2019 NFL Draft: Delaware’s Nasir Adderley is the draft’s top safety

Delaware’s Nasir Adderley is no longer flying under the radar, with the pre-draft process revealing his standing as the draft’s top safety prospect

Playing at the FCS level with Delaware, Nasir Adderley spent his college career quietly flying under the radar as a prospect. He was little known entering the pre-draft process until some draft elevators began taking closer looks at his tape with the Blue Hens.

His hype started picking up, but his meteoric rise up draft boards really began at the Senior Bowl in Mobile in January, when Adderley really began separating himself as one of the draft’s premier prospects.

He emerged as one of the top players during his time at the Senior Bowl, while also showing his leadership qualities that led to him being named a captain of the North team during the game. His strong week of practice culminated in a strong game on Saturday, with Adderley flying all over the field and getting a game-sealing interception in the fourth quarter.

Adderley is a versatile prospect who seems to be an ideal fit for today’s NFL with his jack-of-all-trades ability as a defensive back. He was extremely productive during his collegiate career, and his relative innocuous career is about to end as he pushes for a potential first round selection in April.

There are several quality safeties at the top of the draft boards this season, but Adderley has separated himself as the No. 1 safety in the 2019 class.

Strengths

Adderley’s versatility is a big reason for his standing as one of the draft’s premier prospects. He has experience at both corner and safety, while mostly being utilized as a deep safety during his last two seasons with the Blue Hens.

He has excellent range and closing skills to converge on receivers. He has the potential to be a ball-hawking safety, producing 10 interceptions over his career at Delaware.

Entering the Senior Bowl, there were some concerns over Adderley’s ability to hold up in man coverage and help as a run defender, but he checked those boxes emphatically in Mobile. Adderley was arguably more impressive in the box, delivering some thunderous hits as he was consistently unafraid to lower his shoulder and join the fray.

He played in a predominantly zone scheme in college, but his coverage skills in man-to-man situations at the Senior Bowl were typically sound.

Adderley is a physical player with outstanding athleticism. He’s extremely fluid getting in and out of breaks, with exceptional upside to potentially become a Pro Bowl or even All Pro safety in the NFL.

Weaknesses 

There’s not many weaknesses that are evident on tape for Adderley. The only major concern for him is the level of competition that he faced in college. Adjusting to the speed of the NFL is likely going to be an adjustment for him, and he could have some significant growing pains early in his career as a result. Playing safety as a rookie is a tough job, particularly when you are unused to constantly facing high-end talent.

While he seemed to hold up in man-coverage during his time in Mobile, he could initially struggle in man-to-man situations against slot receivers after predominantly playing zone in college.

How quickly he is able to adjust to the speed of the NFL and how quickly he is able to get comfortable in man-schemes will determine how early he can become a useful contributor at the next level.

Draft Projection

I think Adderley’s one of the Top-25 prospects in this class, but he’s at a crowded position with several players competing for first round consideration. His position probably varies on everyone’s draft boards, and his selection will depend on a team having him atop their board at the position and having a need.

There’s a lot of quality defensive players in this draft, which could knock Adderley to the early second round range. In a crowded class, though, that features standout safeties such as Florida’s Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Alabama’s Deionte Thompson, Mississippi State’s Johnathan Abram, and Washington’s Taylor Rapp, the little known FCS player could end up going ahead of all of them.

Projection: Late First Round