Finding Broncos: Scouting Auburn S Jamien Sherwood
Welcome to Finding Broncos, our annual prospect-by-prospect series deep-diving on the coming NFL draft class. The scouting continues with Auburn safety Jamien Sherwood, a talented prospect who fits a Denver Broncos' roster need.
Measurables
- Height: 6-foot-2
- Weight: 220 pounds
Stats
Sports-Reference.com
Pros
- Athleticism is solid but more reactionary.
- Tough and physical in the box.
- Better agility and movement skills than expected.
- Will bring power as a downhill thumper.
- Won’t miss tackles between the tackles.
- Does well taking on blockers and getting off them.
- Good football IQ and communication skills.
- Can be a core special teams player and has good experience there.
- Can work in zone coverage in the middle of the field.
Cons
- Lacks good coverage range.
- Not great athleticism overall.
- Lacks the traits to be effective in space limiting him to certain schemes and roles.
- Lacks big plays made in the passing game.
- Doesn’t have good speed to work deeper coverages.
- More of a two-down box safety than anything.
Overview
Sherwood is a box safety who can be useful in certain coverages. His athleticism isn’t the best and is more noticeable against the run than it is in coverage
The NFL is very much a passing league and his issues in coverage are going to be hard to overlook. It may be best to see if he can add another 10 pounds and be a full-time linebacker and keep him in shorter zones. He isn’t a guy you want taking a tight end or running back in man.
Fit with Broncos
Denver doesn’t utilize a box safety or a safety that doesn’t offer up something in coverage. The two-high safety scheme just doesn’t mesh with Sherwood who struggles more the farther away he gets from the line of scrimmage.
Moving him to linebacker may be the only way to get him to fit with Denver, but you still have to make adjustments to your zone coverages to make sure he stays closer to the line and not getting a lot of depth. There are other safeties that are a more natural fit that make a lot more sense for Denver than Sherwood.
Grade: Round 5
Where he Goes: Round 4
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