Dre Kirkpatrick's Player Profile

10 years ago Dre Kirkpatrick would be a wr due to his length (6ft 3) and athleticism, but hand it to this young man as well as Nick Saban for using his skill set on defense which have greatly improved his draft stock by playing cb where his skill set is a premium. You can’t pick on Kirkpatrick and throw jump balls to taller receivers because he can make a play on it. Also, what he has going for him is coming out of the Alabama program and the success and competition he has faced gives him an advantage over most dbs in the draft. His best strength is keeping his wr closed. It may help that the opposing QB doesn’t have a lot of time to throw going against Alabama, but Dre was highly regarded coming out of high school for his coverage skills and he has the technique, quickness and change of direction to stay with wrs down field. He has also improved his physicality at the line of scrimmage and has become a strong hitter (2 forced fumbles) and player in the run game. There is not a lot of weakness in his profile and is a new trend in CB with his length and ability. I think Dre could be valuable in special teams as well.

Negatives are he doesn’t really show much intensity for playing on the defensive side, and can bring up questions about his competitiveness. Playing on one of the nation’s top defenses has maybe bread over-confidence so I cannot say that he is a hands down #1 corner. The SEC is not throwing like they do in the NFL and I am anxious to see if he can make plays on the ball when he is thrown at and how he will respond when he is beat or when the opposing QB is throwing 40x per game with time in the pocket.

Cromartie is an obvious comparison because of the height and skill set and his and Rodgers-Cromartie’s success has certainly helped Dre’s draft stock. I can see Kirkpatrick being a good steady starter in the NFL, like a good offensive lineman he will not get his name called a lot for the right reasons, but I wouldn’t expect him to be quite the play maker that either of the Cromarties are or you could be disappointed.
Profile submitted by: Tom Patterson

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