Tarvarus McFadden, Florida State: 2018 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Florida State’s Tarvarus McFadden is a long and athletic cornerback prospect who is in line to hear his name called early in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Tarvarus McFadden features excellent length for the cornerback position. He uses his long arms to routinely get his hands on the football. McFadden’s best attitude is his ball skills which results in a lot of takeaways.

He does a great job quickly getting his head around and tracking the football. This allows him to get in proper position to attack the football. In fact, he often finds himself in better position to come down with the ball than the wide receiver.

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McFadden also features excellent hands with the ability to high point the ball and pluck it away from his frame. This ability to haul in a high number of interceptions is something every defensive coordinator covets.

He’s a solid athlete with the ability to click and close on the receiver. However, he’s at his best when he’s locked in man coverage. This is what allows him to get the most of his ball skills.

The one concern is that McFadden will get beaten deep from time to time. He needs to prove he has the long speed needed to keep pace with quicker targets. McFadden also struggles keeping in-phase with the receiver.

This is often the case for longer cornerbacks who struggle changing direction. It could be something that limits his scheme versatility.

McFadden needs to show more tenacity when supporting the run. He’s a capable tackler, but doesn’t always give a 100% effort. There are a lot of situations where he slowly approaches the ball carrier. However, when he’s focused it’s a different story.

Florida State often asks McFadden to blitz from this cornerback spot. He features the burst and snap awareness to make this a part of his game at the next level.

Overall, McFadden is a highly talented prospect with tons of upside. His ball skills are rare and make him someone NFL teams will covet. However, he needs to play with more consistency and show more effort versus the run.