NFL Draft Profile: Alex Austin, Cornerback, Oregon State Beavers
Alex Austin
Oregon State Beavers
#18
Pos: CB
Ht: 6010
Wt: 195
Hand: 0848
Arm: 3178
Wing: 7628
40: 4.55
DOB: 5/22/2001
Hometown: Long Beach, CA
High School: Long Beach Poly
Eligibility: 2023
One Liner:
Austin excels in soft shoe press coverage thanks to his hip fluidity, speed, and ability to mirror routes early in the play, but he struggles to carry receivers through sharp cuts.
Evaluation:
Austin aligned to the right side of Oregon State’s defense as an outside corner in 2022, regardless of which side was to the field or the boundary. He performed better in coverage when lined up over the wide receiver along the line of scrimmage in soft shoe press than when playing off man or zone. The former three-star recruit has quick feet, a low backpedal, and little to no tightness in his hips. He has plus ball production over the past two years. His speed allows him to carry receivers vertically. Austin is sticky on these vertical routes and showcases nice recovery speed. He has the athleticism to mirror receivers early in the route. It’s hard to shake Austin when he gets in phase early in plays, which usually happens when he’s lined up along the line of scrimmage. The California native is excellent at crowding receivers and forcing incompletions with timing and physicality at the catch point. He’s a willing tackler with impressive closing speed. Austin is willing to challenge blockers or come downhill and assist in run defense. He lacks diverse college special teams experience and committed 13 penalties in the past two years. Austin has adequate but not elite arm length and isn’t a sudden or twitchy athlete. He might suffer from ankle stiffness, which causes him to lose his balance occasionally and struggle to change directions. Austin’s change of direction skills and short-area agility don’t allow him to stick to wide receivers consistently, especially on comeback routes. At the top of routes, it takes Austin one too many steps to halt his momentum and change directions. The receiver doesn’t generate a large amount of separation in these instances, and Austin is quick to get back into the play. However, Austin’s lack of twitch and agility limitations create windows for quarterbacks in these moments and prevent the All-Pac-12 honorable mention from being a truly sticky corner. He’s quick to declare hips which allows wide receivers to cross his face and make him turn his back. Austin gets grabby when he struggles to follow receivers making sharp cuts. He’s not aggressive with the wide receiver early in the route and rarely attempts to jam or disrupt the offensive player. Austin floats in zone coverage at times. There were several plays against USC where he gave wide receivers significant space, but Oregon State’s defensive line forced Caleb Williams to roll to his right, challenging the left side of the Beavers’ defense instead of Austin on the right side. The cornerback is a willing tackler, but his tackling form leads to missed opportunities. Austin struggles to separate from wide receiver blocks.
Grade:
5th Round
Background:
Alex Austin finished his redshirt sophomore season at Oregon State. This season he played in and started 12 games. Made 57 tackles with one sack, one fumble recovery, two interceptions and 10 pass breakups. Some honors from this past season include All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 24), and Wuerffel Trophy Watch List (community service). In 2021, he played in and started all 13 games, making 47 tackles with half a tackle for loss and seven pass breakups. Intercepted two passes. He received All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention. In high school, he was a 247Sports three-star recruit, accumulating 60 tackles with 14 pass breakups over his last two seasons combined.
