NFL DRAFT 2018: SHAWUN LURRY

The NFL draft is just days away, and by this point each player has been analyzed, scrutinized, and romanticized by every NFL guru from Kalamazoo to Calcutta. We here at pigskinpress.com turn once again to our director of scouting Nathan Cooper to help us look deeper into the draft at some guys from the group of five that may be a real steal on draft day!

Shawun Lurry Northern Illinois

Cornerback

Year: 4SR

Jersey: #19

Hometown: West Palm Beach, FL

Games Scouted: 2017 #1 Boston College, #3 @ Nebraska, #9 @ Toledo, #11 Western Michigan 2017 Stats: 12 GP, 21 Tackles (13 Solo), 4.5 TFL, 2 Int, 6 PD, 22 PR Yards Career Stats: 49 GP, 118 Tackles (84 Solo), 7.5 TFL, 14 Int, 1 TD, 45 PD, 83 PR Yards All-Star Game: N/A

Background/Notes

Holds school records for career INT return yardage with 448 and modern day single-season interceptions with 9
2x First Team All-MAC (2015, 2017 – Coaches)
2016 Second Team All-MAC (Coaches)
2015 Third Team All-American (Associated Press)
Major in General Emphasis

Character – A

No concerns

Medical – A

2016 – Suffered a right elbow injury against South Florida
2016 – Suffered an injured ankle against Eastern Michigan
2017 – Suffered a left lower-leg injury against Boston College

Strengths

Good ball skills
Solid quickness and closing speed
Good zone instincts and FBI

Weaknesses

Struggles in off-man coverage
Transition is just adequate
Poor tackler
Offers limited run support

Summary

Lurry projects as a practice squad Cornerback in the NFL. After a couple of years on the practice squad, he may be able to play as a #5 or #6 Cornerback. At Northern Illinois, he mainly played the corner position on the wide-side of the field. He’s a good athlete with good reactive athleticism. He competes, but doesn’t show a lot of toughness except for when he’s in coverage. His small frame makes it tough for him to thrive in most areas you want to see a corner thrive in, but he has some traits that are unteachable. Against the run, he’s virtually nowhere to be found. He doesn’t have any sort of aggression to come up and stop the run. His tackling ability is poor at best. In the four games scouted, he had nearly ten of his tackles broken or he just flat-out missed. Against the pass, he brings a high FBI, quality instincts and good ball skills. He plays good zone coverage and has good instincts in coverage. He does a good job playing two receivers and baiting the quarterback into throws. He doesn’t have great transition ability, but he’s able to break up on routes with quickness. He shows decent ability in press-man, but isn’t big enough or physical enough to re-route many receivers off the line. Also, he struggles in off-man, mainly due to his slow transition. With that being said, he has good closing speed and is able to catch back up and get in-phase when beaten. His ball skills are good and it’s something that could allow him to stick around on a practice squad while he develops his other skills. He dropped many potential interceptions in 2016, passes he was picking off in 2015, but still racked up 14 picks in his career. He probably won’t see much time in the slot, as he isn’t big enough to take on tight ends and larger receivers. His small frame could also keep him off of consistent special teams, but he does have some return experience and ability. Lurry should find a camp and compete enough using his instincts and ball skills to possibly keep him around and allow him to develop.

NFL Comparison: Torry McTyer, Dolphins (Undrafted, 2017) Lurry and McTyer both have good ball skills with some return ability, but struggle at times in man coverage and with tackling due to their sleight frames.

Grade: 5.6 (Mid-Late 6th Round)

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