2024 NFL Draft prospect profile: Kamari Lassiter, DB, Georgia

[LawrenceT]

Photo by Perry McIntyre/ISI Photos/Getty Images Will Lassiter be able to stay at cornerback in the NFL? What’s a team to do when a prospect’s athletic testing doesn’t match up with the caliber of their tape? That’s the question facing NFL teams after Georgia cornerback Kamari Lassiter had a rough outing at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. The answer is, of course, to go back to the tape for a second look. Lassiter is a good player with good tape, but his athletic limitations show up when you take a closer look. The New York Giants have a need — a couple needs, potentially — in their defensive secondary. They’ve also made a point of acquiring smart, competitive, and versatile defensive backs who can play multiple roles. Could Lassiter’s poor testing be reframed as a player who can adapt a cornerback skill set to a safety position? Prospect: Kamari Lassiter (3)
Games Watched: vs. South Carolina (2023), vs. Missouri (2023), vs. Tennessee (2023), vs. Kentucky (2023) Measurables Kent Lee Platte (@mathbomb) | RAS.football Strengths

• Physicality
• Foot quickness
• Run defense
• Versatility
• Zone defense

Lassiter is a competitive and versatile defensive back. He typically aligned as an outside cornerback at Georgia, playing off, zone, and man coverage. He was also asked to follow receivers across the formation on occasion. Lassiter has solid technique in man coverage with good hand usage to disrupt receivers routes at the line of scrimmage. He also has good awareness and an understanding of route concepts in zone coverage. Lassiter is patient in coverage and doesn’t flip his hips early. He also doesn’t bite on misdirection or take himself out of position. That allows him to be disruptive at the catch point and use his positioning to force receivers off their routes. He has a good feel for using the sideline as an extra defender or to funnell receivers in toward his teammates. Lassiter plays a physical brand of football, with a quick downhill trigger and a willingness to lay hits on ball carriers. He wastes little time driving downhill and flies to the ball in run defense. Lassiter is also a reliable tackler. Weaknesses

• Man coverage
• Athleticism
• Long speed

Lassiter has quick feet and solid change of direction skills, but he’s a limited athlete. Lassiter lacks much of a burst out of transition and doesn’t appear to be particularly “twitchy” out of breaks. He doesn’t really explode into motion when changing directions and it’s relatively easy for receivers to get a step on him. That also limits his recovery speed. He also struggles in man coverage against receivers who aren’t knocked off their routes by his initial jam. Lassiter is able to stick in coverage with receivers in short areas, but struggles to stay with them down the field or on longer routes. His speed also limits his ability to pursue in the run game. Game Tape
https://www.youtube.com/embed/HFwv26YEDWs?rel=0
(Lassiter is Georgia CB number 3, wearing a sleeve on his left arm) Projection Lassiter projects as a nickel defensive back in a zone-based defense at the NFL level. Lassiter is instinctive, physical, and has solid awareness as a zone defender. His downhill trigger, willingness to hit, and instincts all lend themselves to the safety position. He should be able to play deep safety in a Cover 2, Cover 3, or Cover 4 scheme. Lassiter also has enough ability in coverage to play a slot cornerback role as well. That could allow him to transition to something like a “Tyrann Mathieu” role at the NFL level, provided the scheme into which he’s drafted allows it. Lassiter might be able to stay as an outside corner for a pure zone defense, however his speed issues could be a liability when matched up on athletic receivers. Does he fit the Giants?
Potentially, though it will depend on what they’re looking for from defensive backs. Final Word: An early Day 3 value

https://www.bigblueview.com/2024/4/2/24 ... -ny-giants