With the New England Patriots’ final pick (7th round, 252nd overall) in the 2019 NFL draft, the Patriots selected Ken Webster, a Cornerback from Mississippi.
College Analysis:
While being one of the most athletic cornerbacks in this years draft, Webster does come with some wear and tear. He tore multiple knee ligaments in 2016 when he landed on it the wrong way in Ole Miss’s opening game against Florida State. He was also arrested for shoplifting in 2017 and missed one game.
Since his knee injury, he worked hard in order to regain his form, but never completely lived up to the hype he created his freshman season. In his senior season, he finished with 33 tackles, one tackle for loss, eight interceptions and two deflections in 10 games.
Combine numbers:
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 203 pounds
40-yard dash: 4.43 seconds
Vertical jump: 43″
Broad jump: 133″
3-cone: 6.85 seconds
Bench press: 18 reps at 225 pounds
Webster posted extremely impressive numbers at the combine and even posted the highest vertical among all cornerbacks and the fourth-highest vertical among all participants. This is especially impressive for someone who struggled with a knee injury in college. He also finished just outside the top five times for cornerbacks in his 40-yard dash.
Biggest strengths on his scouting report:
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- “Unafraid to put his nose in as a tackler,” “above average upper body strength,” and “adequate aggressiveness as wrap-up tackler.”
- He is aggressive. He is tough. He is not afraid to put his all into every play he is a part of. That is the Patriots Way.
- “Unafraid to put his nose in as a tackler,” “above average upper body strength,” and “adequate aggressiveness as wrap-up tackler.”
- “Physical redirect of routes in zone coverage”
- The Patriots play a lot of zone coverage so it could work to their favor to have someone physical and fast in the backfield
Biggest issues on his scouting report:
- “Gets caught in no man’s land on smash routes,” “Below average field awareness from the zone,” “Gives away too much space underneath in cover-3.”
- Essentially what all this means is he isn’t very “football smart.” He is very physical, but can he live up to the Patriot defense that stunned the Los Angeles Rams to only three points in Super Bowl 53? Maybe not in his rookie year, but giving him time to learn under Stephon Gilmore, Jason McCourty, and the rest of the Patriots defense could help him.
Where do I see him this season?
He has a long way to go in order to get him to the level of awareness he needs in order to play on this Patriots defense. He needs to learn, and there is no better place to do that than in New England. For now, unless there is a lot of improvement during training camp and preseason, I see him being a practice squad member. I think he could possibly get called up if he is a practice squad member if he sticks to his work ethic and is a sponge of knowledge in New England.
