From now until the 2024 NFL Draft takes place, we will 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, a scouting report on Oregon State Kitan Oladapo.
#28 KITAN OLADAPO/S OREGON STATE – 6020, 216 POUNDS. (RS SENIOR)
MEASUREMENTS
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Kitan Oladapo | 6020/216 | 9 1/4 | 32 3/8 | 76 7/8 |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| 4.58 | 1.59 | DNP | DNP | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| 9’9″ | 36 | 15 |
THE GOOD
– Experience lining up in multiple spots on the back end
– Physical defender with very good size and length for the safety position
– Strong run defense ability in shedding blocks, filling lanes, and tackles hard
– Has excellent burst and closing speed
– Fluid pedal and short-area quickness to cover initial moves from receivers
– Effort and pursuit to the ball is always there with him
– Drives his feet through contact when tackling guys
– Great angle recognition in run support situations
– Effective blitzer in the box or out on the perimeter
– Locates the ball in the air well and gets his head around to force incompletions
– Communicates well pre-snap to get the defense set
– Ability to line up with slot receivers and tight ends well
THE BAD
– Does not have the top-end speed to carry guys or make up ground as a deep safety
– Has very choppy, clunky transitions out of his backpedal
– Change-of-direction ability shows tight hips
– Shifty, quick-twitch receivers can get away from him quickly off the line
– Short arm length can lead to difficulty high-pointing the ball and wrapping up his tackles
– Tries to face-guard receivers too often down the field when he’s beaten
– Can get reckless with his tackling technique, going for a big hit
– Needs to do a better job of not running past ball carriers or reacting too quickly to shifty backs
BIO
– Born 10/10/2000
– 40 starts and 46 total games in his college career
– 2,651 total snaps (869 FS, 860 SS, Slot CB 757, 109 DL, 55 Man Cover CB)
– 242 total special teams snaps
– 249 total tackles, 34 missed tackles, 23 PDs, 15 TFLs, 6.5 sacks, 3 INTs, 2 forced fumbles
– 2023 2nd-team All-Pac 12
– 2022 1st-team All-Pac-12
– 2022 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention
– 2022 Pac 12 Defensive Player of the Week (2x)
– 2021 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention
– Invited to and played in the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl
– Unranked recruit in 2018 HS class, per 247Sports
– 3-star HS recruit from Rivals.com out of Manorville, NY
– Part of the state 2017 champion Central Catholic HS team in Oregon
– Majoring in design and innovation management
– He chose Oregon State because of the “engineering program and the community”
TAPE BREAKDOWN
Kitan Oladapo is the true definition of a guy who “can wear multiple hats.” A Swiss-army-knife if you will. In his three years of starting for the Oregon St. secondary, he was utilized as a strong safety, free safety, and slot cornerback. His size is something that stands out right away with the length, strength, and toughness to tackle near the box or to cover tight ends in the flat. He will cover tight ends in man coverage but has more difficulty if he’s tasked with flipping his hips. He has enough movement skill to be sufficient in the pass game, but you don’t want him covering a ton of grass.
The great thing about Oladapo is that he can play whatever role a defense needs him to with his experience. He can blitz from the edge or in the box if needed.
He is #28 in all of the following video clips for Oregon State:
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) February 29, 2024
He can cover slot wide receivers and tight ends well. His route recognition, processing, angle placement, and intelligence allow him to play split safety. Oladapo’s all-around skillset and athleticism can allow him to confidently cover the short and intermediate routes and help over the top with vertical routes. There are definitely times when you can watch him read the quarterback’s eyes too much. This can lead to pump fakes and biting on first reads that he might react too quickly on.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) February 29, 2024
He can be beaten over the top at times, or if he gives a receiver too much cushion in off-man coverage, he will struggle to react quickly enough because of the lack of change-of-direction skills. Overall, he is an intelligent defender who can predict what will happen pre-snap and react quickly to it. Watch him not bite on the fake and spy on the slot receiver out of the backfield.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) February 29, 2024
Oladapo really knows how to drive and accelerate on the ball. He gets his hands up well to deflect passes and can be a nuisance. However, he does have a habit of face-guarding receivers that causes the handsy technique and difficulty staying clean through the route. He gets his hands on a lot of balls (22 pass deflections over three years), but you wish the ball production was a little better for how often he’s around it (three INTs total). He knows how to trap receivers on the sideline to make a play on the ball when he has the opportunity.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) February 29, 2024
My favorite quality of his is the absolute relentlessness he displays on every play with his pursuit, tackling, toughness, and burst to the ball. He does not hesitate to find contact and drives his body well through the target. This can lead to reckless tackling form at times where he will leave his feet or go for ankle grabs. He also doesn’t consistently wrap guys up when he’s trying to tackle and needs to do a better job of getting his feet squared up with his shoulders to tackle fully. Oladapo is really good at run fits and discarding receivers to take on offensive linemen.
When he comes downhill toward the line of scrimmage, ball carriers often redirect their path, and he closes well on backside pursuit. He can trigger downhill quickly, and guys don’t typically gain much yardage when he hits them. Then in the following clip you can see the hustle to force the fumble from behind that defensive coaches will love seeing from an effort standpoint.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) February 29, 2024
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) February 29, 2024
CONCLUSION
This is a big, physical safety with strong run defense and tackling skills, but also adequate coverage skills against slot receivers and tight ends. He can contribute immediately as a strong safety who can cover the underneath areas in zone coverage but also play that box safety role in a big nickel role. He has experience as a slot cornerback, but that should not be his full-time role with his lack of lateral movement and twitch to deal with shifty guys.
Oladapo reminds me a lot of Harrison Smith when he was coming out of Notre Dame. He also had a variable skill set that could be utilized in many different ways. When utilized correctly, he carved out a very productive career in the NFL. Oladapo has the same ability if a smart defensive team knows how to utilize his strengths and does not ask him to do too much in coverage. He would complement a ball-hawking safety very well, where he can mostly play strong safety and be interspersed as a slot corner, blitzer, and split safety. If the Steelers don’t address the safety position via free agency, I think Oladapo has the experience, flexibility, athletic traits, and toughness to be a guy they may like past the first few rounds of the draft.
Projection: Mid-Late Day Two
Depot Draft Grade: 7.9 – Future Quality Starter (Third Round)
Games Watched: vs. Washington (2023), at Oregon (2023), at Washington State (2022), vs. USC (2022)
