DeAndre McDaniel - Draft Stock

By Neal Olsen - NFL Draft Analysis For The-Mainboard.com

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Strengths

McDaniel's biggest strength to me is his ability to attack the ball from the safety position. Last season he broke onto the scene with his ballhawk tendencies and although he could have come out after a successful Junior campaign, he chose to return to Clemson for a senior season. He is outstanding at reading the quarterback's eyes and this allows him to get a great jump on routes before the ball gets to the receiver. Unlike other safeties, McDaniel attacks the ball at the highest point when he has a chance and plays the ball more like a receiver than a safety. Thus explaining the numerous interceptions he had last season. In addition to the ability to play the ball, McDaniel has the size and speed that most general managers drool over. He is similar to Taylor Mays from last season, but to me he seems more fluid which is certainly a good thing. He also doesn't shy away from contact. He is a hard hitter and is able to make sound hits on opposing players.

Weaknesses
The biggest concern affecting McDaniel heading into April's draft would be the character concern. He hasn't been an outstanding citizen during his time at Clemson and with the NFL's crack down on character concerns, this may cost McDaniel a few dollars by the time of the draft. On the field, McDaniel still doesn't have a ton of experience overall. He has been moved around at Clemson and still learning the safety position which shows on film. At times he has lapses in which he takes poor angles at ball carriers. This allows for missed tackles and plays to be bigger than what they should be. McDaniel also has the tendancy to go for the big hit over making a sound tackle.  McDaniel also doesn't have great ability to cover edges. He doesn't have outstanding quickness, he is more deceptively fast, but doesn't seem to have the ability to stay with quicker tight ends and running backs. This isn't a huge problem as you don't find many 210 pound safeties that can make those type of plays.

Overall Analysis
Overall McDaniel is certainly one of the best playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. McDaniel posses both size and speed, while not being to stiff in coverage. There is no reason to believe that McDaniel shouldn't be one of the first safeties off of the board.  I personally view him as a late first or early second selection much like Nate Allen from the University of South Florida this past draft class. However it is possible that the character concerns will scare off some teams and could make him fall to the later parts of the second round. If he does last that long, there is a good chance a team gets a steal if he can keep his head on straight.