Greg Newsome II Thread

[Phills14]

Brugler's scouting report on him. #3 CB and #18 overall

3. GREG NEWSOME II | Northwestern 6000 | 192 lbs. | JR. Chicago, Ill. (IMG Academy) 5/18/2000 (age 20.95) #2

BACKGROUND: Gregory “Greg” Newsome II grew up on the south side of Chicago with his focus on basketball and AAU tournaments before switching to football in middle school. He moved to Carol Stream (30 miles west of Chicago) and enrolled at Glenbard North High School where he lettered in basketball, track and football, playing defensive back and wide receiver. After a year on the freshman team, he earned First Team All-Conference as a sophomore with 40 tackles and a team-best six interceptions. Newsome again earned All-Conference honors as a junior, finishing with 85 tackles, 18 passes defended and three interceptions, adding 224 receiving yards and four touchdowns on offense. He transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., for his senior season, finishing with 15 tackles, 17 passes defended and two interceptions in 2017. In track, Newsome clocked personal-bests in the 100 meters (11.05) and 200 meters (22.86).

A three-star cornerback recruit out of high school, Newsome was the No. 62 ranked cornerback in the class and the No. 107 ranked recruit in the state of Florida. He considered offers from Arkansas, Iowa, Virginia Tech and others, but decided to stay closer to home, signing with Northwestern and enrolling in January 2018. Newsome elected to skip his senior season and enter the 2021 NFL Draft. He became the first Northwestern true junior to declare for the NFL Draft after three years since Darnell Autry in 1996.

YEAR (GP/GS) TKLS TFL SACK FF PD INT NOTES
2018: (6/4) 23 0.0 0.0 0 4 0 Missed eight games due to injury
2019: (9/8) 36 0.5 0.0 0 11 0 Led team in PD; Missed three games due to injury
2020: (6/6) 12 0.0 0.0 0 10 1 First Team All-Big Ten; Led Big Ten in PD; Missed three games due to injury
Total: (21/18) 71 0.5 0.0 0 25 1

HT WT ARM HAND WING 40-YD 20-YD 10-YD VJ BJ SS 3C BP
6000 192 31 1/8 8 7/8 73 3/4 4.38 2.53 1.50 40 10’3” 4.26 6.90 18

STRENGTHS: Balanced athlete with nimble feet and the lower body muscles to spring in any direction…fluid hip turn to stay under control and in phase…matches receivers off the line and out of breaks…pedal quickness to collect-and-close…heightened cover awareness with NFL eyes to map receivers up and down the field…high football IQ…has a knack for finding passing lanes…plays through the hands of receivers to create incompletions…calms his feet downhill to square up ball carriers as a tackler and get them on the ground…takes it personally when completions happen and the coaches praise his competitive confidence (Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald: “He’s got a short memory and a quick fuse”)…zero touchdowns allowed in 2020…got his hands on a lot of passes in college with 25 passes defended in only 21 games played.

WEAKNESSES: Wiry body type with lean, stringy muscle tone…average play strength and needs to continue and get stronger…will struggle to shed blocks and can be jostled from his path by physical wide receivers…will find his hips turned prematurely, biting on double-moves and getting himself turned around…grabby tendencies and flags will follow…only one interception in his career and needs to turn the break-ups into turnovers…lack of size leads to durability concerns…missed at least three games each of his three collegiate seasons due to nagging injuries, including a groin issue as a junior (December 2020).

SUMMARY: A three-year starter at Northwestern, Newsome was the left cornerback in former defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz’s man/zone scheme, lining up primarily from off-coverage. After leading the team in passes defended (11) as a sophomore, he was No. 1 in the Big Ten in passes defended (10) as a junior and led the FBS in passer rating against (15.77) — of the 10 completions he allowed in 2020, only one was 10-plus yards downfield. With his agile footwork and anticipation, Newsome attaches himself to receivers and stays under control in coverage. He has terrific eyes to sort and make plays, but he needs to turn the pass break-ups into interceptions. Overall, Newsome comes with durability concerns, especially against the rigors of the NFL, but he is a route magnet with fluid transitions and natural instincts. He projects as a press-man NFL starter as a rookie.

GRADE: 1st Round (No. 18 overall)

 

[DatDudeZ3]

Seems like good value at 26... Now trade up for JOK!!!

 

[Ozone]

steal imo now go get JOK and win the draft

 

[Randolphkeys]

I had Newsome ranked as the third corner, above Farley. I was on a Zoom call for picks 20 - 26, and made a bet at pick 24 that the Browns would end up with Newsome. I waited to see what Jacksonville had planned first.

When you can get a shut-down corner who is very comfortable in zone, you just gotta go for it. I'd like to see Newsome continue to get stronger to avoid nagging injuries, but this was an easy pick to make.

 

[Ohio]

Newsome is killing these interviews. He's done several already and they're all great.

In this one, he mentioned his preferred playstyle is press man. Thought that was interesting.

 

[thestatman]

3 star recriit out of high just goes to show you that they don't know for sure. John Johnson was a 2 star recruit out of high school with scholly offers from Lehigh and Bucknell.

 

[Lee]

@Out of the Rafters at the Q here is some good tape where he ends up in a decent chunk of zone coverage. It’s a mix of that, off-man, and a tiny bit of press man.

