Kyu Blu Kelly NFL Draft Overview
Position: Cornerback
Height: 6′-1″
Weight: 186 pounds
School: Stanford
2023 NFL Draft: Kyu Blu Kelly Scouting Report
As a freshman in 2019, Kyu Blu Kelly played in 11 games for the Stanford Cardinals. In those 11 games, Kelly recorded 34 total tackles (28 solo, six assisted), while also recording a sack and an interception while defending against five passes. In the Covid-19 shortened season of 2020, Kelly appeared in five of the teams, six games. He had 20 total tackles (15 solo, five assisted), while also defending against a single pass.
During his third season in Palo Alto, Kelly played in 11 of 12 games for the Cardinals, in which he had a total of 58 tackles (42 solo, 16 assisted) while having a college career high of two interceptions. Kelly also scored a touchdown, defended 11 passes, and forced and recovered one fumble. In Kelly’s final season in the Golden State, he played in 10 out of 12 games. In those games, he had 35 tackles (26 solo, nine assisted), defended against six passes, and had one fumble recovery.
Strengths
- Comes from an NFL pedigree – his father, Brian played defensive back for 11 seasons in the NFL;
- Prototypical NFL outside corner;
- Great footwork in all facets of movements (backpedaling, turning, cutting);
- Excellent jumping ability;
- Limits amount of space the receiver has to catch the ball.
Weaknesses
- Tends to lose where the receiver is, during the duration of a route;
- If he gets beat, he lacks the speed necessary to recover and catch up to opponent;
- Rarely turns around to find the ball; leads to pass interference penalties;
- Lacks physicality as a tackler;
- Needs to improve his run coverage ability
NFL Comparison: A more athletic Nick McCloud
Teams With Need At Position: Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Commanders
Projection: Rounds 5-6
Bottom Line on Kyu Blu Kelly
Kyu Blu Kelly has the physical attributes to be an effective outside corner in the NFL, much like his father, who was a defensive back for 11 NFL seasons. He has great footwork ability in all aspects of his game including backpedaling, turning, and changing direction. He also has excellent jumping ability for an athlete who already stands 6′-1″.
On top of that, he is also effective in limiting the amount of space the receiver has to catch a pass. Like many prospects, Kelly has some work to do and that is why he will get an opportunity, but it will not be until the early fifth to sixth round of the draft. Kelly needs to improve his ability to stay with and track his opponent on passing plays. Kelly also needs to work on getting his head around to try to find the ball. If he is unable to fix this issue, he will not be seeing the field that much, because he will be called for pass interference each time he does not get his head around to look for the ball. He also needs to improve his aggressiveness when tackling and his ability to tackle overall, especially on running plays.
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