Draft Profile Prospect | S Jeremy Chinn, Southern Illinois

Southern Illinois safety Jeremy Chinn has put together one of the strongest under-the-radar college careers over the past four seasons. Now, as a surging NFL prospect, he can offer elite athleticism, ball skills and tackling for interested teams.

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Jeremy Chinn

Height: 6-foot 3
Weight: 212 lbs
Grade: Senior
School: Southern Illinois

Elite athleticism can go a long way in boosting the draft stock of an NFL prospect. For Chinn, an impressive combine performance has made the small school product one of the quickest rising prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Chinn's combine performance is hardly his best attribute as an NFL prospect; however, but it has brought attention to one of the most under-the-radar college careers by a safety over the past four years.

Chinn's playing career came outside the power five ranks. He played his four college seasons for the Salukis in the Missouri Valley Conference but made the most of the opportunity as one of the conference's top players.

In each of the past two seasons, Chinn was named a first-team All-MVFC selection, and despite playing at a lower-level conference, he even garnered second-team Associated Press All-American selection as a senior in 2019.

A diverse skill set has earned Chinn comparisons to Clemson's Isaiah Simmons. Chinn's size, speed, and athletic ability have made him particularly effective in zone coverage at the backend and block-shedding in the box. 

Chinn's greatest strength may be his ball skills, as he tallied 13 career interceptions and 31 career passes defended at Southern Illinois. 

In college, Chinn was used in a variety of roles, which is where the comparisons to Simmons stem. One of those roles was occasionally as a man-to-man corner, which exposed potential flaws in his timing. 

Chinn occasionally allowed targets to eat up too much of his cushion before opening up and running alongside them. He's best not utilized in man coverage in the NFL.

Why He's A Fit

Chinn possesses a lot of the same skills as current Giants safety Jabrill Peppers, as they both fit the prototypical strong safety mold. 

If drafted by the Giants, Chinn could learn from Peppers and give the Giants another versatile safety in the secondary. The two could see time on the field at the same time on cover three packages. 

Chinn would see the majority of his snaps on early downs and would be utilized best in run support. He might even line up as a linebacker in new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham's defense due to his size and downhill burst. 

If Chinn's ball skills can translate to the NFL, he could create a lot of turnovers, which is an area where the Giants are looking to severely improve after finishing last in the league in turnover differential in 2019 at -17. 

Chinn's value on special teams is less certain. Due to Chinn's importance on the Southern Illinois roster, he did not see a lot of snaps on special teams, which is often a critical factor in determining the value of late-round rookies. 

However, Chinn's speed and tackling should translate into effective special teams play with the proper coaching.

While Chinn probably isn't quite ready to take over a starting spot on an NFL defense starting Day 1, his natural abilities would make him a valuable young asset on any roster. Chinn has the potential to develop into a game-changing defensive back, in the run and pass game, if he can adjust to NFL conditions from a smaller conference. 

If Giants general manager Dave Gettleman takes a chance on the small school prospect, Chinn can give the Giants' some valuable depth at safety.