Prospect Profile: Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky

Evaluation

Disrupting the WR Release

The main area for development in his game is his play at the line of scrimmage when pressing his opponent both with and without a jam. He wasn’t asked to do it too much at Kentucky, in fact they often substituted him when they absolutely had to press with a jam, which I think paints a picture of his proficiency in press currently. When executing a soft press he does have good footwork and so his athleticism and explosion does allow him to match angles with the receiver. However, when he faces receivers with a good release package and a plan to attack him at the line of scrimmage, he can allow those receivers to attack his leverage and release through him rather than around him, setting themselves up to create separation at their break point. When he is jams receivers with solid length and play strength, they can quickly clear their hands with only cursory moves to wipe or rip away his hands from theirs. He does not disrupt the timing of the route in press on a consistent basis with physicality, footwork or leverage. He is better when he’s in a flat-footed read in either catch-man or off coverage, when he can use his reactive athleticism and explosion to mirror the receiver closely. He’s generally better in off coverage but the receivers who can eat up cushion quickly can effectively attack leverage in off too.

Taking Away Targets from the WR

He has the technique, fluidity and athleticism to mirror in confined spaces but he isn’t consistent with staying in phase against different types of route. Against routes that call for a two-step break like hitches, curls, and out routes, he doesn’t read the receiver quickly enough to stay in phase at the top of the route, he reacts too slowly to the break and drives on the ball too late. He is better against receivers running square cuts for digs and deep outs because the receiver is decelerating from higher speed, meaning he has more time to read the receiver before using his superior movement skills to get in phase at the break. When facing a vertical cut for a post or a corner, the receiver that attacks with lean and uses an effective pressure step can get him to turn his hips the wrong way and this usually leads to him giving up yards of separation. He won’t bite on double moves. He has excellent transitions, footwork, acceleration and long speed so he has the tools to be sticky on all types of route but he doesn’t read the game quickly enough to do so. This means he is likely to give up plays to on-time offenses where the ball reaches the receiver at the top of their route or close to it. Against those offenses less predicated on timing he is far more effective because his athleticism allows him to close the distance to the receiver and recover after he gives up some separation at the top of the route. His recovery speed is elite and it gets him out of trouble a lot, it can do the same at the next level given his speed for the position is other-worldly. One other note is that he will likely be bullied into giving up separation against those receivers who have good play strength at the break-point.

Making a Play on the Ball

He has solid ball skills right now and will get his hands on a lot of balls if they aren’t thrown perfectly. He has solid timing and accuracy with his hands to break up most type of passes. He locates the ball well in the air and tracks it downfield well when he’s in phase. He can also time his leap well on deep passes to high-point his break-up attempt. He will however struggle more with balls thrown on time and on target, he can be a little late.

Defending the Run and Tackling

He is a solid run defender for his size with limited aggression and physicality. He plays his role in the run defense, but he won’t seek out contact and involvement in defending the run. He plays a disciplined force player role but he won’t get off blocks or constrict running lanes. He does flash the ability to make good form tackles on bigger ball carriers but he will sometimes hesitate to come up and play the runner in the gap. As an open-field tackler, he doesn’t position well to make his tackle. He has plenty of speed to get to all types of ball carrier and he has the athleticism to react to moves they make to make him miss, but he breaks down too far from the point where his path will intersect with the runner and gives them too much space to use their change of direction to elude him. When he uses the sideline or other players effectively to create angles for himself, he shows he can make physical, run-through tackles.

Ravens Draft Pick Comp
Asa Jackson with elite speed.

PRODUCTION 
Final year on campus: 67 To. Tackles, 5 INTs, 4 PBUs, 1 FF
Injury: JR: Missed 5 games with shoulder injury.

RAVENS FIT
Expl. Athleticism 5
Ftbl Intelligence 2
Versatility 3
Grit 2
Scheme 3