding his knack for deep coverage. “It’s just a mentality. I’m a very confident player. If I eliminate those deep routes, I don’t think a team’s going to beat us. Just knowing that, and knowing where my help’s coming from, knowing that my guy on the other side of the field is doing his job, you know, I just don’t want to let the team down. I just trust in my technique, and work it a lot in practice with our DB coach Mack (Matt MacPherson, the team’s Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs), so credit to him, as well. We focus a lot on playing through the hands, and things like that. I don’t really know if there’s a secret; you’ve just got to go out there, be confident, and be a dog out there.”
Of course, if you want mirror and match in the red zone to eliminate potential touchdowns, Newsome offers that, too. On throws of 1-9 air yards against Newsome, opposing quarterbacks completed just eight of 16 attempts overall. With Newsome, the No-Fly Zone is all over the field.
Would you like to have seen more reps against high-powered passing offenses last season? Sure, but when you isolate the traits of the player, it’s abundantly clear that when analysts and teams are looking at cornerbacks with first-round talent, Greg Newsome has absolutely shoved his way into the conversation.