James Wiggins 2021 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Name: James Wiggins

College: Cincinnati

Height: 5112

Weight: 209

Overall Rank: No. 155 overall

Position Rank: S17

Strengths: James Wiggins is a monster of an athlete. He plays the safety position with an instinctual nature to his game. His explosiveness is on display constantly as is his physicality and play strength. Wiggins is a versatile athlete and can play as an in or out of box defender. He has shown excellent awareness when in zone coverage and he does a great job reading plays; placing himself in position to make a play on the ball. 

Weaknesses: Durability is a concern for Wiggins as he missed the entire 2019 season due to a knee injury. Wiggins has struggled tackling at times; has the tendency to take poor angles. Wiggins is a reputable coverage safety but has shown a slow reaction time on certain plays. 

What I Love: The explosiveness is something everyone sees when watching James Wiggins at Cincinnati. Yet, his ability to diagnose the routes and quickly get ahead – exploding towards the ball carrier to make a play, is what stands out to me. Teams should be highly intrigued by the potential of his football IQ. Wiggins has shown the ability to be one step ahead of the receiver and it’s made some of his aggressiveness just that much more explosive. Eye disciple and reaction time has been inconsistent, but the great plays have outweighed the bad throughout his young career. 

NFL Comparison: Budda Baker

Grade: 64/100

Position Specific Traits:
(key: +, ++, +++ positive scale | -, - -, - - - negative scale)

Athletic Ability: +++

Man Coverage: +

Run Support: +

Speed: ++

Strength: ++

Tackling: -

Zone Coverage: ++