Justin King, 2008 NFL Draft Prospect

Cornerback
Penn State
Junior
5' 11"
192 lbs.
Speed: 4.31

At one point King was considered one of the top corners available and looked to be a high 1^st round pick whenever he declared. That was following his standout sophomore season when he shut down everyone who crossed his path. His progress as a sophomore seemed to carry over into his junior season, as he was one of the best players in the Big Ten Conference throughout the 1^st half of the year. But the second half of the season was not kind to the talented corner and he was beaten badly by elite receivers and weaker opponents alike. Case in point: 18 catches for 227 yards and 0 TD allowed in the first half of the season, 32 for 490 and 6 TD to end the year. He was torched by top receivers like James Hardy, Devin Thomas and Brian Robiskie and never seemed to regain the confidence that made him such a standout playmaker.

Teams on the lookout for a track star need look no further, King has speed to spare. Athletically, King is on par with NFL stars like Deion Sanders, Champ Bailey and DeAngelo Hall. He has the speed to stay with receivers all over the field and can recover when beaten. He’s a smooth athlete with great hips and solid burst to close, his backpedal and transition can be a thing of beauty when he uses proper technique. King is not afraid to gamble, showing supreme confidence in his speed. He is decent leaper who will climb the ladder (or the opponent) to get his hands on jump balls. His athletic traits will get him drafted early and give him a chance to overcome his deficiencies. He has experience on offense (10 catches for 127 yards and 2 TD in 2005) and contribute as a returner despite his inexperience on special teams.

Said deficiencies are numerous though. King is glaringly soft. He consistently plays like a receiver, the only consistency that shows up in his game. He has an aversion to tackling, resorting to arm tackles and allowing backs and bigger receivers to eat up yardage against him. He appears to have zero interest in fighting blocks or supporting the run and wouldn’t get dirty playing flag football. His lack of toughness and tackling technique are major knocks that will hold him back at the next level, leaving him as little more than a nickel back who can add return abilities. His instincts are all over the place as he bites on fakes, gets out of position and doesn’t play the deep ball well. His burst doesn’t show up consistently and is non-existent when closing to make tackles (will allow players to break away because of his aversion to tackling). He talks a better game than he plays and will grate on coaches and teammates alike unless he learns to back up his bravado. King will lead you to believe that he has the confidence necessary to play on an island but it’s a fool’s confidence as he will let mistakes get to him; once beaten, he is a prime target to attack again and again because he will get frustrated. Pro coaches and passers will pick on him mercilessly thanks to his reputation and it will take a lot for him to prove otherwise. After hearing about his potential to play both ways, I was very disappointed with his overall numbers, lack of interceptions and his high amount of dropped INT. For him to be considered an offensive prospect he will have to catch everything and he does not.

King supporters will point his blazing 40 time and his great sophomore season and say that King is an up-and-comer who just needs coaching to take it too the next level. I say, no coach can teach him to be tougher or more physical. King is a typical ‘looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane’ prospect and does not possess the mental toughness to handle playing in the pros. Not to be rude, but King is a wimp, flat out. Do not be fooled by his feisty attitude, he is not the same person when you put the pads on. He works hard but how can you play defense and not want to hit anyone? Few coaches will want him though someone will take a chance on his speed and athleticism, probably in the 3^rd or 4^th round. Any higher and someone is taking a huge chance and will be disappointed.

Scouting Report by Daryl Breault