In a past Draft on Tape on a different safety, I wrote that “there are only two prospects whose tape shows sideline to sideline potential in the pros.” I was wrong. After Virginia safety Juan Thornhill blew away the combine, I promised to re-watch his tape in more detail for single-high range. What I saw impressed me. It must have made an impression on the Seattle Seahawks too, given they are hosting Thornhill for an official visit per Andrew Di Ceccio.

Virginia S Juan Thornhill

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.Reads QBs in hook zone, comprehension of offensive concepts and routes

.Peripheral scanning in zones, head on swivel

.Expertly progresses and ranks threats in zone

.Ball location from various techniques with seamless switches from ball to receiver — Matty F. Brown (@mattyfbrown) March 19, 2019

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.Undercutting receivers plus diagnosing+mirroring routes in short+intermediate

.Goes for the INT or PBU aggressively

.Speed+football IQ gives him genuine range from single-high; breaks before ball is thrown with instincts+processing

.Blitz disguise

.Shoulder disrupts blockers — Matty F. Brown (@mattyfbrown) March 19, 2019

Having previously said that Thornhill looks “slow”, his combine led to me re-evaluating my initial takeaways. He dominated proceedings, testing to a ludicrous 99.5 percentile NFL safety while meeting all of the Seahawks’ position thresholds.

Height: 6ft

Weight: 205lbs

Arm Length: 31 1/8 inches

Forty-yard Dash: 4.42 seconds

Ten-yard Split: 1.57 seconds

Vertical Jump: 44 inches

Broad Jump: 141 inches

Bench Press: 21 reps

Explosive stuff, although athleticism certainly doesn’t guarantee success at safety. Just look at the top-15 40-yard dash times for safeties at the combine from 2010-2018:

However, Thornhill clearly combines his athleticism with cerebral aspects that are crucial to being successful at the position. He did it to such an extent that his twitch and speed doesn’t pop off the tape or in-person down at the Senior Bowl.



Covering shallow zones and matching, Thornhill looked to bait quarterbacks by not fully merging or melting on to receivers. Furthermore, in the deeper zones his football IQ led to what looked like one-speed and half-speed play. He almost over-anticipated routes. Hence the combine surprise.

Meanwhile, Thornhill’s showing against the Ohio Bobcats was so bad it almost has to be discounted as an anomaly:

Juan Thornhill's tape against Ohio was so bad that I had to double-check I was watching the right teams.



The game was at Vanderbilt's stadium due to Hurricane Florence. The team code for Virginia, VAUN, made me momentarily double-take.



Surely this wasn't Thornhill? But it was. — Matty F. Brown (@mattyfbrown) March 18, 2019

Hurricane Florence would have disrupted Thornhill’s routine and he is also from Altavista, Virginia; so, family, friends and his home would have been affected. Preparations and mindset for Ohio cannot have been ideal. The Bobcats game still demonstrated Thornhill is not a fit in the slot though. He is slow to half-turn transition and sprint, which any decent slot receiver will expose.

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.Jam connection

.Rides high in press man; squeeze!

.On back of feet when half-turn transitioning

.Slow to open in half-turn transition

.Too confident in IQ? Looks to bait in shallow zones/matching not fully merging/melting. Danger if routes develop up-field. Half-speed effect — Matty F. Brown (@mattyfbrown) March 19, 2019

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.Overextends on jab steps at top of route in off man

.Doesn’t sink well at break points=added steps, looks bogged down breaking

.Contacts receivers early with ball in air

.Inconsistent mover=looks stiff

.Takes bad angles at stem of downfield routes=separation — Matty F. Brown (@mattyfbrown) March 19, 2019

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.Allows blockers to dictate too often, beat to the punch

.Looks to run around OL in box, surrendering his gap

.Slow to key in box

.Slow to scrape in box

.Ducks head, turns sideways when tackling. Low aiming. Dangerous, will lead to misses. Reliant on diving at knees or shins — Matty F. Brown (@mattyfbrown) March 19, 2019

There’s a reason Thornhill didn’t run a three-cone or short shuttle in Indianapolis plus he lacks flexibility and breaking-90-degrees ability on tape. Despite these factors, Thornhill still has the crucial single-high range thanks to his athleticism and instincts. Furthermore, he can locate the ball from a variety of positions and techniques. Ultimately, Thornhill’s traits project best as a deep, 1hi safety in the league.

This is awesome closing on the vertical route from 15 yards+ distance. It's 1 off, but it looks like Virginia is expecting their safety to stay over the top. Thornhill gets depth with the quarterback drop then fires. He could have gone for the pick, but factor in game situation. pic.twitter.com/zvDOeZ4zui — Matty F. Brown (@mattyfbrown) March 19, 2019

Here Thornhill is held by the play-action fake and bubble screen action to the boundary. But he still manages to get over to the fieldside go route. If this is tipped or thrown more inside, he has a shot at playing the ball. That's some range from the opposite hash. pic.twitter.com/vNAs5Tu8jk — Matty F. Brown (@mattyfbrown) March 19, 2019

Thornhill doesn't over-commit on the hitch and honors the QB's shoulders and drop distance. He then has the speed to get underneath the deep post, flashes his ball location skills and picks the ball off deep. pic.twitter.com/yJJvgwebPb — Matty F. Brown (@mattyfbrown) March 19, 2019

This is the play which most impressed me regarding Thornhill's range--and it resulted in a CB DPI call



He processes threats, is put in a bind by #3 vert. Yet he's breaking to the sideline before QB throws. He's right there to make a play if this isn't thrown out of bounds. Range pic.twitter.com/juJhUMjC3I — Matty F. Brown (@mattyfbrown) March 19, 2019

He had six interceptions in 2018 and 13 in his college career, giving him a playmaker aspect. Yet his film is full of controlled discipline that makes him less of a “flashy” prospect, more of a sound footballer. The numbers and film combined will lead to him being taken no later than the second-round.

The need for a playmaker on the backend is something the Seahawks’ Front Office clearly acknowledges, with Darnell Savage and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson visiting Seattle too—per Jeff Zrebiec and Tony Pauline. There’s a theory that Thornhill is a potential cornerback conversion project. Yet his arms don’t meet the 32” threshold and his skillset doesn’t translate. Besides; Thornhill has the talent to excel at single-high safety in the NFL. If Pete Carroll and John Schneider pick Thornhill, watch out!