Its funny, i watched every snap of that game, some 2 or 3 times. Not until i watched that video did I once root for Newsome to make a stop, lol

 

[Lee]

Yeah, as I said in the chat, I like the pick... but I think he’s primarily a backup in his first year. He’s intelligent and good in Northwestern’s scheme, which is similar to what Woods runs. I do think he’ll become a starting-quality corner, but we may be a year or so away from that.

Also, he is not Ward insurance. They practically play different positions.

I think he is more Greedy or Hill insurance. Ward when healthy is a top 5 corner, hard to replace that, even in the late 1st.

 

[MirORich]

I like the way he tackles in space. I don't like the way he covers, and for some reason he just looks small to me--does he have shorter arms? Are my eyes just dogshit? I don't know, just watching him cover guys, he felt kinda like Jason Verrett. I never felt like this is a guy with size as a positive trait.

This is going to sound odd but since Northwestern is not much of a steady year in year out power, they are rarely on any big broadcasts. When watching the highlight clips of them, the angles, distance, and quality of the TV work seemed so much more far off and low quality than what I’m used to seeing in an NFL broadcast or Ohio State, SEC, Clemson broadcast. Maybe I’m crazy but I think that’s one reason he may look “smaller” to you.

 

[MirORich]

The Browns view him as a long term high tier CB. In the modern NFL you need at least two of them. But if they are both off their rookie deals, that’s a massive bill to pay. So I agree with anyone who said he is not a Ward insurance or replacement. He is what you need to do at the premium positions like DE and CB ideally. Have one elite guy one the big deal overlapping with 2-4 years of a second elite guy still on his cheap rookie deals. And we’re not used to the value that a homerun pick in the late 20s brings. All our best recent 1st round picks were 1, 1, 4, and 10. So even their rookie deals were quite expensive by year 2-4.

if Newsome of the player they hope/think he is, than his value for the 4-5 years of his rookie deal will be priceless and will be exactly what allows us to give Ward the big CB1 deal in a way that fits with the rest of our cap

 

[Simmy]

From ProFootballFocus:

Comments: "The Browns are one of the NFL’s smartest teams, and they attacked one of the most valuable positions in the game here. Newsome is also a very good prospect, representing incredible value here at No. 26. He was battle-tested on a small sample of snaps in 2020, facing 34 targets through his first four games. He held his own, allowing just 93 yards and five first downs while making eight plays on the ball."

“The Browns are one of the NFL’s smartest teams.”

Just thought that was worth repeating.

Some more reviews below:

NFL.com's Chad Reuter

Grade: A

Comments: "You can't have enough cornerbacks. Newsome should have been picked much earlier, so the Browns found excellent value picking him at No. 26. He has the size, strength and speed to match up against any NFL receiver. Newsome can also play the ball very well, fighting through the catch or making the interception when the opportunity arises."

Yahoo Sports' Eric Edholm

Grade: A-

Comments: "This is a coup for the Browns, nabbing a player whom many believed would've been gone before now. Newsome is a bulldog-caliber competitor, and a tremendous athlete. That secondary could be really strong now with Denzel Ward, Newsome, Grant Delpit and Greedy Williams all young and highly talented. Wanna stop the Bills and Chiefs? Beef up that secondary."

Sporting News' Vinnie Iyer

Grade: A

Comments: "The Browns not drafting for immediate need is a testament to them having a loaded roster with an upgraded defense coming off their triumphant playoff return. They didn’t need to force linebacker or defensive tackle when Newsome, with his size, smarts, instincts and nose for the ball, was the clear best player available who also fills a need for an extra big cover man to complement Denzel Ward."

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

This is going to sound odd but since Northwestern is not much of a steady year in year out power, they are rarely on any big broadcasts. When watching the highlight clips of them, the angles, distance, and quality of the TV work seemed so much more far off and low quality than what I’m used to seeing in an NFL broadcast or Ohio State, SEC, Clemson broadcast. Maybe I’m crazy but I think that’s one reason he may look “smaller” to you.

Eh, that came off the actual game film that @Jordan posted last night.

Looks like it's at least somewhat accurate. This site has him as 20th percentile for wingspan:

Greg Newsome - MockDraftable

www.mockdraftable.com

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

From ProFootballFocus:

“The Browns are one of the NFL’s smartest teams.”

Just thought that was worth repeating.

Some more reviews below:

It's because we are.

Get used to hearing it

 

[Kbiz]

Eh, that came off the actual game film that @Jordan posted last night.

Looks like it's at least somewhat accurate. This site has him as 20th percentile for wingspan:

Greg Newsome - MockDraftable

www.mockdraftable.com

View attachment 5634

Denzel Ward had some equally concerning size issues on paper.

CB is just one of those positions that being undersized isn't a huge hindrance if you have the right instincts and body control. Ward is a fierce competitor and by the sounds of it, this guy is too. I am not all that worried about his size. He's got plenty of time to put on some muscle.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Denzel Ward had some equally concerning size issues on paper.

CB is just one of those positions that being undersized isn't a huge hindrance if you have the right instincts and body control. Ward is a fierce competitor and by the sounds of it, this guy is too. I am not all that worried about his size. He's got plenty of time to put on some muscle.




View attachment 5637

Good point.

Honestly first time I've ever seen this site. I have no idea how accurate or worthwhile their information is.

I've never felt Denzel is small at corner.