Draft Daily: ASU Safety Damarious Randall

Between now and the draft, we’ll zero in on one prospect a day with an Eagles slant. If you have a player you want covered, let us know on the Birds 24/7 Facebook page.

THE BACK STORY

One move that could have completely shed a different light on the Eagles’ offseason would have been signing Patriots safety Devin McCourty.

By all accounts, Chip Kelly targeted McCourty, and the team pursued him aggressively. A McCourty/Malcolm Jenkins combination would have been one of the better ones in the league. But ultimately, McCourty decided to stay in New England.

It seems the Eagles didn’t think much of the second-level safety market because the only addition they made was CB/S E.J. Biggers, who has a less than stellar track record. That means once again the Birds will go into the draft looking for a starting safety.

Which brings us to today’s prospect, Damarious Randall. The Arizona State product played two years for the Sun Devils after transferring from junior college, where he also played baseball. The Eagles reportedly brought him in for a visit recently.

From a scheme fit perspective, Randall looks like a good option. He has man cover skills, something the Eagles find attractive, and some see him as a cornerback.

But how likely is he to be the answer at safety? And where might he go off the board? We take a look below.

THE MEASURABLES

Randall (5-11, 196) is a bit undersized. As a point of reference, Earl Wolff was the same height, but 13 pounds heavier coming out of school. Chances are whichever team adds Randall (assuming it keeps him at safety) will want him to add some weight.

But he’s definitely an exceptional athlete:

THE NO-22

As we’ve mentioned before, evaluating safety play off of TV tape is nearly impossible. But we at least get a look at some of the ways Randall was used, what he did well and what he didn’t do so well.

Let’s start with the good. As mentioned above, Randall has man cover skills. Here he does a good job against Stanford on the corner route (2-second mark):

Here he is against the slot receiver, nearly coming up with an interception (4:37).

And here (1:07 mark), he’s playing deep and does a nice job in coverage on the incompletion.

Said Greg Cosell of NFL Films on a recent PhiladelphiaEagles.com podcast: “I think he’s a better prospect than [Alabama safety] Landon Collins. He’s a better mover. He can do more. The Eagles like to play with interchangeable safeties. I, personally, based on my film study don’t see Landon Collins as an interchangeable safety with multi-dimensional skills.”

Again, based on skill set, Randall fits what the Eagles are looking for.

The problem? He has his share of weaknesses and seems to be in the middle of quite a few big plays.

Randall is below average in the run game, particularly when backs break through past the first and second levels of defenders. Here’s an example from last year’s Oregon State game.

He takes a couple false steps to his right, expecting a throw to the perimeter, and can’t recover as Arizona State allows a big run.

And another one here at the 1:21 mark:

There are also times where he does not look good in man coverage. Here, for example, he gets smoked on the double move in the red zone:

Against Notre Dame (5:52 mark), he gambles and tries to undercut the receiver, allowing a big play.

And later in the game (9:45 mark), Randall appeared to have jumped the fake screen, allowing a receiver to streak downfield wide open.

In the games I watched, there were a lot of ups and downs with Randall.

BOTTOM LINE

A recent FoxSports.com mock draft had Randall going 29th overall in the first round. That would be insane to me. To be honest, the Eagles spending their second-round pick on him seems like a stretch.

The skill set, scheme fit and athleticism are there, but he doesn’t have ideal size, struggles at times against the run and gives up too many big plays.

Randall could be an option in the third or fourth rounds, but if the Eagles were to snag him before then, I’d be surprised.