Essang Bassey Report

	A	D	G	I	J	K	M	N	O
1		Essang Bassey
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8							Grading Scale		Grade Assigned
9	Essang Bassey	Age 21	Low/Medium/High: Kendric Burney (Low) - Lorenzo Doss (Medium) - Grant Haley (High)				Hall of Fame Caliber		9.0 - 10
10	Cornerback	5'9 3/8"					All-Pro		8.0 - 8.999
11	Wake Forest	191 pounds	Side notes: Third team all-ACC in 2019. Second team all-ACC in 2018. Honorable mention all-ACC in 2017. Playing running back in high school as well as corner. Invited 2020 Senior Bowl.				Pro Bowler		7.0 - 7.999
12	Senior	Hands - 7 7/8" Arms - 31"					Quality NFL Starter		6.0 - 6.999
13							NFL Starter		5.0 - 5.999
14	Footwork (30 points): Worked over during Senior Bowl practices, and was one of the most picked on players there. Hip stiffness makes recovering from a mistake nearly impossible against higher levels of competition. Doesn't get a ton of depth with his backpedaling efforts. Played a lot of half turn that did not stress him from a physical standpoint. Not a twitchy mover and it makes attempting to mirror the receiver a tall task. Can't change directions after he gets committed going one way. Questionable agility will get him into trouble. Positioning precision must get better if he's going to hold up. Foot speed is a major disappointment and prevents him from major recalculations. Takes time to get warmed up in his coverage. Footwork did not improve much between his junior and senior seasons. Flexibility isn't that good. Stuck playing with himself most of the time.	Recognition Skills (15 points): A bit dependent on the scheme, and will likely be playing strictly in zone coverage with cushion. Good reaction time in switching from defending the pass to defending the run. Played primarily outside at Wake Forest but he has abysmal odds of doing that in the NFL at his size. Comfortable working both left and right sides of the field. Can resort to grabbing and getting too handsy when he begins to lose ground. Hand use is not controlled or calculated enough, which gets things ugly in press coverage reps. Can't redirect guys effectively once he gets squared up and puts hands on the target. No chance at matching up to tight ends. Limited versatility makes his projection a messy one. May end up being treated like he's a square peg in a round hole. Assignment sound guy who sticks to his duties rather than roaming away.	Tackling (15 points): Willing to mix it up in the run game, but he doesn't have the strength to get a lot of awkward finishes. Drag down tackling is going to be more prominent at the NFL level. Effort is there against screens, but he can get overwhelmed while trying to take on blockers. Works hard to maximize his tackling radius despite not having the length to win from distance with any consistency. Lays out to make his tackles when it is needed. Smart angles help to make up for some of the physical limitations he faces; won't run himself out of the play with bad missteps. Forced to dive at times and it leads him into some ankle-biting, but he tries to aim his shots when possible. Frame is maxed out and it's unlikely that he gets any stronger at the NFL level. Drives his legs through contact and runs them until whistle is blown. Usually plays way above his weight class.		Ball Skills (20 points): Size makes it easy for his opposition to bully him at the catch point. Weak in traffic and gets washed away from the action. Will struggle to position himself against slants and the routes that cross the field. Small arms aren't able to swat around the body of the big outside receivers. Ball production over the course of his career is an absolute anomaly for a guy who doesn't have great range. Third overall in career passes defended at the NCAA level since 2005. Hand-eye coordination isn't a red flag, but it will need improvement in the future. Too passive until the ball is already on top of him. Does his best work when he can attack versus screens. Flashes some attitude and pesters on the comebacks and curl routes. Has a habit of playing the receiver instead of the ball. Ball tracking ability on downfield shots is an underwhelming asset.		NFL Backup		4.0 - 4.999
15							Depth Player		3.0 - 3.999
16							Potential Practice Squad		2.0 - 2.999
17							Potential Camp Roster		1.0 - 1.999
18							Out of Football		0 - 0.999
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20							Kent Lee Platte's RAS		Combine Scores
21							40-yard dash: 4.46 seconds		7.95 (TCB10 of 29)
22							Bench Press: 12 reps		4.23 (TCB15 of 23)
23							Vertical Jump: 39.5 inches		9.29 (TCB3 of 24)
24							Broad Jump: 128 inches		9.17 (TCB7 of 23)
25							3-cone drill: 6.95 seconds		6.11 (TCB6 of 15)
26							20-yard shuttle: 4.13 seconds		7.72 (TCB3 of 13)
