2023 NFL Draft Profile: CB Julius Brents

Competitiveness

Overall, the tenacity of Julius Brents is something that should get any NFL coaching staff excited. You would rather have to tell a defender to tone it down, if necessary, rather than being too soft. The physicality of Brents appears to be most effective at the line of scrimmage in man coverage. While playing press, he can swiftly disrupt the timing of a receiver’s release. By forcing them to readjust, Brents can quickly frustrate opponents and get into their head. The confidence and competitiveness that he exudes on the outside perimeter is exactly what teams will be looking for.

Athleticism

Given his size and length, Julius Brents displays impressive bend and flexibility while in coverage. His change of direction skills are crisp and clean when needing to get in and out breaks. The same can be said about the fluidity in the hips of Brents, to boot. More importantly, this cornerback can often surprise opponents with his mix of lateral agility, shiftiness and explosiveness. That footwork and agility is a huge boost for Brents, when you consider his length and ability to play physical.

Areas Of Improvement

Managing Contact In Coverage

You have to love the confidence and tenacity of Julius Brents. Yet, managing some of that physicality in coverage is crucial to his overall growth moving forward. Brents goes through phases of being extremely grabby at the catch point. Thus, penalties have cost him dearly in some of the worst moments or areas of the field. Elsewhere, Brents can be a bit overzealous when running with receivers down the field. There are moments where he is possibly in fine position, sticking next to the opponent’s hip. However, extending his arms into the receiver’s upper body has revealed moments of unnecessary contact from Brents before the ball reaches the catch point.

Keeping Track Of Man Downfield

There is improvement to be had from Julius Brents when covering deep down the field. If he is zone coverage, this defender can get caught watching the quarterback. That can lead to coverage busts from Brents, forcing him to recover immediately in space, as a result. Staying in phase during routes is still a work in progress. Additionally, he can get lost in coverage with false steps or missteps towards the middle of the field. Add in some overaggressive tendencies where he takes some gambles attacking the football, and Brents can still be cleaner down the field.

Versatility

Julius Brents does not appear to be someone who should be thrusted into a defensive scheme that primarily plays man coverage. Certainly, he can still shine in that area. Brents could benefit much more from playing in a scheme that mixes in a great amount of zone coverage, however. Specifically, the Kansas State product appears to be the most comfortable when operating in Cover 2 or Cover 3. On the other hand, Brents should only be viewed as an outside cornerback.

Ideal Role

While being able to upset opposing receivers in man coverage, Julius Brents is likely best served to be a zone coverage cornerback most of the time. In Cover 2 or Cover 3, he does well when being able to trigger laterally or downhill. Due to that exceptional click-and-close ability, Brents is able to pounce on passes from seemingly any angle. It does not seem that he should be used as anything other than an outside cornerback.

Potential Fits

No matter how much people have seen or heard it, there is first round buzz surrounding Julius Brents. In a deep cornerback class, he has crushed the pre-draft process in the leadup to the real thing. Because of that, there are a couple of teams that make sense for Brents in the first round. The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking for more well-rounded results at cornerback. Perhaps, Pittsburgh sees a perfect stylistic fit with Brents, due to his physical play and length.

The Jacksonville Jaguars could also make sense in round one. After releasing Shaquill Griffin, the up-and-coming Tyson Campbell could certainly use a new running mate on the outside. Finally, the Arizona Cardinals could also make sense, if Brents sneaks into the first few picks of round two. Arizona has needed cornerback help forever. Obviously, that has not changed entering 2023.