Player Bio
While Alexander was just a three-star prospect coming out of North Carolina, and ranked only in the top 70 cornerbacks in the country, Louisville saw a future starter in his speed, ball skills, and physical play on the outside. He proved them correct in 2016, intercepting five passes and breaking up nine others in 13 starts to garner second-team All-ACC honors. Alexander played in 12 games, with one start on defense (19 tackles, one interception) in his true freshman season. He's also made a name for himself as a punt returner in his first two seasons (29 returns for 223 yards in 2015, 19 returns for 195 yards in 2016), including a 69-yard return for a touchdown against ACC rival Florida State in 2016. Alexander missed about half of the 2017 season with leg and hand injuries, but managed to start six of seven games played on the year (19 tackles, one interception, four pass breakups) and was named honorable mention All-ACC.
Analysis By Lance Zierlein NFL Analyst
Draft Projection: Round 1
NFL Comparison: Teez Tabor
Overview
Twitchy and quick, Alexander is an instinctive cornerback with the ability to anticipate routes and the quickness to close on throws and make plays on the ball. He tape in 2017 was uneven due to issues with a sprained knee which could raise concerns over his durability considering his slender build. When healthy, he has the potential to become a second cornerback, but teams may view him as a full time nickel cornerback who is able to avoid the rigors of excessive run support.Strengths
- Athletic and tough
- Came back for last three games of the season despite missing multiple games due to sprained knee and a broken hand
- Eyes stay on quarterback when he's able
- Aware and instinctive
- Spots traffic from zone and squeezes passing lanes
- Carries playmaking traits
- Quick response time when quarterback begins release
- Smooth mover with plus acceleration to chase
- Feet are light and sudden
- Crowds and mirror receiver's release without panicking
- Stays connected to routes
- Pattern reader capable of sudden stops to mirror comeback routes
- Aggressive attacking catch point
- Climbs on top of receivers and rips arms through potential catches
- Has decent recovery burst on the deep ball
- Communicative with teammates
Weaknesses
- Gangly frame unlikely to carry much more good weight
- Injuries and missed time make 2017 tape tricky to evaluate
- Avoided excess contact with blockers and appeared to lack his typical brand of aggressiveness
- Needs to play with better knee bend from press
- Read routes and created opportunities to attack throws but defaulted to the safe play
- Can get grabby in man coverage
- Allows base widen and loses balance during transitions from time to time
- Gave up too many redzone touchdowns in 2016
- Inconsistent getting head around in time to find the football
- Inconsistent finisher as tackler and may struggle to get off of NFL blocks
Sources Tell Us
"It looked like he kind of cruised by sometimes this year like he was trying not to get hurt. You can see that talent, man. He can stay on you all over the field and he was one of the smoothest ones I saw at the Combine." - AFC defensive backs coach
