LSU’s Derek Stingley burst onto the scene as a true freshman in 2019, becoming widely seen as the best cornerback in college football that year as he went on to win a CFP National Championship and was named consensus All-American. He followed up his outstanding freshman campaign with a stellar 2020 season that saw him named First-Team All-SEC for the second year in a row despite being limited to seven starts due to a leg injury. Unfortunately, injuries hampered the 6’1″ 190 lb. Stingley once again in 2021, as he underwent season-ending surgery to his foot three games into the season. Stingley has since declared for the 2022 NFL Draft and still profiles as a likely top-15 selection in the first round. He is the grandson of former NFL player Darryl Stingley.
Strengths: Stingley is the physical and athletic prototype at the cornerback position. He possesses great size and length, allowing him to press wide receivers effectively and disrupt the receiver at the line of scrimmage with his physicality. Stingley is an elite athlete. He is extremely fluid, capable of flipping his hips in transition without missing a beat. He then has the quickness and speed to mirror the wide receiver and stay in phase remarkably well, making him a truly top-level man-coverage cornerback. Stingley uses his body to crowd the receiver to the sideline and squeeze him off his route. Given his experience, Stingley is a good technician in coverage and is disciplined to not bite on fakes in the receiver’s route. Stingley truly has the ability to match the receiver’s every move. As a result, Stingley is rarely targeted but he flashes the ability to use his length to disrupt the catch point when he is. He is also experienced and capable in zone coverage. Stingley excels against the run too, as he disengages well from his blocker and closes to the ball-carrier well. He is a willing and reliable tackler who can make crucial stops in the open field, including behind the line of scrimmage. In all phases of the game, Stingley shows great ability to change direction, as his body follows his eyes in an instant. Stingley has been one of the most battle-tested cornerbacks in college football, performing against the top receivers in the nation in the SEC since his true freshman season in 2019.
Weaknesses: Since 2019, Stingley has lacked ball production. Part of this is because of how rarely he is targeted, but Stingley also needs to do a better job of turning his head and giving himself a chance to make a play on the ball when it is thrown his way. Despite being a highly intelligent player, Stingley does have mental lapses at times, which explains some of the inconsistencies in his tape the past two seasons. He will have to clean up these uncharacteristic mishaps at the next level. Health is the biggest question mark in Stingley’s evaluation. A leg injury limited him to seven starts in 2020. A foot injury held him out for most of camp in 2021 and required season-ending surgery when he reaggravated it three games into the season. Stingley has not been fully healthy during the season since 2019.
Bottom Line: Despite the slight inconsistencies in his tape since 2019, I am fully confident in Stingley’s abilities to be a top cornerback in the NFL. He is truly the prototype at the position given his size, length, quickness, fluidity, and speed. In man-coverage, Stingley can perfectly mirror wide receivers and possesses the intelligence and experience to nail the finer points of coverage as well. Stingley possesses true All-Pro ability, and I believe whether or not he can stay healthy and stay on the field will determine if he plays to that level in the NFL.
Sources
- Cover Image: https://draftwire.usatoday.com/lists/2022-nfl-draft-film-room-derek-stingley-jr-lsu-highlights-video/
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