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2021 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: CB Camryn Bynum, Cal

Cal's Camryn Bynum has enough versatility in his game to where he could project inside at safety. Here's what else he brings to the table.
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CB CAMRYN BYNUM  

Height: 6'0"
Weight: 198 lbs.
Class: Senior (red shirt) 
School: Cal 


A resident of Corona, California, who attended Centennial High School. Bynum helped the program reach a 27-4 record while there and ended up being a three-star recruit in the 2016 cycle. Had a very productive college career that culminated with a First Team All Pac-12 honor in 2020, after his Second Team honor in the previous season.

Initially opted out of the 2020 season but opted back into it when the Pac-12 started discussing the start of the delayed season. Bynum was Pro Football Focus’ 2nd ranked Pac-12 defensive back after his sophomore year; in that season, Bynum allowed a 53.2% completion rate.

Notables

Bynum was a two-time team captain, was voted most valuable freshman, and earned a Reese’s Senior Bowl trip. Ended his career with 184 total tackles, 8 for a loss, a sack, six interceptions, and 28 passes defensed. He is incredibly experienced, reliable, and has leadership qualities--all aspects that Dave Gettleman and the Giants seem to value.

Traits

He has tons of experience and one of the more physical cornerbacks you’ll see in terms of run support. He has good overall size and is versatile--he can possibly play safety. He is a solid overall athlete for the position, but it’s not his strong suit. His hips aren’t overly fluid, which poses a problem, and it takes him some time to decelerate out of breaks--he will be better in a zone scheme.

Good instincts and ability to see through route concepts and work on underneath routes--does well driving downhill. However, he can get caught peeking too much and not have the best feel for routes between him and the sidelines.

He may be an ideal fit for a Cover-2 Scheme where he doesn’t have to be used vertically as much. His deep speed is adequate, but he’s best near the line of scrimmage.

I love his competitive toughness and ability to come up and be physical against the run; he will deliver huge hits and square running backs up in the run game.

Does a good job stacking and separating from receivers attempting to block--can shed and locate well. He is certainly not scared to get his nose dirty. He’s also very chippy and always seems to get underneath the skin of receivers trying to block him.

Instincts are also evident at the catch point. He’s physical and does a good job playing through the catch point while trusting his processing ability to position himself well and even bait quarterbacks when he’s in phase or when in zone.

His ability to stop and start isn’t ideal, and his transitions aren’t amazing. I don’t feel like he’s terrible at the line of scrimmage with hip discipline, but there are false steps on film, and his press location ability is sub-par. In a league that prioritizes fluid hips and man coverage, it’s a bit difficult to see where Bynum’s value will lie.

Overall, I appreciate what Bynum brings from a physical standpoint. His arms aren’t very long, but he fills his run responsibility to a level that Joe Judge would admire.

However, I don’t love his prospects with man coverage at the next level. He’s not the best athlete, his hips aren’t very fluid, and his change of direction is adequate at best. He plays better top-down, has good ball skills at the catch point, and would make a solid zone corner in the league. 


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