NFL Draft Scouting Notes: 3-4 OLB Brenton Cox Jr, Florida

Brenton Cox transferred into the program from Georgia in 2019, sitting out a season due to eligibility rules. It looks like Cox has bulked up significantly during the 2021 offseason. He was dismissed from the Georgia program after the 2018 season, and then dismissed from the Florida program after the Florida/Georgia game in 2022.

pic.twitter.com/uy9HLN7xGI
— Brent Cox Jr. (@brenton_cox_) October 31, 2022

Following his dismissal from Florida, Cox declared for the NFL Draft while apologizing for his actions. There’s no doubt on the field that he’s a special player, it’s going to be a matter of determining if he can stay on the field.

HT: 6032
WT: 253
Year: Super Redshirt Junior
High School: Stockbridge (Stockbridge, GA)
Rating: 5-star (0.9867)

Watching more Kellen Mond tape and this Brenton Cox Jr. long arm👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/Ij1xJBgIGo
— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) May 4, 2021

Brenton Cox Jr scouting notes

Pros:

Decent speed. Relatively good athlete.
Has a solid first step, good burst, and accelerates well.
Very explosive athlete.
Great upper body strength. Translates his weight room work extremely well to the field.
Has decent hands to be a menace as a pass rusher.
Decent tackler, would like to see him wrap up better. Delivers a very nice hit.
Smart, instinctive defender.
Does a good job disrupting passing lanes with his arms. Drops suitably into his zone and reacts decently well.
Has stayed very healthy throughout his career. Hasn’t missed really any time.

Cons:

Not particularly a “brute.”
Still a little bit stiff, but has flashed bend ability. Much better finesse rusher than speed or power.
Struggles to consistently win against tackles as a pass rusher.
Not the greatest contain defender.
Red flags galore – has been kicked out of two SEC programs.

2023 NFL Draft projection

Brenton Cox Jr has a lot of questions to answer in NFL interviews. There is no doubt that teams will be interested in the talent, because he can become a very effective edge rusher. That being said, I think it’s reasonable to assume that he won’t be at a big, NFL-sanctioned all-star event this year, despite being listed on the Senior Bowl Watchlist and the Shrine Bowl 1000, but he will have to prove to NFL teams that he won’t be a problem in a locker room or on the field.

                                                                                          
                                                     Tack              Def            Fumb
Year      School Conf Class Pos  G Solo Ast Tot Loss   Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD   FR Yds TD FF
*2018    Georgia  SEC    FR  LB 11    7  13  20  2.0  1.0   0       0  0  3           0  0
*2020    Florida  SEC    SO  LB 12   21  21  42 10.0  3.5   0       0  0  2           1  0
*2021    Florida  SEC    JR  LB 13   26  15  41 14.5  8.0   0       0  0  4           0  1
2022     Florida  SEC    SR  LB  8   15  20  35  8.0  2.0   0       0  0  1    0   0  0  0
Career                     Overall   69  69 138 34.5 14.5   0       0  0 10    1   0  0  1
                           Georgia    7  13  20  2.0  1.0   0       0  0  3           0  0
                           Florida   62  56 118 32.5 13.5   0       0  0  7    1   0  0  1

Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 11/1/2022.

If I was evaluating Cox from a talent standpoint, I would estimate his draft capital at around a third-round pick. While he didn’t have consistent production in college, he has shown the ability to be a strong, finesse rusher at the next level and still has room to develop.

However, with all of the concerns, it’s hard to imagine that Cox will be anything more than a seventh-round pick, perhaps even going undrafted. It certainly won’t be for lack of talent.