Jaire Alexander - Louisville

Position: CB

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 192 lbs.

Year: Junior

Hometown: Charlotte, NC

Experience: 2-Year Starter

Measurables:

40yd dash: 4.38s

Broad jump: 127 in.

Vertical: 35 in.

3-cone: 6.71s

20yd. Shuttle: 3.98s

Bench Press: 14 reps

Career Notes:

As a true freshman in 2015, Alexander played in 12 of 13 games for the Cardinals, starting in one of those games. By the end of the season, he had a handful of pass deflections and an interception. He made his presence felt even more on special teams, averaging about 10 yards per return.

In his sophomore campaign, he earned a starting spot for the duration of 2016. In the role of Louisville’s CB1, he racked up nine pass deflections and five interceptions. His performance as a sophomore landed him a spot on the All-ACC Second Team.

Alexander’s junior season was marred by injury, but he was on pace to put together a season similar to his 2016 performance.

Injury Report:

A sprained knee in the season-opener took Alexander out of action for five weeks. He then broke his hand in an October practice, and recovered in time to play the last three games of the year. Alexander opted out of Louisville’s bowl game, presumably to avoid risk of injury.

Career Stats: https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/jaire-alexander-1.html

Analysis:

Man Coverage 3.75/5.0: Alexander was as skilled as anybody in this draft class at mirroring players and hanging with receivers. His reaction to crash on quick routes was aided by his athleticism. His strength left a lot to be desired. He was not an imposing press coverage corner. Bigger receivers were able to take advantage of his lack of strength at the catch point a handful of times. He did not show the highest leaping ability and was vulnerable to jump balls.

Zone Coverage 4.0/5.0: Alexander’s vision and reaction time made him a lethal zone corner. He could span a large area of the field in a short amount of time. At one point, he pivoted 180 degrees on a deep third zone against Syracuse to recover and pick off a ball ten yards behind him. While those kinds of flashy plays didn’t show up every single game, his impressive range showed up every single drive. He was more effectively physical in zone than in man coverage, but he still gave up strength on short routes to bigger receivers.

Against the Run 2.0/5.0: Alexander was a pure cover corner with a willingness to clean up when ballcarriers reached his level. When runs came his way, he could occasionally bring them down on his own with a diving shoulder tackle. More often than not, he would require assistance to make tackles. He was easily disposed of by blocking wide receivers and is an occasional liability in the run.

Speed/Quickness 4.5/5.0: Not many receivers could get behind Alexander. In man coverage he was attached to receivers at the hip. In zone coverage, he was range-y with terrific recovery speed. In the return game, he had impressive vertical speed and he could change direction quickly.

Impact Play Ability 4.5/5.0: Whether it was in the return game or in the pass game, Louisville was lucky to have Alexander’s big play potential on the field. His coverage made him a danger to intercept a ball on any given play. His speed and flexibility made him an even bigger threat once the ball was in his hands. The Louisville defense did not have to get creative for Alexander to force turnovers.

Summary: Alexander was a pure coverage corner similar to Adoree Jackson of the Tennessee Titans. His speed, flexibility, and ball skills made for a lot of fun highlight tape. For his brief stint this season, he had the most fluid hips of any corner short of Denzel Ward. He was clearly the most talented player on Louisville’s defense and shouldered a huge load on the perimeter for a defense that did not have many answers for the offenses they played against. With Alexander missing half the season in 2017, Louisville’s pass defense was markedly worse than it was in 2016. Despite current deficiencies as a tackler and in press coverage, he has unlimited potential as an island corner.

Overall Grade 3.75/5.0

If drafted by the Packers:

Green Bay has invested a lot of draft stock into the secondary over the last four years and their pass defense doesn’t have much to show for it. Management seems to have decided that the issue is as talent-related as coaching-related. With Damarious Randall shipped off to Cleveland, the first round is fair game to keep taking corners. Alexander’s upside is very promising, especially as offenses spread the ball out and burden defenders with needing to cover a large area. He is the kind of rangey, athletic corner that Ted Thompson has taken before. If Brian Gutekunst wants to draft similarly to Thompson, then Alexander is a natural fit if Denzel Ward and Josh Jackson come off the board before the fourteenth pick. With a physical Kevin King on the field next year, Alexander could clean up against weaker receivers on the perimeter.

Video:

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