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The Athletic anonymous draft intel part 2: Safeties and CBs
Posted on 4/20/26 at 11:42 am
Posted on 4/20/26 at 11:42 am
quote:
“It’s a really good class,” said DB coach No. 1. “I liked the class last year and wasn’t a fan of the year before, but this is a unique class. I think there are three or four Day 1 starters. I know everyone is talking about Caleb (Downs), and I think he’s in that, but the kid from Toledo (Emmanuel McNeil-Warren) is a freak with some serious upside. He’s raw. I love Dillon (Thieneman). He’s unreal. I think Treydan Stukes is highly underrated. He can play man. He can hold the point. He’s big and long. Super smart. I think they’re all Day 1 starters. I think those four are gonna be game-changers. Then there’s Bud Clark and (A.J.) Haulcy, who are really good players.”
DB coach No. 2 said it’s the best safety class since he’s been in the NFL. Both coaches see Oregon’s Thieneman, a 6-0, 201-pounder who ran a 4.35 40 and vertical jumped 41 1/2 inches at the combine, as a prospect on the level of Downs. He spent two seasons at Purdue before transferring to Oregon last season in a very different scheme. In his three seasons in college football, he made over 300 tackles and had eight INTs.
“I would take Thieneman over Downs,” said DB coach No. 2. “Thieneman is one of the more versatile safeties I’ve seen come out in the last few years. I feel good about him in the deep part of the field, about him in and around the box and about him in coverage, especially from a safeties standpoint. I loved the movement skills from him at the combine. He looked really fluid and loose. There’s a lot to like with him.”
DB coach No. 1 said it wouldn’t surprise him if some team took Thieneman ahead of Downs because he thinks the Oregon DB is that good.
“I think Dillon Thieneman is pretty special,” he said. “He’s ready right now. I think he’s the best tackler I’ve seen in years, but he’s also got the speed and flexibility to turn and run. I think he has first- and second-level instincts and can fit runs like a linebacker, but he can run like the wind in the back end.”
The NFL personnel director thinks Downs is the best safety of a strong group. “I think he’s a three-level player,” he said. “He’s just not that long, and his speed is good but not elite. I think he’s a mix between Budda Baker and Minkah Fitzpatrick. I think he’s worthy of being a top-10 pick. He can play nickel, play strong, blitz.”
The 5-11 5/8, 208-pound Downs didn’t run a 40 at the combine or his pro day. His 30 1/4-inch arms are a bit of a concern in the DB coaches’ eyes. But he’s been exceptionally productive at both Alabama, where he picked up Nick Saban’s system as a true freshman and led the Tide in tackles by a wide margin, and then as a leader on the Buckeyes defense.
Downs has been compared a lot to Baker, who isn’t quite as big, though his arms are a half-inch longer. Baker has made eight Pro Bowls in nine seasons. Ohio State used Downs similarly to how the Arizona Cardinals used Budda Baker.
“There’s been a recurring trend that I keep hearing with Thieneman pushing Downs. I do not see that,” said DB coach No. 3. “I think coaches are nervous because they haven’t seen him cover or in the deep part of the field. This guy sat down at his formal interview and installed his defense, and then talked about how he would play it in our defense. He knew the rules of our defense before he came into the meeting. Nobody’s doing that. There’s a premium on intelligence at the safety position in the NFL, more so than people not in the NFL understand. And the way the game is going with limited practices and limited practice reps, that premium is only becoming more valuable. Defensive coaches are asking players to do more. Downs is invaluable. And he’s an elite tackler.
“His ability to react to what he sees in the deep part of the field, although it’s sparing on this year’s tape, is still really strong. I think he’s a top-10 pick. I have no concerns about him covering. If you’re playing him at nickel, then yeah, I’d be worried about him covering. But this is a safety. He’s gonna take the fourth hardest matchup. When is the safety covering the second-hardest to guy to cover? If that’s your defense, then that’s a bad defense.”
The cornerback group is solid, led by two SEC corners: LSU’s Mansoor Delane and Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy. The 5-11 3/4, 187-pound Delane’s arms measured 30 inches at the combine and 30 3/4 at pro day. He was a big bright spot for an LSU team that had a dismal 2025.
“He’s not (Christian) Gonzalez or (Devon) Witherspoon, but he’s close,” said DB coach No. 2. “He’s a complete player. He’s got the range to do anything you’d ask him to do defensively.”
The 6-0 3/4, 192-pound McCoy, who ran a 4.4 40 and broad jumped 10-7 at his pro day, had four INTs as a sophomore in 2024 but missed all of last season with a knee injury. “If he played last year, he’d probably be the top corner,” said DB coach No. 2. “He’s long. He has ball skills.”
One of the NFL scouts agreed: “He has top-end change of direction and man-coverage ability. He’s one of my favorites in this entire draft.”
Said DB coach No. 3: “I’ve got a hard time in two phases. One: It sounds like the knee is worse than what people thought, and two, if it isn’t as bad as what people think, then he probably didn’t come back as soon as he could’ve. But from a traits standpoint, he’s what you’re hunting. He should be the top guy off the ’24 tape. He’s long, has ball skills, he plays with vision, he reacts and responds well with what he sees, he has good top-end speed, and it’s not just long speed. He has quickness and really good change-of-direction ability. He’s like a fish in water. He’s such a fluid mover.”
the athletic
6
Posted on 4/20/26 at 12:14 pm to L.A.
This is why we won't use #8 for Delane.
Posted on 4/20/26 at 12:52 pm to L.A.
I have been saying that the difference between Downs an Thieneman wasn’t what people here thought it was, and that Thieneman may even be better.
Both will be very good IMO, but the fact that Downs (like Bain) avoiding speed/agility testing like the plague is probably concerning
Both will be very good IMO, but the fact that Downs (like Bain) avoiding speed/agility testing like the plague is probably concerning
This post was edited on 4/20/26 at 5:13 pm
Posted on 4/20/26 at 2:00 pm to L.A.
And this is why I dont buy into the 8-9 players with first round grades BS. Would really love to trade down into mid first.
Posted on 4/20/26 at 2:22 pm to L.A.
quote:
If you’re playing him at nickel, then yeah, I’d be worried about him covering. But this is a safety. He’s gonna take the fourth hardest matchup. When is the safety covering the second-hardest to guy to cover? If that’s your defense, then that’s a bad defense.”
Quite a few posters want us to draft Downs as our nickel. Hope they paid attention to this.
But then again, we have people on here that think Sanker or Blackmon can just play nickel full time.
This post was edited on 4/20/26 at 2:24 pm
Posted on 4/20/26 at 2:23 pm to L.A.
Ive been calling for Thieneman over Downs for weeks
Thieneman Will be the pick at #8
Thieneman Will be the pick at #8
Posted on 4/20/26 at 8:18 pm to Townedrunkard
quote:
Quite a few posters want us to draft Downs as our nickel. Hope they paid attention to this.
But then again, we have people on here that think Sanker or Blackmon can just play nickel full time.
you do know that teams are shuffling WR's in the slot right? Colston killed it there at times.
Posted on 4/20/26 at 8:19 pm to ipodking
No you havent..
Posted on 4/21/26 at 4:57 am to L.A.
If we stay at #8, I still see us going to Delane for all the reasons Detillier outlines it the video. Delane has the fewest question marks and would function well in our present defensive style.
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