NFL Draft Profile: Bryan Cook, Safety, Cincinnati Bearcats
#6
Pos: DS
Ht: 6006
Wt: 206
Hand: 0848
Arm: 3178
Wing: N/A
40: N/A
Bench: N/A
3-Cone: N/A
Shuttle: N/A
Vert: N/A
Broad: N/A
DOB: _/_/_
Eligibility: 2022
Cincinnati, OH
Mount Healthy High School
Bryan Cook
Cincinnati Bearcats
One-Liner:
Flashes potential as a versatile defensive back but lacks the athleticism, instincts and physicality to be a starter caliber player.
Pros:
Bryan Cook provides versatility to the Bearcats secondary. He is trusted to play deep as a single high, in the box and as a boundary safety in 2-high shells. The latter is his best role going forward, where he is a willing participant in run support and shows flashes of beating blocks. Furthermore, when Cook is tasked with a curl-flat zone, he has great awareness to match running backs out of the backfield. With his cornerback background at Howard, Cook flashes impressive ball skills when trailing in man coverage versus tight ends - squeezing space and turning his head to find the ball.
Cons:
Cook’s flashes are just that, occasional moments of promise that lack overall consistency. This is largely due to him being a reactive player rather than an instinctual one, which often leaves him a step (or a few) out of position from making a play. This is most often seen in zone coverage as a single high safety where Cook takes late angles to routes because he needs to see it develop, rather than being aware of route combinations. Furthermore, Cook has subpar range and closing burst, which makes him a poor fit for a single high safety at the NFL level and it also hurts his click and close in off coverage. Cook also lacks the ideal physicality for a strong safety who lives in the box as he often gets dragged by ball carriers rather than initiating contact and enforcing his physicality. His big hits have come with poor technique, failing to square up or track the inside hip, and instead diving low and leading with his head.
Summary:
Cook has a great story and likely has his best ball ahead of him, but is a very raw product right now. He lacks the athleticism and instincts to play free safety or the physicality to play in the box - boundary safety in a two high system seems to be his best bet. Cook should be seen as a developmental prospect as he enters the NFL and has the potential to grow into a solid backup role.
Background:
Cook attended Mount Healthy High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he earned Honorable Mention Associated Press All-Southwest District honors and First-Team All-Southwest Ohio Conference accolades in 2016 as a senior. After high school, Cook was not highly recruited and received one scholarship offer to Howard University.
Grades:
Current Player Value/Potential Player Value
6.2/7.4
Floor/Ceiling: Developmental / Solid Backup
Scheme Fit: Boundary Safety in a two high system
Grade: 6th
Injury History: N/A
Character Notes: Cook’s rise to starting on a top defense in the nation can be seen with his strong-willed mentality since playing ball at a young age. When he was 4 and playing with kids in his neighborhood, he recalls being hit harder than ever. “I didn’t like the way that felt,” Cook said. “So my mom was like, ‘Either you’re going to hit them as hard as they hit you or you’re gonna have to shake them.’ At the end of the day, I started being physical.” Cook has had to fill big shoes in 2021, taking over for one of the program’s best safeties in James Wiggins, whom is quite impressed with Cook’s game, “Let me tell you: Bryan Cook is a dog. He is a dog,” Wiggins said of his successor. “He’s a great replacement for me to play that boundary safety, but him playing corner at Howard helped, too, because he can play multiple positions. Sky’s the limit for that kid. Big, long, can cover and can hit. What else do you want from a safety? He’s a maniac on the field.”
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