NFL Draft 2018: Texas’ DeShon Elliott displays untapped potential

Texas Longhorns defensive back DeShon Elliott used a big junior season to leapfrog his name in the middle of the 2018 NFL Draft discussions.

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The beauty of college football is that every season, an under-the-radar player can breakout at any time and propel his way into elite status, and even the NFL Draft discussion.

For Texas Longhorns safety DeShon Elliott, 2017 did just that as he is coming off his first year as a starter in the Longhorns defense as a junior. Elliott has recorded snaps in all three of his seasons at Texas, but it was not until this past 2017 season where he was put in a starting role due to the graduation and departing players prior to him.

Elliott made his presence known almost instantly as he had a monster game in the Longhorns’ third game of the year against USC. Against the Trojans, Elliott registered two interceptions, one of which was brought back for a touchdown. As an encore, he recorded two interceptions again in the team’s following game against Iowa State.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound safety finished the 2017 season with 63 total tackles, six interceptions, two touchdowns, and nine pass deflections and is now suddenly an attractive pick for any NFL team needing secondary help. His six picks were good for fourth in the entire NCAA in 2017.

Strengths

Elliott is the perfect mix and balance of the ideal safety, as he can cover well and also tackle like he is a linebacker. With a perfect frame for his position, Elliott possesses the quickness needed to cling to vertical receivers, but also has enough strength to make a difference in the run defense.

In the rare instances where he is beat, his great tackling ability allows him to limit plays and avoid giving up the big, game-changing ones. In addition, his ball-hawking ability speaks for himself, as he was in the top five in 2017 for interceptions.

Elliott was a prime example of what some players can do once they wait it out for a few seasons and stay patient. As a sophomore, he started just one game, but was still able to manage 30 total tackles. As a junior, he more than doubled that output.

Weaknesses

Elliott’s talent on the football field translated perfect on the college football field because he did not need to overly-exert himself as his football IQ and timing often were enough to keep him in the play.

For the NFL, Elliott will need to work on his movement and explosiveness a bit more. Rather than floating and making a late break to a play, it is important that he better reads them and gets better jumps as the talent he will be facing at a professional level will certainly be different. If he get his footwork down, Elliott will be playing a long time in the NFL.

Draft Projection

In the 2018 NFL draft, there are many great secondary players that keep this position very mysterious- meaning it is hard to project where many of them will fall. Being that there are multiple slots in the secondary on an NFL team and given Elliott’s just one season as a starter, it could make him drop.

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At the same time, there is a possibility that a team sees they need more help in the defensive backfield and he could go as high as second or third round. Because of that, a safe assumption would be to go somewhere in the  middle.

Prediction: Fourth round