NFL Draft Profile: Tiawan Mullen, Cornerback, Indiana Hoosiers
In this story:
#3
Pos: CB
Ht: 5096
Wt: 182
40: 4.62
DOB: 7/12/2000
Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, FL
High School: Coconut Creek
Eligibility: 2023
Tiawan Mullen
Indiana Hoosiers
One-Liners
Instinctual cornerback with boundary and nickel versatility that excels recognizing route combinations in zone coverage and baiting QBs into risky throws plus shows nuance as a blitzer but his lack of size and average hip fluidity+explosiveness will limit him from being a strong man coverage defender versus shifty route runners.
Evaluation:
The Hoosiers have very quietly built a stout defense led by Mullen, who is a dynamic, instinctual defender with boundary and nickelback versatility. He exhibits top-notch ball skills and great speed, which compensates for his lack of size. Mullen primarily lines up in off coverage and excels in zone. He trusts his eyes and ability to react, while showcasing very quick recovery speed. Not only is Mullen a willing tackler in the run game but Indiana has employed him as a blitzer at times and he collected three and a half sacks during his sophomore campaign, to go along with three interceptions. His long speed is tremendous, as he can keep up with just about any wideout step-for-step. Those NFL teams who utilize a heavy zone-based scheme will see a lot of appeal in Mullen, who offers experience playing multiple combinations and brings a tenacious play style that is infectious.
Grades
4th Round
Background:
Taiwan Mullen was born July 20, 2000 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and comes from an athletic family where brother, Trayvon Mullen, played cornerback for the Clemson Tigers (2016-2018) and is now in the NFL playing for the Las Vegas Raiders. In addition, Taiwan is the cousin of Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson. Mullen attended Coconut Creek High School where he was a first-team all-county selection, four-year letter winner and honor roll student who totaled 112 career tackles, 14 interceptions (3 returned for a touchdown) and five forced fumbles. After high school, 247Sports ranked him as a 3-Star recruit, the 547th-best recruit nationally, the 55th-ranked cornerback recruit in the country and the 69th recruit in the state of Florida. Playing for the Indiana Hoosiers, Mullen burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2019, playing in 13 games, starting eight and totalling 13 PBUs which led the Big Ten and was second nationally among freshman. For his efforts, Mullen was awarded Honorable-mention All-Big Ten (coaches, media), first-team The Athletic Freshman All-American, first-team 247Sports True Freshman All-American, second-team PFF All-Freshman Team and was named Indiana’s Defensive Newcomer of the Year. That high level of play continued in 2020, where Mullen started all eight games and totalled 38 tackles (27 solo), three interceptions, four PBUs, 3.5 sacks and 4.5 TFLs. He led the Big Ten in sacks among defensive backs and was tied for sixth in the conference for interceptions. Mullen was named first-team All-American (FWAA), first-team All-American (Phil Steele), first-team All-Big Ten (media), second-team All-Big Ten (coaches) was put on Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List and was named Indiana’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year. Mullen is as impressive off the field as he is on, and Indiana cornerbacks coach Brandon Shelby really values his versatility, “When you watch him on the field, when he's out of corner he's playing press-man off man, a little bit of cover two, then we put him in the middle position he's blitzing, he's doing things that really kind of go on and really the nickel is kind of a linebacker. We've taken a linebacker out and put another DB in there so what the committee had a chance to see is a guy who does so many different things and even on special teams and so when you put that all together. To me, I think that equals an All-American." Mullen has been a tremendous piece for the Indiana roster. In 2019, he leads the Big Ten with thirteen pass breakups. What made Mullen special to the team is his willingness to help the team on special teams, which he did freshman year. In 2020, he notched thirty eight tackles and three and a half sacks, which was the Big Ten defensive back leader. Even though he had an injury plagued Junior year, he was still rated the top defensive back in the Big Ten by Pro Football Focus, meaning that he can make an impact wherever he is on the field.