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28	Recovery Speed (10 points): Stride length is not going to bail him out down the field. Testing speed is better than what he showed on tape. Lacks click and close ability, and shouldn't be expected to eat routes from zone coverage. Reaction time isn't fast enough to overcome his rather mediocre burst. Will move with applaudable effort, but it won't translate to getting there any faster. Outrun on the deep ball by Clemson's Tee Higgins, which is a massive red flag for his play speed. Will probably need safety help over the top to protect him against the deep ball. Doesn't really open it up much even when he gets going deeper downfield. Urgency fluctuates in bad moments. Starts to process things faster and react better as the game goes on. Tested more in the Clemson game and couldn't hold up to the task.	Relative Athletic Score (10 points): Small for a corner, but he has decent weight. Height score of 1.82 and weight score of 5.81. Surprising overall athletic profile given what he showed on tape. Had some fantastic jumps and 40-yard dash. Agilities are solid. Checked all the desire boxes that were expected for him, and cemented his status.	Footwork: 4 points	Recognition Skills: 6 points		Tackling: 10 points	College Statistics
29							Key: T - Tackles INT - Interceptions PD - Passes Defended
30							Freshman Year	Defense: 19T-0INT-3PD
31			Ball Skills: 6 points	Recovery Speed: 2 points		Character & Meds: -0 points	Freshman Year	Defense: 19T-0INT-3PD
32						RAS: 7.73	Sophomore Year	Defense: 75T-3INT-16PD
33						RAS: 7.73	Sophomore Year	Defense: 75T-3INT-16PD
34		Character & Injury Concerns (10 points - DEDUCT ONLY): Team captain in 2019. Team captain in high school. Known for doing good things off the field both in the classroom and in the community. No known medical or character issues. Comes from a strong support structure and should handle the rigors of the NFL game fine. Articulates himself well and does an excellent job interviewing.	Final Grade (Total /10): 3.573 - Depth Player				Junior Year	Defense: 73T-1INT-15PD
35							Junior Year	Defense: 73T-1INT-15PD
36							Senior Year	Defense: 60T-1INT-11PD
37			Final Ranking:	#203 overall prospect		CB #25 of 28	Senior Year	Defense: 60T-1INT-11PD
38						CB #25 of 28	Total Stats	Games Played: 52
39						7th Round Value		Defense: 227T-5INT-45PD
40						7th Round Value		Defense: 227T-5INT-45PD
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42	The Book on Bassey	Games watched: Clemson (2019), Florida State (2018) - Tape Review Date: 3/24/20
43	The Book on Bassey
44	A three star recruit who received offers from teams like Georgia State, Furman, and Wofford outside of Wake Forest, Bassey was a bit lucky to get an offer from a power five team given his status as a recruit. He was able to get involved quickly though once he get on campus, and made quite the productive spree of seasons. Bassey played in all 13 games during his first season with the program, although he functioned primarily in a backup and special teams role during that campaign. He broke into the starting lineup in 2017 though, and wouldn't be giving that spot up through the remainder of his career. An honorable mention all-conference selection thanks to his 16 passes defended during that season, Bassey started to put himself on the national radar thanks to his outstanding production for an early career player. He didn't have a ton of hype entering his junior year, but he drew interest from draftniks here and there as a sleeper with room to rise down the line. Bassey put up another great season statistically and continued to improve his game overall, and he jumped from being named honorable mention all-conference to being named second team. By the time Bassey concluded his third year with the team, it seemed like a possible early declaration could be in the works. Instead, he decided to return to school in hopes of further improving his technique and solidifying his draft stock even further. Bassey entered the summer prior to his senior year being viewed as a possible late day two pick, although that narrative started to change once more draftniks started to get their hands on his tape. Although Bassey has always had some flashy plays thanks to his role in zone coverage, he doesn't have the type of tools to go man against the better receivers out there, and that evidence started to pile up throughout his final year. He was still able to draw an invite to the Senior Bowl, albeit not a highly touted one. He ended up having one of the worst showings of any prospect at the event, as Bassey was routinely bullied around in coverage. He looked small at the weigh-ins and continued to look small throughout the whole week of practices. His lapses in that week likely took him down draft boards, and could end up being one of the big reasons why he doesn't hear his name called until late in the draft. Bassey was a bit surprising with his results at the Combine, as he performed well across the board and posted some standout numbers in the 40-yard dash, vertical, and broad jumps. Bassey's Combine numbers are likely to solidify him getting picked somewhere in the back of the draft, but if not he should end up being one of the biggest priority undrafted free agents available. His ceiling will likely be as a fringe roster player who struggles to get off the practice squad, but his character and effort should earn him some chances throughout his career.
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