29. Grant Delpit, S, LSU
Height: 6’2″ Weight: 213
40-Yard Dash: N/A
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: N/A
Broad Jump: N/A
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
60-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Bio: Delpit, a New Orleans native, saw his family uprooted and relocated to Texas in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He was a five-foot-6, 130-pound defensive back as a freshman, but he wound up at the prestigious IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida as a senior, and earned Under Armour All-American status. Delpit had chosen LSU before his IMG track. Delpit won the Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back in 2019, and over three seasons with the Tigers, he totaled 199 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, two forced fumbles, 32 passes defensed, and eight interceptions.
One of the more versatile defenders in this draft class, Delpit played 385 snaps at free safety, 316 snaps in the slot and 149 snaps in the box last season, per Pro Football Focus. In 2019, he allowed 14 receptions on 22 targets for an opponent passer rating of 71.1.
“See, that’s what I pride myself on,” he said at the scouting combine. “I think I’m a very versatile player. I think that’s probably my biggest strength on the defensive side. I’ll play anywhere in the secondary. This year I played more free safety because that’s what the team needed, so I played a lot of percent of my snaps in the middle of the field. We went 15-0, so I could never complain. But watch my sophomore tape, freshman tape, I played all over the box. So, I think I can do it all.”
Stat to Know: Delpit is versatile, but there’s one thing he’s going to have to clean up. He had 20 missed tackles last season, and 44 over three seasons at LSU.
Strengths: Outstanding range to all parts of the field — Delpit can roam from the deep third to the box pre-snap with control and coverage sense. Legitimate full-field defender who moves easily from the middle of the field to the seam to the boundary. Defensive shot-caller who understands routes well enough to break with definitive speed to the receiver late in the down. As a slot defender, can play high and off against inside receivers with good closing speed and awareness. Backpedal and hip-flip are ideal for a deep safety. A bit gangly, but keeps his body under control (except for the whole tackling thing). Has legitimate man/match/mirror abilities against receivers even when he’s not pressing them through the route. Has the ball skills to trap anything near him.
Weaknesses: While Delpit’s tackling issues are obvious, they don’t spring from a constant unwillingness to face up to a ballcarrier. On the contrary, Delpit incorporates a weird combination of frenetic motion and a shot-play mentality that has him hurtling his body at opponents with a rudimentary understanding of wrap tackling. He also has an odd inclination to throw his body at a ballcarrier’s feet, and his arm tackles wouldn’t bust a grape. One hopes this can be corrected by the right NFL coaching staff. Delpit’s physical nature trails off when he’s asked to take on blockers; at that point, he’s looking to get around an opponent as opposed to taking him on.
Conclusion: Of all the players I’ve watched in this draft class, Delpit may have the widest range between his assets and his liabilities — outside of Boise State offensive tackle Ezra Cleveland in his pass-blocking (great) vs. his run-blocking (eek). There is absolutely no question about his abilities to play as a space defender, whether it’s against a slot guy up the seam, or taking care of business against a deep post. The problem is, there are certain elements of his play style that are so anarchic and hard to control, and these types of players tend to get exposed even more when they hit the NFL — and the NFL hits back. Delpit could be a top defensive in the league over time, but he’ll require a patient coaching staff that will work with the weird parts and understand that he may allow a big play for every one he prevents for a while.
NFL Comparison: Kenny Vaccaro. Like the Texas alum, who was selected 15th overall in the 2013 draft, Delpit presents total positional versatility in coverage, but the frenetic on-field demeanor is going to cause a few blips. Delpit is quicker than Vaccaro, which makes the need for consistency and body control even more glaring.