2021 NFL Draft: Welcome to first round conversation, Ifeatu Melifonwu

Where Ifeatu Melifonwu wins

For a dude as long as Melifonwu, it is rare to see the amount of fluidity that he possesses from his island. He can drop his hips, open them, and flip them with a high level of efficiency, and chops up his feet into smaller strides in order to counteract his long legs. With long speed to spare, Melifonwu has the ability to open his hips and run with anybody he sizes up against.

While ball production does not show up in Melifonwu’s box score, he possesses stellar ball skills, seemingly always getting his hands on the football. He excels at attacking the catchpoint, high pointing footballs, and using his lanky arms to work through the football off of his breaks. This gives Melifonwu the potential to be a lockdown cornerback at the next level.

Proving he is a converted safety, Melifonwu proves he has the intellect and spatial awareness to navigate the field in zone coverage as well. He shows the instincts to push the boundaries of his zone until he feels threatened, to split receivers if more than one target is in his zone, and to remained disciplined to not get beat over the top.

Lastly, and an area that will warm the hearts of coaches, Melifonwu proves to be more than willing to participate in the run game. He deconstructs blocks with a high level of efficiency, displays the great tackling form from his safety days, can get downhill in a hurry.

There are, however, areas of his game he can still clean up at the NFL level.