Could Cisco and/or Melifonwu Go in the First Round of the NFL Draft?
Former Syracuse defensive backs Andre Cisco and Ifeatu Melifonwu are among the best pro prospects at their respective positions entering the 2021 NFL Draft. Both have received first round buzz at various points in the evaluation process. We spoke with former Atlanta Falcons and UCLA Bruins head coach Jim Mora Jr. to see how realistic it is for each to go in the first round.
ANDRE CISCO
"I was able to do a couple games at Syracuse over the last couple years as an analyst at ESPN, and the guy who always jumped off the tape to me as Andre Cisco," Mora Jr. said. "I loved the way he played football. He plays football the way you're supposed to play football, and that's coming downhill and trying to annihilate people. He's quick to trigger. I think that he is incredibly productive. You look at his interception totals for his career, that's really good. And that's taken into account that he was injured a lot of this year. Had he had a healthy 2020 season, who knows what those numbers would have been.
"Frenzied in his run support. I think he has the athletic ability to play some man defense on a slot receiver or a tight end. But he lacks some instincts and feel for routes. He has the measurables. If you're a wide receiver and you're coming across the middle, you better have your head on a swivel because Andre Cisco's going to try to get you.
"If there's a weakness to his game, it's that he can be a little bit too aggressive in the run game. Sometimes his angles aren't good and that leads to missed tackles. I think he's a probably a second, early third round guy."
IFEATU MELIFONWU
"I think Iffy has a shot because of his traits," Mora Jr. said. "He's got elite traits. You're talking about a 6-foot-3, 214, 215 pound man who plays corner. Those are safety, close to outside linebacker measurables, yet you're putting him on the outside. You look at this guy, he's long, he's rangy, he's athletic and he's got fluid hips. Those aren't always things you say. You'd say long and rangy but you wouldn't always say fluid hips for a guy that size, but he's got fluid hips. He can run. I'll tell you what I love, besides the obvious things with the size and the traits. He's a violent run defender. I think that adds a lot. This is a man that seeks it out. He wants to put his body on you. You don't see a lot of corners doing that. I think he's got versatility where he can play zone coverage with his eyes back inside, be a great cover two corner getting jams. Good three deep corner. But he can also line up and play press man. He's going to have to learn not to be grabby, but he's got the chance to do those things.
"I think the things he has to work on are consistency in his play, route identification, being disciplined with his eyes so he doesn't get caught looking in the backfield and give up double moves, things like that. His change of direction is ordinary, but for a 6-foot-3 guy, it's extraordinary. So there's a give and a get. If he was a 5-foot-10 guy and changed direction like he does you'd say 'boy it's awful.' But a 6-foot-3 guy changing direction the way he does is pretty dang good.
"So I really like him. I think he's got, as I said, elite traits. If he doesn't go in the first round, he's going to be an early second round pick because people value this kind of guy. You look at teams like the Raiders or the Patriots. Specifically the Raiders. You go back and think about Lester Hayes. Lester Hayes was a 6-foot-3, 220 pound corner who Al Davis turned into a Pro Bowler. So I think Iffy's got some of those things."
