One of the most talked about players of the Packers' 2017 offseason has undoubtedly been third year cornerback Damarious Randall. Simply put, the biggest weakness for the Packers in 2016 was the play of their cornerbacks and Damarious Randall was a big reason as to why. Coming into last season the expectations for Randall and the secondary were high.

Sam Shields was set to be the Packers’ number one corner and the Packers were ready to unleash their trio of second year defensive backs; Randall, Quentin Rollins and LaDarius Gunter. Green Bay was so confident in these three that they were willing to let Casey Hayward walk in free agency and focus the majority of Micah Hyde's time at safety. While things didn't turn out the way the Packers had hoped, there was certainly reason to believe that Randall was ready to be a starter in 2016.

He was coming off a solid rookie season and looked ready to make the second year jump. By all accounts he had a very solid offseason in 2016 and came in ready to compete for the job. What was once a promising season came crashing down on Randall and Green Bay; however, as Randall was oft-injured throughout the season and ended up ranking 108 out of 111 graded cornerbacks by Pro Football Focus.

The Packers addressed their cornerback position in the offseason fairly extensively, bringing back veteran Davon House and drafting Kevin King with their first pick in the draft. Add in the fact that Randall is making the transition to slot cornerback in 2017 and you can get an idea as to why so many people have been talking about Randall this offseason.

There have been the logical comparisons to Davante Adams who also struggled in his sophomore season. Of course Adams showed flashes his rookie season, struggled year two and then broke out in year three for Green Bay. Many fans are hoping the same will hold true for Green Bay's former first round cornerback.

The reports out of practices thus far have been positive; stating that Randall looks much better, more confident and more comfortable playing the slot position. Could Randall really have a breakout reminiscent of Davante Adams? Could he be the Packers answer at slot cornerback and at minimum become a major contributor in the secondary? Could he develop into the playmaker Ted Thompson and company thought he could be when selecting him in the first round in 2015?

These were the questions that I wanted answers to and the questions that led me on an offseason journey of reviewing Randall's tape over the past three years. Below you will find my full scouting report on Damarious Randall, why he has struggled so far and my projections for him this upcoming season.

Before reading the scouting notes towards the end, I would highly recommend that you review the following video threads on your own. These posts were specifically made with the intent of giving the fans an opportunity to see Randall's full body of work, without a ton of opinion. In these threads you will not just see Randall's highlights, or his worst plays, but his full body of work.

You get the good, the bad, the ugly and the mundane. To me, the fun part of scouting is putting the full body of work together and coming to your own conclusion as to whether or not you believe the player can succeed going forward.

Here are Randall’s threads from college and 2015 (click next to my name in the tweet to see the entire thread):

Finishing up some offseason work on Damarious Randall. Here's a quick thread on his college tape. Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/0i29dp8B8l — Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) July 13, 2017

2015 Damarious Randall thread - Part 1 (Weeks 1-10). pic.twitter.com/Mubw4lAVCF — Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) May 27, 2017

2015 Damarious Randall thread - Part 2 (Week 11 - End of Season) pic.twitter.com/a4YSBy9Zik — Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) May 28, 2017

Scouting Report

Strengths

Competitive - My favorite Damarious Randall story, and the moment I most thought he was going to be a long-term keeper for Green Bay, was when he recovered the onside kick against Detroit in 2015. The story goes that Randall specifically went to Ron Zook and asked to be put in the game so he could go make a play. Here was the result:

Still one my favorite Randall plays due to the backstory is his onside kick recovery. He asked in the game wanting to make a play. He did. pic.twitter.com/2Jz08DnDqx — Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) July 13, 2017

Clutch - Randall has come through with a few clutch plays (see onside kick recovery above) but look no further than his pass break up late in the 4th quarter against San Diego to see just how clutch Randall can be.

Probably the play you remember Randall most for in 2015, the game sealer vs. San Diego. pic.twitter.com/QROkcGOGxZ — Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) May 27, 2017

Athletic - Note Randall’s RAS score and Mock Draftable chart at the bottom of this article to see where Randall ranks athletically. Make no mistake about it, Randall’s athletic mold is the biggest reason that he was selected in the first round by Green Bay. His measureables are exactly what the Packers look for in the defensive backfield.

Versatile - Coming into the league it was expected that Randall would be able to fill a variety of roles in a new hybrid defensive backfield. He has now played safety at Arizona State, boundary corner for Green Bay and this season he is set to play in the slot. He has also been a factor on special teams throughout his time at Arizona State and Green Bay. His positional versatility is in theory a plus, but he needs to find a way to master one of those positions to reach his true potential.

