*Andrew Witten - CB Scouting Report #5

[Warner]

Andrew Witten - Scouting Report

Player Link: http://nsfl.jcink.net/index.php?showtopic=...=0&#entry256135

Introduction:
This is the fifth of several scouting reports that I’ll be writing on this upcoming DSFL draft class of CBs. Considering that they are a deciding factor on whether or not an offense will torch you in the passing game, Cornerbacks are an important position that every DSFL GM should be looking for on their draft board. This series of reports will be written so that DSFL GMs won’t need to look far to determine which of the CBs in the upcoming draft class will fit their needs best. Now, without further ado, here is my scouting report on the CB out of the University of Cincinnati, Andrew Witten.

Strengths and Weaknesses:
Andrew Witten is one of the more traditional CBs in this draft, having stuck to and prioritized improving in terms of his archetype, rather than attempting to jump the gun and become a more specialized CB, which is something that GMs should be jotting down right away. The man has his priorities in order. Disregarding the previous assessment, (which, in hindsight, should’ve gone in the Extras section), let’s take a look at his attributes. The first and most glaring weakness of his is his below-average strength. Despite the fact that strength is not a very important trait for Zone CBs, and should instead be prioritized by Safeties, it definitely isn’t a bad thing to have. Witten will likely not do very well when matched up against a red-zone threat WR or possession (balanced) TE in the pros. Despite this glaring flaw, he does have a lot of strengths. His above-average agility, however, allows him to move around fluidly and quickly, and permits him to make the quick and steep turns required for a zone CB who’s being thrown over-the-top. In addition to this, his above-average intelligence goes a long way towards helping him determine where the QB is going to throw before the ball is released, and allow him to determine the perfect angle to approach the targeted receiver or the ball at when attempting a pick or a pass breakup. Along with this come the rest of his attributes, some of which are adequate, and some of which need improvement. First is his average tackling, which, when combined with his below-average hands for a Zone CB, will pose serious challenges when Witten is attempting to force an incompletion with a tackle, attempting to deflect a pass to the ground, or when he is attempting to pick off a pass. His intelligence should be able to rectify most of his hands issues, though they still do need some work. The upside to these issues is that Witten has above-average speed for a corner of his archetype, and average endurance along with it, which means that he won’t have much trouble running down a receiver, and will be able to play in scheme for an extended amount of time in each game he plays in.

Pro Comparison:

The best comparison of a pro CB for Andrew Witten would have to be the former CB for the Bengals, William Jackson III. Jackson was an athletic and intelligent zone cornerback who could either completely shut down opposing receiving threats at times, regardless of who they were, or only manage to put up an average performance against them. Despite his ability and instincts, Jackson was frequently overlooked during his career due to playing on a bad team with a mediocre defense, an issue that I hope Witten never has to suffer through. I’d consider his ceiling to be Rondé Barber, a legendary zone CB for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the era of their vaunted Tampa 2 defense. Barber thrived within this scheme, and with a good supporting cast of DBs, alongside a Hall of Fame caliber Free Safety in John Lynch, he was able to put up historical numbers for a CB during this era. He was even able to switch to Free Safety himself later on in his career, and was still able to be productive in this role. I believe that Andrew Witten has a median floor of William Jackson III and a median ceiling of Rondé Barber.


Extras:
- A bit undersized for a corner height-wise at 5’10”, hopefully compensates for this with a good vertical jump at the combine
- Also very underweight for a DB in general at 170, which explains the lack of strength and bad tackling, something that he should be looking to make up for with good speed and ball-skills (hands), the latter of which he does not have at the moment
- Exceptional Work Ethic when analyzed qualitatively, but on the opposite end of the spectrum when analyzed quantitatively
- Right-Handed, a common theme for DBs in this draft
- Could not find any information about his life outside of the profiling, must be investigated further by whatever team chooses to draft him (no wiki page at all)

Conclusion:
Andrew Witten is a zone CB with great intelligence, agility, speed, and endurance, but bad tackling, hands and strength, all of which being things that he needs to work on. He is a very traditional zone CB as evidenced by his attributes, but still needs to improve in a variety of areas. There is also no personal information at all that I could find on him, meaning that whichever team chooses to draft him should spend some time doing a background check on him, or at least try to find out something about his life, including his college and high school performance and background. Once these issues are sorted out, however, I am fairly sure that Witten will be a late second to early third round selection, despite the fact that he definitely has the talent to go earlier (he has already fallen in the draft in my eyes due to not having any background information available). Aside from this, I do think that he’ll be a productive, perhaps even standout member of any DSFL or NSFL team’s secondary in the near future.

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