College Football

NFL GMs break down Derek Stingley Jr.

NFL GMs break down Derek Stingley Jr.

As we approach the 2022 NFL draft, which begins in less than two weeks, Derek Stingley Jr. is the former LSU player who everyone is talking about.

The cornerback is projected as an early first-round pick, with many mock drafts having him off the board in the top 15 and some even having him sneak into the top 10. However, there are certainly some questions surrounding him.

Due to injury problems, Stingley has only played in 10 games over the last two seasons after his dominant true freshman campaign in 2019. He is currently recovering from a Lisfranc fracture, though he alleviated some of the injury concerns with an impressive showing at LSU’s Pro Day.

One NFL general manager told Pro Football Talk’s Peter King that Stingley’s unavailability over the last two seasons is concerning.

“I’m happy we don’t have a big corner need in this draft. I like Sauce Gardner, but I worry about his tackling and his physicality,” he said. “ Stingley is probably going in the top 10, and he hasn’t played well since 2019. How are you not worried about that? There’s not a great, clean corner in this draft, and after the top two, I’ve got questions on them all.”

However, another general manager said that he wasn’t concerned about Stingley’s health or his absences over the last two seasons.

“LSU went in the tank the last couple of years,” he said. “Sometimes you see on sinking teams that players kind of give up too and save themselves for the NFL. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what happened with Stingley. I think he’s going to be really good in our league.”

Another evaluator recently told King that Stingley has the “best feet of any corner I’ve ever seen.”

Stingley’s athleticism and talent at the position is undeniable. If teams feel good about his recovery process and lack of production over the past two seasons, he should find himself off the board relatively early during the draft’s first night.

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