Could Jakorian Bennett Be the Commanders’ Replacement for Bobby McCain?
Mar 31, 2023 - 12:00 PMJakorian Bennett, CB
School: Maryland | Conference: Big Ten
College Experience: Senior | Age: 22
Height / Weight: 5’11” / 188 lbs
Projected Draft Status: 3rd-5th Round
Player Comparison: Jimmie Ward
College Statistics
Tackles | Def Int | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Solo | Ast | Tot | Loss | Sk | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF |
2020 | Maryland | Big Ten | JR | DB | 4 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||
*2021 | Maryland | Big Ten | SR | DB | 11 | 23 | 1 | 24 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 3 | -1 | -0.3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | ||
*2022 | Maryland | Big Ten | SR | DB | 12 | 26 | 13 | 39 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career | Maryland | 55 | 14 | 69 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 5 | -1 | -0.2 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Player Overview
Jakorian Bennett not only played football, he was an all-state track and field athlete, placing third in the Alabama statewide 60m race. He started his college career playing two seasons at Hutchinson Community College. After receiving accolades for his play, he chose to transfer to Maryland over Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Miami, Louisville, and SMU. In 2020, he played in five games for the Terps, starting one. His next season, Bennett broke out, leading all Power Five schools in pass breakups while notching three interceptions. He continued his strong play in 2022. Playing outside, inside, and even some safety, Bennett was once again among the NCAA’s leaders in pass breakups. He earned All-Big Ten honorable mention honors in 2021 and 2022 and was 60th on Bruce Feldman’s 2022 Freaks List.
Strengths
- Speed shows up when closing space on receivers
- Comfortable in bail and trail techniques
- At his best in zone coverage where he sticks with assignment
- Aggressive at catch point generating a lot of deflections
- Willing to mix it up in the run game
- Position versatility and special teams value
Weaknesses
- High backpedal and inconsistent footwork
- Can get too physical with receivers when he’s beat
- Can miss tackles by coming in too fast
- Struggles getting off blocks to make plays
Let’s see his work
Jakorian Bennett with the INT.
— theScore (@theScore) February 4, 2023
( : @nflnetwork)pic.twitter.com/EOcm70Os5T
Jakorian Bennett's closest athletic comp that I could find was Cortland Finnegan. Similarly small, they had similar speed and explosiveness. But can Bennett match Finnegan's nastiness on the field? #RAS
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 20, 2023
Bennett has yet to perform at his pro day.https://t.co/S6Qb1nhXdA pic.twitter.com/TaA6ZZ1UHt
How he fits on the Commanders
The Commanders have work to do at cornerback. Kendall Fuller is entering a contract year and Benjamin St-Juste has not been able to stay healthy an entire season in his young career. In addition, the team released Bobby McCain, the player who took the most snaps at nickel cornerback. Danny Johnson was played well to end the season and was re-signed, but I think he is better suited as a reserve. Jakorian Bennett would give the Commanders an option at cornerback that could play nickel or move to the boundary, and might be able to play some safety. He will have to clean up his technique, but could be a useful player for the Commanders if he does.
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