2023 NFL Draft ROVER Rankings

1. Arquon Bush, Cincinnati

HT: 5112
WT: 198
Year: Super Redshirt Junior
High School: Euclid (Euclid, OH)
Rating: 3-star (0.8646)
Arquon Bush is an exciting safety prospect who can play multiple roles across the field. He was recruited to Cincinnati as a cornerback. He ended up playing a lot on the boundary following the losses of Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and Coby Bryant. His versatility will be very important to an NFL team. He’s capable and has experience at strong safety, free safety, ROVER, and cornerback.

Pros:

Very good speed. Excellent athlete. Moves effortlessly.
Solid upper body strength.
Compared to the rest of the position group, he is a brute. Very strong and sturdy prospect.
Decent hip rotation.
Good wrap-up tackler.
Shows the capacity to play man coverage against some of the faster dudes in college football. Uses the sideline very well as a second defender.
Played a lot of deep coverage assignments in 2022 and did well. Was asked to drop into shell coverage and wasn’t often targeted. Mostly avoided by opposing offenses.

Cons:

Could be a better space defender, but his lack of awareness sometimes moves himself out of position.
Struggles with pursuit angles at times.

2. Joseph Charleston, Missouri

HT: 6002
WT: 200
Year: Super Junior
High School: Milton (Milton, GA)
Rating: 4-star (0.9376)
Joseph Charleston is a transfer from Clemson. One of my personal favorites in the class, Charleston stood out to me while at Clemson, making an impact as their ROVER defender. After his transfer to Missouri, Charleston has stood out in Missouri as one of their top defenders, arguably the best one in their secondary.

Pros:

Charleston has excellent speed. Looks to be one of the fastest defenders that they have.
Change of direction is flawless. Charleston’s hips are very smooth. Switch is almost effortless.
Good space defender. While he’s not a great tackler, he can slow down the ball carrier until help arrives.
Takes good pursuit angles to the boundary.
Shows the ability to play solid zone coverage. Smart, heady player. Can be moved with his aggression by smarter quarterbacks.
Recognizes the play and reacts accordingly consistently.

Cons:

Not a great tackler. Lacks the size and strength to bring bigger players down. Doesn’t try to wrap up, tries to deliver a big hit.
Not a great blitzer.
Charleston tends to play trail technique while in man coverage, preferring to break on the ball. Aggressive to a fault – will try to make plays on the football at all costs.

3. Brian Branch, Alabama

HT: 5116
WT: 193
Year: Super Sophomore
High School: Sandy Creek (Tyrone, GA)
Rating: 4-star (0.9709)
Brian Branch is a phenomenal prospect who overtook Malachi Moore for the starting ROVER spot at the end of the 2020 season, starting the SEC Championship and the Playoff games in relief of Moore who was injured. His work as a ROVER in the Alabama defense has been solid, a legitimate upgrade over what Moore offered the team in the spot. He looks like he could be viewed as this year’s Jalen Pitre-type prospect.

Pros:

Good speed, not great.
Has decent upper-body strength.
Very strong tackler. Devastating at the point of contact.
Strong space defender.
Very solid blitzer. Has a bunch of tools to work around blockers if he gets caught up in traffic or picked up. Excellent bend.
Solid instincts when coming after the quarterback.
Contests the catch point with everything that he has.
Very quick to recognize the plays around him.

Cons:

A little passive with his pursuit angles. Would like to see him pick up his intensity in pursuit more often.
Capable in man coverage, but doesn’t work across the field well. Surrenders positioning too easily.
Too physical and has to be better about timing his hit and how he contests the catch point. Tends to get too grabby for my liking.

4. Rashad Wisdom, UTSA

HT: 5092
WT: 205
Year: Super Junior
High School: Judson (Converse, TX)
Rating: 3-star (0.8426)
Rashad Wisdom has been a star in the UTSA defense with his aggressive style of play, attacking downhill with big hits and electrifying, game-changing plays. Wisdom’s size will limit him to a slot or ROVER role, but his tackling and space ability are not being overlooked.

Pros:

Shows decent change of direction ability.
Offers some tackling ability. Works well in run support. Good range and motor. Vicious hit stick, puts his body into finishing and assisting tackles. Solid contact power.
Pursuit angles are good.
I think Wisdom shows some excellent instincts. Moves well into position.
Very solid in deep coverage, recognizes the play and works to undercut the throw. Very impressed with his performance, specifically against Illinois, dealing with both speed and size threats on the back end.
Recognition skills are very good.

