NFL Draft Profile: DeMarcco Hellams, Safety, Alabama Crimson Tide
In this story:
#2
Pos: S
Ht: 6010
Wt: 203
Hand: 0900
Arm: 3100
Wing: 7478
40: 4.57
DOB: 6/5/2000
Hometown: Washington, DC
High School: DeMatha Catholic
Eligibility: 2023
DeMarcco Hellams
Alabama Crimson Tide
One-Liner:
Special teams standout who struggles in deep zones. Could develop into a nickel.
Evaluation:
Capable underneath zone defender when rotating down from two high. Hellams is best when tasked with easier responsibilities such as covering tight ends and slot receivers. He comes downhill to contribute on screens. Want to is apparent in run support. Aims for the hips and hangs on to eventually get ball carriers down. Hellams is a fluid mover in space with solid straight line speed. He stands out on special teams. Slow processor in deep zones who often takes too long to trigger. Hellams often finds himself with his eyes glued on the passer, covering nobody in the middle of the field. He fails to locate routes behind him and does not gain enough depth after play fakes. Not trusting his eyes causes him a day late and a dollar short on many occasions, preventing him from making plays on the ball. Hellams is susceptible to taking angles that are too wide coming downhill. He is not physical enough to stop the momentum of ball carriers. Compact safety who stands out on special teams. Hellams is a solid athlete in space. As a safety, he is very inexperienced, not trusting his eyes and failing to make plays. He projects as a special teams contributor who could find himself in a nickel role on an NFL roster. To have an impact on a defensive unit, he has to improve his processing.
Grade:
7th Round
Background:
DeMarcco Hellams, from Washington D.C., is coming back to Alabama as the starting safety in 2021 under Nick Saban. Even in his early time with the Tide, in 2020 and 2019, he earned a spot both on defense and on special teams. He was one of the best players coming out of his class from DeMatha Catholic High School and was a four star recruit. He also played on the offensive side of the ball at DeMatha where he had seventy eight catches for over a thousand yard and twenty one touchdowns as a senior in high school. In 2022, he will be seen as a leader in the secondary for Saban and Alabama.
