Kevon Seymour

A four-star cornerback recruit out of high school, Seymour received offers from every west coast program, choosing USC over Oregon, Washington and Cal. He saw limited playing time as a true freshman and recorded five tackles, mostly on special teams. Seymour worked his way into the starting line-up as a sophomore in 2013 (11 starts), posting 48 tackles, seven passes defended and his first career interception. He again started 11 games as a junior in 2014 and finished with a career-best 49 tackles and 14 passes defended, adding one interception. Seymour battled injuries as a senior (four starts) and recorded 24 tackles and one interception in 2015. He accepted his invitation to the 2016 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

undisciplined cover mechanics leads to wild feet and off-balance transition movements...opens his hips off the snap...caught ball watching and late to react to the route, leading to panic and early contact...hugs at the top of patterns, attracting pass interference penalties - bad habit of grabbing and gripping...lowers his shoulder to hit instead of wrapping in run support.

Needs to put himself in position to finish interceptions...below average length and plays smaller than he looks...lost his starting job as a senior due to injuries and inconsistency...struggled to stay healthy, especially in 2015 due to a left knee sprain (Sept. 2015) and sprained right ankle (Dec. 2015).

strengths

Composed play speed to shadow routes...smooth hips to easily change directions...quick eyes to find the football and make a play, finishing with closing burst...savvy use of his hands mid-route to slow receivers...plays with timing and quick to read combo routes...fights off blocks to make stops near the line of scrimmage.

crowds the catch point and aggressively disrupts...emotionally resilient and bounces back well from mistakes - mentally and physically tough...alert and always looking for work, playing with a competitive motor...patient off the snap with experience in both man and zone...good starting experience (27 career starts) with 22 career passes defended - averaged 22.3 yards per interception return (3/67/0)...makes plays on special teams coverages.

WEAKNESSES

in our view

A three-year starter at cornerback, Seymour lined up in both zone and man coverages at USC and was an ascending prospect as a junior, but his senior season did not go as planned, mostly due to knee and ankle injuries. He shows the desired speed and athletic twitch to stay in the receivers' hip pocket, but doesn't play under control, which leads to penalties downfield. Although he has a natural feel for coverage and the competitiveness needed to play on an island, Seymour needs to strengthen his fundamentals, vs. both the pass and the run, and stay on the field to justify his roster spot - experience on special teams will help him earn a job as a NFL rookie.