Weaknesses

Lacks Eye Discipline - This is my biggest issue with Randall. There are way too many times when he lacks eye discipline and will watch what the quarterback is doing rather than track his man. There were way too many times when Randall left his man wide open because he was trying to anticipate what the quarterback was going to do. This is something he will have to correct in 2017.

Poor Technique - One of the reasons that Randall’s technique may have suffered is because he has yet to find his true position. Randall will be playing his third different position in four years and that can really take its toll on a young defensive back. The hope is obviously that Randall can find a home in the slot and learn to master his technique.

Inconsistent - While eye discipline and poor technique may get Randall in the most trouble, his inconsistency is what makes him the most frustrating. There have been times when Randall has gone out and played some really solid football, especially in 2015. He just hasn’t been able to keep that up consistently enough over the course of the past two years to have any confidence that he will be able to go out and have a solid game against any type of above average NFL receiver.

Struggles in Space - This is what is most concerning over Randall’s transition to slot cornerback. Go back and watch his ASU tape specifically to see just how much Randall struggled in space. Randall is simply not fleet footed enough to be able to stay consistently with the twitchy slot wide receivers. To make matters worse he’s been an inconsistent tackler and a poor blitzer. That is not a recipe for success in the slot.

Randall left grasping for air coming up from his safety position. pic.twitter.com/4CR6XeZQaY — Andy Herman (@SconnieSports) July 13, 2017

Summary

Over the past few months I’ve went back and watched every snap of Damarious Randall from 2015 to 2016. In addition, I’ve watched every college snap available on Draft Breakdown. What I’ve come away with is a talented player who was over drafted and who lacks a true position in an NFL secondary.

There isn’t much question that Randall has the athleticism to make it in the NFL and when he’s right he projects as a valuable member of the secondary. I was, like many of you, under the impression that his poor 2016 was probably going to be chalked up to a sophomore slump or the reported injuries that he’s been going through.

When I went back and watched the college tape and every snap from 2015, I didn’t have the same confidence. What I saw over the past three years was virtually the same player. A player who lacked the necessary technique, rhythm and, at times, the confidence to play defensive back at a high level in the NFL.

In college, Randall struggled being the last line of defense, too often missing tackles or abandoning his positioning. In the NFL he lacked the consistent technique to compete on the outside with any level of reliability. Wide receivers who were advanced router runners would give Randall fits.

Here was the question that I kept going back to: What does he do well at the NFL level against NFL receivers? As a physical player he is not adept at press man-to-man, he struggles to fill in the run game and he’s a below average blitzer. In space he will get his feet caught in mud and is a second late reacting. He doesn’t have the speed to matchup with either the quick slot receivers or the super-fast outside receivers. He’s also not going to out-muscle anyone for a jump ball.

Randall gets by, by having above average athleticism in almost every category and he competes hard. He also cares about the game and he has a passion for winning that you can tangibly see on film, but as a true NFL defensive back he is lacking in many ways, largely due to technique.

2017 Projection

Even with my obvious lack of faith in Randall over the past three years there remains good news and reason for hope. Once again, the reports out of the Packers’ camp thus far have been that Randall has really taken to his new position. He seems bound and determined to live up to his 1st round selection and you can tell he wants to succeed and he wants to win.

He’s being coached by one of the best defensive back coaches in the business in Joe Whitt and he will have tremendous competition all around him to hopefully push him to the next level. Randall can be a playmaker. He’s shown a propensity both in college and in the pros to get his hands on loose footballs and that is something that can be of great value playing the star position.

If Randall can take the next step with his technique he has the athleticism to be a good player. Randall doesn’t need to be Charles Woodson in the slot to be successful. A solid Micah Hyde level replacement will serve the Packers very well and will be a huge step in the right direction for Randall.

Just as Davante Adams was a year ago, Damarious Randall is at a crossroads in his career. His offseason work will go a long way in determining his future NFL success. I have my doubts that he can make an easy transition to a slot cornerback position where wide receivers have more space to work with but regardless of how bad the tape looks at times, you can see the talent is there; now it’s up to Randall to play up to it.

Notes

2016 PFF Grade: 35.8, 107/109 graded cornerbacks

2015 PFF Grade: 57.9

Randall’s Measurables

Randall’s Spider Chart

Randall’s RAS

https://relativeathleticscores.com/2017/05/18/damarious-randall-ras/