Set for a massive wise, Ifeatu Melifonwu is making waves
If your favorite team is in need of cornerback help in the 2021 NFL Draft, you are in luck as this crop of defensive backs is quite the deep one. The names such as Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II, South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn, and Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley are the mainstays of the class. However do not sleep on Syracuse’s Ifeatu Melifonwu as the draft vastly approaches.
There is a ton to like about Melifonwu, and he will continue to rise as he is expected to test off the charts at the NFL Scouting Combine. He looks to join his teammates in safety Andre Cisco, and running mate Trill Williams as members of the Syracuse secondary to hear their names called this upcoming April.
What does he bring to the NFL?
Looking at the box score
After transitioning from safety to cornerback, Melifonwu picked off three passes and knocked down 13 over two years at the position. In 2020, Melifonwu had a knack for sniffing out screen passes, racking up three tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He tallied one interception and six passes defended in just ten games with the Orange.
The real deal, Melifonwu looks to follow in his brother Obi’s footsteps, and vastly exceed what he was able to do at the NFL level. As he prepares for the Reese’s Senior Bowl and beyond, we take an in-depth look at what the massive 6-foot-3 and 213 pound Syracuse cornerback brings to the next level in this scouting report.
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.
Where he shows room for improvement
Seemingly miscast at Syracuse, Melifonwu was tasked with playing a ton of off coverage. For the looks of his tape, this caused him to become disinterested in his drops, allowing for him to put his guard down. As NFL teams will more than likely align him in the face of the receiver across from him the majority of the time, this worry could go away.
However, this inconsistency has led to a but of a lull in Melifonwu’s ability to shift his weight when he attempts to change directions. Given his extraordinary length, Melifonwu has his work cut out for him in order to make sure his feet remain concise, engaged, and active at all times as not to get caught off guard. Given his lankiness off the line of scrimmage, it is baffling as to why he was not aligned in press more frequently at Syracuse.
Additionally, in zone coverage, Melifonwu has the tendency to get his eyes caught on crossers in front of him when tasked with a deep third or quarter, causing him to be tardy at rolling back over the top of the defense. Overall, however, Melifonwu cleaned up a ton of inconsistencies in his game this season, and now will see his name continue to rise.
Just how high can Melifonwu fly? We turn there next.
What is 2021 NFL Draft outlook of Ifeatu Melifonwu
He is currently ranked in the 100s on big boards of some of the bigger draft sites, but look for Melifonwu to take a massive rise over the next three and a half months as the 2021 NFL Draft approaches. Nick Farabaugh of Pro Football Network asks the question: just how high can Melifonwu fly?
"“The question will always be how high can Melifonwu’s stock goes. Physical traits are great, and if you have really great traits, they can make you a day-two pick. Guys like Kyle Dugger are perfect examples of where absurd measurables can get you draft stock wise. Melifonwu has similar traits but may project as an outside cornerback.”"
This writer currently has Melifonwu evaluated as an early second round pick, leaving the door wide open for the ultra-athletic to land in the top-32 this upcoming April. NFL teams love long and athletic cornerbacks, and given the film he put on display in 2020, Melifonwu has improved a ton of the summer scouting holes in his game.
This rise is just the beginning for Melifonwu as the sky is the limit for him. As he heads to Mobile later this month for the Senior Bowl, and as he prepares to test off the charts at the combine, Melifonwu will soon have scouts and general managers drooling over him.