Finding Broncos: Scouting Ohio State DB Shaun Wade
Welcome to Finding Broncos, our annual prospect-by-prospect series deep-diving on the coming NFL draft class. The scouting continues with Ohio State defensive back Shaun Wade, a talented prospect, but does he fit with the Broncos?
Measurables
- Height: 6 foot 1
- Weight: 194 pounds
Stats
Sports-Reference.com
Pros
- He is a very natural zone scheme fit, and it can be a press-zone or off-zone.
- Has a really good click and close to contend at the catch point.
- Very aware in zone and knows how to pass off receivers.
- Has very impressive ball skills that appear more frequently when he has his eyes forward instead of back to the ball.
- Wade has really good length that he knows how to use extremely well to not give clean catch points.
- When playing nickel in 2019, he was viewed as a great prospect and probably play that role in the NFL.
- Also in the nickel in 2019, he did extremely well as a run defender and containing that D-gap.
- Is a strong tackler and not afraid to mix it up.
- There is a lot of versatility with what he can bring a defense from the nickel with his coverage, run defense, and ability as a blitzer.
- Has all the traits to smoothly transition to two high safety in a zone defense where he can come down and provide nickel help.
- Super athletic and still learning how to maximize athleticism as well as still learning football.
- His rawness and athleticism probably get him a shot as a boundary corner with development.
Cons
- Really struggled at times on the boundary in 2020, which could see him limited to nickel in the NFL.
- Has some issues that appear with mirroring in man coverage.
- When playing close to the receiver through man coverage, he isn’t hard to shake away from.
- Run defense from the boundary was lackadaisical at best.
- Really shouldn’t be put on the boundary without development and even then with a short leash.
Overview
There is a big question that comes to mind when watching the tape of Shaun Wade: What exactly in the NFL?
With how rough of a year he had in 2020 as a boundary corner, it is hard to keep him there but he still has outstanding traits to give another chance. He had a near-elite season as a nickel corner in 2019, but with what he can do, you don’t want him limited there.
Shaun Wade looks to be a good option to transition to safety that can come down and play the nickel. Whatever team drafts him will have plenty of options with how they can use him and where they can play him.
Fit with Broncos
Wade is an interesting one to look at when it comes with his fit for the Broncos. As a boundary corner, the fit isn’t really there mostly because of his struggles with a bigger role on the outside. When moved as a nickel corner, he fits a lot better, but his best and most natural fit would probably be moving to safety.
With Kareem Jackson likely entering his final year with the Broncos, Wade could be a great draft option to fill that role and offer up a lot of what Jackson brings to the Broncos defense.
Grade: Round 3
Where he goes: Round 3
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