Isaiah Oliver, Colorado: 2018 NFL Draft Scouting Report
By Jon Dove
Colorado’s Isaiah Oliver is a long and athletic cornerback prospect who features plenty of upside.
Isaiah Oliver features a long frame with the arm length evaluators covet in a cornerback prospect. He does a great job using his reach to generate pass breakups and interceptions. Oliver shows good overall athleticism including strong recovery speed.
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Colorado uses Oliver in both man and zone coverage. However, he is at his best when asked to turn and run with his target. This allows him to use his length and ability to track the football. His awareness and ability to get to turn his head around helps him keep the ball out of the receiver’s hands.
However, this is a part of his game that has some inconsistency. There are times where Oliver fails to turn his head and will make too much contact with the receiver. This results in pass interference calls or allows the receiver to attack the football.
As a whole, Oliver is an inconsistent player who will play with sloppy footwork and lose focus. His length requires that he stays focused on keeping his pads down, but at this point he doesn’t do this with regularity.
This also impacts his ability to click and close on the ball. He doesn’t appear to have great short-area quickness which makes having proper footwork even more important. His questionable burst is one of the reasons why he isn’t a great fit for zone coverage.
Oliver is a liability against the run and when asked to defend the wide receiver screen. He lacks the aggressiveness to be a reliable tackler.
Overall, this is someone who has the size and speed to be an effective NFL corner. Oliver also has the ball skills needed to create turnovers. The key to his success at the next level will be his ability to take to coaching and improve his overall technique.