2021 NFL Draft Profile: CB Israel Mukuamu, South Carolina

A tallish cornerback for the perimeter? Yes please. And is South Carolina's Israel Mukuamu a fit?? Let's see what his tape says.

CB ISRAEL MUKUAMU

Height: 6'4"
Weight: 205 lbs.
Class: Junior
School: South Carolina

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A former three-star recruit out of Bossier City, Louisiana, where he attended Parkway High School. Mukuamu was the 27th Louisiana recruit and the 655th overall prospect in the 2018 recruiting cycle. He had multiple academic honor roll appearances, and he was a 2019 Second-Team All-ACC selection.

Mukuamu finished his three seasons with the Gamecocks by recording 86 tackles, 4 for a loss, seven interceptions, ten passes defended, one forced fumble, and one touchdown.

He had a considerable impact and showed a ton of growth in 2019 (his sophomore season); he recorded 59 tackles, 2 for a loss, four picks, and nine passes defended in that season. Three of the interceptions were against Jake Fromm and the Georgia Bulldogs. His other career interception was a diving one-handed pick against Kyle Trask and the Florida Gators.

Notables

He strained his groin in 2020. He only played in five games and then opted out the rest of the season to focus on the NFL Draft and recovery. Suffered the injury in the first week of the season and attempted to play through the injury.

Traits

Imposing size, long-limbed, high cut in the hips, and very lean cornerback (can undoubtedly add weight to his frame) that possess solid athletic traits. He is a long strider who covers a ton of ground and helps his recovery speed.

He has solid explosive traits, speed, and quickness for a corner his size, but his acceleration out of breaks and his footwork aren’t consistently great.

Going into the evaluation, I expected to see incredible stiffness in the hips--that wasn’t exactly the case in all situations. Naturally, his transitions can get high due to his height, but his hips still flipped better than I expected, and he changed direction well.

He doesn’t shuffle or move laterally as well when his hips aren’t pointed to the desired location - may be a bit scheme limited.

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He shows solid patience at the line of scrimmage most of the time and brings impressive physicality with his jam when he is on target. Could be much more effective with his hands at the line of scrimmage; he doesn’t leverage his excellent play strength, and his aiming points are a bit off in press--he can get caught reaching and has to be a bit more disciplined, trust his length, and time the jam better.

Shifty and quicker receivers will give Mukuamu problems. In off coverage, receivers that can chew grass and get into Mukuamu’s feet will have more success.

In college, Mukuamu was tasked to play on top of routes in a quarter turn with his backside to the sideline, essentially almost surrendering comebacks and back-shoulder throws. He executed this coverage well and knew his speed relative to his opponents.

He may not be a corner that can always succeed against faster, quicker receivers in MEG (Man Everywhere he Goes) situations. He wasn’t terrible in college on quick slants at the line of scrimmage or posts due to his plant and driveability being solid.

There would be good separation by receivers on deeper digs, and Mukuamu had to take good angles, with quality timing, to ensure that the dog didn’t result in a huge play.

Saw the field well and passed routes off depending on the coverage call in match defenses. He comes downhill hard when there are passes underneath, and he does a good job using his tackle radius to wrap receivers up and bring them down to the ground.

He does a solid job defeating blocks and making tackles in run support--plays with a very good competitive and physical toughness.

Ball skills were good, and he leveraged his length well. Solid lower body explosiveness to leap and reach to shut down throwing windows and knock passes away. He plays through the catch point; did a good job driving downhill for interceptions when in off coverage - took one to the house against Georgia.

Overall, Mukuamu is a tall, physical cornerback who may be a bit limited to a cover 3 type of scheme. He needs to improve his technique in jam situations, but he has the measurables and demeanor to perform this task.

Despite his height, he’s not the stiffest cornerback you’ll see, and he can play man coverage effectively against bigger receivers. Mukuamu could earn a late day two selection, and it’s easy to see why; in the right scheme, he could be an effective player at the next level. 

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