2023 NFL Draft Player Profiles: Stanford CB Kyu Blu Kelly

From now until the 2023 NFL Draft takes place, we hope to scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top 10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections and priority undrafted free agents Today, we’ll be profiling Stanford CB Kyu Blu Kelly.

#17 Kyu Blu Kelly, CB, Stanford (Sr.) — 6001, 193 lbs.

Senior Bowl

Measurements

The Good

— Long frame with good muscle tone
— Most confident when he plays close to the line of scrimmage in press
— Has a ton of quality man coverage reps
— Generally sicky in coverage when he can walk guys off the line and stick hip to hip
— Has the speed to carry WRs vertically with ease
— Feet are light and active, constantly on his toes ready to fire in any direction he needs
— Nice click and close on routes in front of him
— Shows patience being walked off the line of scrimmage, stays square, and doesn’t lean either way
— Does a great job mirroring releases with his footwork
— Physical at the catch point, numerous breakups on jump balls
— Has played inside and outside, had 100 snaps in the slot in 2021

— Tackles like a cornerback, far too many missed tackles in space against the run and in the flat
— Takes poor angles in space when trying to tackle gets himself in bad positions
— Gets eaten up by blockers downfield, tries to shed often unsuccessfully
— Creeps up in zone coverage, leaving holes behind him downfield
— Doesn’t have a great feel for zone coverage, loses too many guys vertically after zone turn
— Can be susceptible to double moves with his aggressive click to close
— Opens his gate too soon in off-coverage leaving him in bad positions on in-breaking routes
— Clearly less confident when playing off-coverage
— Loves press, but doesn’t jam much only mirrors off the line
— Can get grabby with quicker receivers out of breaks

— Started as a true freshman after 3 games and never was taken out of the lineup since
— Played in 38 games with 35 starts, accumulating over 1,250 coverage snaps
— 147 total tackles, 1.