Cons:

Won’t be among the fastest defensive backs in the class, but has suitable athleticism and speed for the next level.
Does struggle to accelerate.
Wasn’t asked to play much man coverage in the UTSA scheme.

5. Malachi Moore, Alabama

HT: 5116
WT: 190
Year: Super Sophomore
High School: Hewitt-Trussville (Trussville, AL)
Rating: 4-star (0.9191)
Malachi Moore was the starter who earned a starting role on the defense early in his career at Alabama as their fifth defensive back or ROVER defender. Over the last couple of years, he’s surrendered that role to Brian Branch, who is simply a better player at the position but has continued to play in relief of Branch as well as the dime back.

Pros:

Excellent short distance quickness. Does not have the long speed to keep up with NFL level receivers. May be limited to underneath coverage.
Overall a very strong tackler. Vicious contact. Would like to see him wrap up more consistently instead of just trying to deliver the big hit.
Capable in man coverage. Has the speed to stay with some of the leagues faster receivers
Smart zone coverage player. Maybe a little bit too physical at times, don’t want to see him end up drawing a lot of flags.

Cons:

Upper body strength is lacking. Doesn’t take contact well.
Doesn’t have great change of direction ability.
Not reactive enough at the top of a receivers route.
Has had serious issues with staying healthy. Missed all playoff football over his first two seasons.

6. Greg Brooks Jr, LSU

HT: 5095
WT: 185
Year: Super Junior
High School: West Jefferson (Harvey, LA)
Rating: 4 star (0.8925)
Greg Brooks Jr transferred into LSU this offseason from Arkansas, where he had a marginally successful career. He is a huge part of the LSU defense in 2022, playing a rotation between deep safety and box defender. Brooks has another year of eligibility, which I would expect him to use, but is a very legitimate pro prospect for an NFL secondary somewhere.

Pros:

Very quick. Moves extremely well, very athletic player.
Solid lateral quickness.
Has solid upper body strength.
Changes direction decently well. Above average for the NFL level.
Very strong wrap-up tackler. Delivers a good hit while wrapping up, awesome technique.
Consistently made tackles in space, even when not getting the best pursuit angle on a player.
Decent blitzer.
Plays deep coverage decently well.

Cons:

I’d like to see Brooks play with more intensity in space.
Likes to work down into the box in run support. Pursuit angles overall aren’t consistent.
Didn’t play a lot of man coverage in the LSU scheme.
Needs to get better depth in zone assignments. Tends to cheat up too easily. Tends to be undisciplined in zone coverage, jumping into other people’s zones.

7. Tyler Murray, Memphis

HT: 6006
WT: 215
Year: Super Redshirt Junior
High School: Baldwin (Jacksonville, FL)
Rating: 2-star (0.7792)
Tyler Murray is a transfer from Troy through Charlotte. Murray made the Senior Bowl watchlist prior to the 2021 college football season but overall didn’t play as strong as he could have, not making a return to the list this season. He made my all-underrated team before the start of this season, filling in the ROVER spot. Murray looks like he could potentially be a late round pick, especially with the way he has performed this year in the Memphis defense.

Pros:

For the position, Murray is very powerful. Devastating hit.
Very solid tackler when he wraps up. Plays downhill well in the box. Has to play smarter with the quarterback. Delivers a very nasty hit. Tries to make the big hit sometimes and will miss.
Typically shows good timing as a blitzer. He doesn’t have much ability to get off the blocks, even against running backs.
Positions well to cover tight ends and running backs in man coverage. Reacts well to their routes and breaks.
Relatively quick to react in zone coverage. Sits well and feels his zone appropriately. Gets the proper depth he needs.

Cons:

Speed is not great. It’s adequate but he won’t have the speed to change the play with a backside pressure or cross-field tackle.
Upper body strength is average.
Has decent change of direction but will be mostly average for the NFL level.
Too hesitant in space to be really effective.
Pursuit angles are average. Murray has the potential to be good but tries too hard to make big plays routinely. Needs to just let the game come to him. Has an ability to make plays in the backfield when needed.
Decent press coverage. Has a decent jam, looks like he surrenders some positioning when using his jam.