2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Sebastian Castro, Iowa

Sebastian Castro was the heart of the Iowa defense since he became a starter, but how does his full NFL scouting report look?

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Overview, Film Analysis, And 2025 Scouting Report Of Iowa DB Sebastian Castro

Measurables:

• 5’11”
• 203 lbs

Player Background:

Sebastian Castro’s collegiate career began out of the spotlight, ranked as a three-star recruit out of High School. He was rated outside of the Top-100 safety recruits in the country and a Top-30 player in Illinois in the 2019 class. His freshman year was a redshirt, not appearing in a single contest. He didn’t record a stat in 2020, appearing in a single game against Michigan State. 2021 was the turning point, playing in all 14 games and recording five tackles.

He started eight games in 2022 and played in all 13. Castro made 33 tackles, five pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and a sack. 2023 was far and away his best collegiate season, earning him All-American Honors. He recorded 67 total tackles, eight pass breakups, a sack, a forced fumble, and three interceptions with a pick-six. His final campaign was also solid, racking up 57 tackles with a PBU, two FFs, and a pick.

Accolades:

• Third-Team All-American (2023)
• Second-Team All-Big Ten (2023)

Strengths/Pros:

Castro is the true “jack of all trades” defensive back in the 2025 draft class and has experience everywhere. His collegiate career was filled with versatility and high success as a man-coverage corner, deep safety, and box safety. He transitions between vertical follows and sitting into zones well, making QBs think and causing some baited throws. He resets and works back into his backpedal quickly, with good hip rotations to flow between multiple areas.

He’s disciplined against options and play-action setups and won’t drift too far one way and reveal his hand. Castro plants and drives back toward the line well when identifying run plays, flying downhill in space against screen passes and leakouts. He has a great first step when driving through outside blocking formations and drives through blockers at the line well to push them back and redirect runs. He’s a solid tackler who gets rotational and works his weight downward through the ball carrier.

Weaknesses/Cons:

Castro’s experience does come with some downsides, mainly in that he’s 24 years old and will turn 25 during his rookie season. He needs to process plays quicker in coverage after his first move, and he lets himself drift too much early in plays. He has to flow into routes in coverage and be more decisive with his feet earlier in plays. His feet also need to be more active in off-man coverage, as he gets caught in his heels too often.

He also has issues bouncing between his feet and getting blown off balance on route cuts. He struggles heavily as a lateral mover, not accelerating out of his slides and having issues disengaging from blocks. Castro has to sit down and sink into his hips to stand his ground more, and he needs to finish his block sheds more. He doesn’t have the speed or quickness to follow wideouts in man coverage at a high rate and gets very grabby when covering crossing cuts. He also takes angles that are consistently too sharp and oversets himself.

Potential Team Fits:

• Kansas City Chiefs
• Denver Broncos
• Jacksonville Jaguars

NFL Projection:

Castro can do a lot on the football field, but in the same way, he can’t. He can line up anywhere and has both the experience and knowledge to set himself up well to survive against better matchups. However, his subpar speed and overall athleticism project him more as a rotational player than a full-time starter. His “Swiss army knife” play style will intrigue teams that covet defensive versatility, especially in the secondary. There are still enough issues present in his game to the point where he might work best as a small-dose player at many positions rather than a high-dose player at one or two.

Prospect Grade:

• Late 4th Round to Early 5th Round

Film Exposures:

• 2024 vs. Ohio State
• 2024 vs. Iowa State
• 2024 vs. Nebraska