Caden Sterns has been on draft radars since his freshman season. He was named the Big 12 freshman of the year and First Team All-Big 12 back in 2018. A guy who stuffed the stat sheet that year, Sterns fell off a bit in his last two seasons as a Texas Longhorn. However, he still declared for the NFL Draft in November after opting out of the rest of Texas’ 2020 season.
Sterns shows some very good traits, but in a stacked safety class, is he good enough to be selected ahead of some other star players? Let’s find out.
Make sure to check out all of our other 2021 NFL Draft Scouting Reports.
Player Bio
Name: Caden Sterns
Jersey: #7
Position: Safety
School: Texas
Class: Junior
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 210 lbs
Coverage (8/10)
Sterns seems pretty comfortable in coverage. He’s definitely better in zone than in man but he gets it done in both areas fairly well. In zone, he seems to process routes quickly and is über-quick to jump on the ball in flight. It seems that the deeper he plays on the field, the worse off he is. He has the athleticism to work as a single-high safety but his coverage ability here isn’t great. In man, he’s incredibly grabby. While physicality is always good, too much is not and Sterns has too much. He’ll need to become more sound in man to succeed as a full-on coverage safety in the NFL.
Instincts (8/10)
The former Longhorn has solid instincts. He is quick to break to the ball when it’s thrown and can make some big-time plays in this aspect. Against the ground game, however, Sterns has shown varying results. He diagnoses the play a tad bit slower than some of the better safeties in this class. The run game consistencies need to be improved, as we’ll see later in this breakdown.
Run Defense (4.5/10)
This one needs to be mentioned early on. Sterns is not a good run defender. He’s shown good closing speed when attacking ball carriers, but he takes bad angles on the running backs. He’s shown an array of results from the different spots he’s played. When met by a lineman, it does not end well for Sterns. This is an area he’ll certainly need to improve in, and he has already shown some good flashes to improve. Teams will probably see this just as a raw category, rather than one that is hopeless in terms of improvement.
Range (7.5/10)
Sterns has okay range. He’s played up in single-high safety and has just been a little bit too slow to the play. Once again, we see a lot of varying results from different areas. He’s strongest when playing lower and in the box. He flies all around the field from these areas, but the lack of range in the pass-coverage ability is just a bit too much to award him serious points here.
Tackling (5/10)
Sterns is not a very good tackler. There’s a lot of whiffs on tape and poor technique. He’s not as bad as other safeties like Andre Cisco, but it’s still not great. The angles Sterns takes are pretty poor, but he has shown the ability to find the angle, so there’s potential. There are times where he just throws himself at ball carriers’ ankles and does not go into a real wrap-up technique. This is very concerning and he’ll need to show more willingness to wrap up in the league.
Athleticism (9.25/10)
Sterns tested out exceptionally well. On his pro day, he ran a 4.40 40 yard dash, and an outstanding 42 inch vertical. The leaping ability is really something to rave about and it shows up in his play. As for the speed, he runs around a 4.4 on the field, so the numbers do match up. Sterns also moves effortlessly when changing direction. He shows great fluidity and is an all-around star athlete that teams will be intrigued by.
Ball Skills (8.75/10)
Although his stats have varied throughout his career, Sterns has solid ball skills. As mentioned, the insane leaping ability really shows here and he can go up in the air and make plays very nicely. He is the definition of an acrobat on the field and shows crazy good body control. He’s very physical at the point of catch, and even though he doesn’t always knock the ball out, it’s good to see him digging for it. Sterns’ ball skills will be solid from the minute he walks into an NFL facility and could get even better as he progresses.
Versatility (8/10)
Versatility is an interesting trait for Sterns. He’s played all the classic safety roles, but not much in a more hybrid position like nickelback or boundary corner. As noted, he’s played both in a lower position as a safety and a higher one. As a high safety, he’s played traditional two-high and single-high. In single-high he has been just okay with a lot of mixed results. It seems he performs best as a lower safety in what seems like a cover three or quarters scheme from the Texas defense. With experience from all the classic safety spots, Sterns possesses promising versatility and a multitude of ways in which NFL teams can use him.
Football IQ (7.25/10)
Sterns’ football IQ is alright. He really needs to recognize run plays developing a lot better and take the proper angle after jumping on it. A bright spot in his IQ is that he knows exactly how to locate the football but this is something that is not all too important when comparing the mental aspects that a safety needs. He knows his coverages pretty well but could show some improvement in this area. Overall, he’s not a not smart football player on the field but he’s definitely not the smartest safety in this class.
Competitive Toughness (3.75/5)
Shows inconsistent effort. He was a junior captain at Texas which is very promising leadership-wise. He needs to stop throwing himself at ball carriers and actually try to tackle them. When he just throws himself in there, it shows a lazy player who has no real want to tackle. He has shown some really good flashes of getting his team hyped up and going.
Injury History (3.75/5)
Sterns has had some minor injuries here and there at Texas. He’s had a knee issue that held him out two seasons ago and some turf toe in his junior year. He also had some ankle surgery in the 2020 offseason.
Player Summary
Sterns is a very athletic safety who is a bit raw but offers some of the highest upsides at the position in this draft. Whenever a guy is a super athlete with serious flashes, there’s always some serious potential that teams will be able to tap into. Right now, Sterns’ draft stock is a bit unknown. It’s presumed that he goes on day two, but there will be no surprise if he falls past that. In a really deep safety class, Sterns has shown enough potential to hear his name called on day two.
Player Grade (73.75/100): Early-Fourth Round
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