Does he have skills that can translate to being a versatile player that Brian Flores’ defense will covet, or will his athletic deficiencies project to someone who can’t find a way to see an NFL field? Man coverage I watched six of his 2022 games: Mississippi State, Tennessee, Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Georgia. With those testing concerns in mind, let’s take a look at Ward’s tape. weigh-in to take on blocks from linemen and TEs. And for a box safety, you’d want him to bulk up significantly from his 188-lb. For a slot player, you’d want better quickness than Ward displayed. Ideally, you’d want an outside corner or deep safety to run faster than Ward did.
Ward’s athletic testing makes him seem more like a “tweener” who could struggle to find a role in the NFL than a versatile player who can be used at multiple spots. However, he lacked top-end speed with a 4.55 second 40-yard dash, and he clocked in with substandard agility metrics, running a very poor 7.31-second 3-cone. Ward showed good explosion with a 11′ broad jump and a 1.54 10-yard split. That helped contribute to his underwhelming athletic testing. at the combine despite his height and length. But Ward is noticeably thin on the field and weighed only 188 lbs. He has a good frame for the position at 6’0 3/4″ tall with 32.5″ arms. Per PFF, Ward played over 100 snaps lined up at four different positions: in the slot, in the box, as a deep safety, and as an outside corner. He was used in a very versatile role during the 2022 season. Ward ascended as a starter for the LSU Tigers at the end of the 2020 season and started his final two years with the team. The Vikings are betting on new DC Brian Flores to mold this youth into a strong defense to help the team follow up on its 13-4 record in 2022. Ward joins a very young Vikings secondary, a group with only one player, Harrison Smith, 34, over the age of 25. The Minnesota Vikings took LSU DB Jay Ward with their fourth-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft, No.
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