Fom now until the 2024 NFL Draft, 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 Utah S Cole Bishop.
#8 COLE BISHOP/S UTAH – 6020, 206 POUNDS. (SENIOR))
NFL Combine
MEASUREMENTS
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Cole Bishop | 6020/206 | 9 1/2″ | 29 3/4″ | 73″ |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| 4.45 | 1.52 | N/A | 8.01 | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| 10’4″ | 39″ | N/A |
THE GOOD
– Three-year starter with lots of diverse playing experience at both safety and slot positions
– Plays with a lot of energy, never having to worry about effort
– Has very good short-area burst to close on receivers and runners
– Comes downhill quickly and hits with ferocity
– Can match tight ends and slot receivers well in zone or man coverage
– Able to spy on mobile quarterbacks and protect the flat well simultaneously
– Shows great awareness and anticipation with play recognition
– Marked improvement with making plays on the ball in the air or to force fumbles
– Very effective blitzer off the edge or disguising as a corner
– Good long speed to vertically carry receivers as a deep safety if need be
– Strong tackler who drives through guys
THE BAD
– Limited to being a strong safety and slot CB because of lack of sideline-to-sideline speed
– Tends to be overaggressive and over-pursues on running plays
– Has difficulty readjusting at times with speedier running backs to take proper angles
– Too many missed or broken tackles by diving at legs
– Doesn’t have ideal length to high-point balls and make deflections of taller receivers
– Shows stiffness in his ability to flip his hips and turn with receivers fluidly
– Struggles to shed blocks from tight ends and OL near the line of scrimmage
– Tries to read QBs at times, and it causes him to leave his zone of coverage
BIO
– 1,726 snaps total in 3 seasons (708 SS, 428 Slot CB, 400 FS) according to PFF
– Started 29 games and played in 35 games total for Utah University
– 197 total tackles, 30 missed tackles, 21.5 TFLs, 12 PDs, 3 INTs, 7 TDs allowed, seven penalties, 7.5 sacks, 4 FFs in 3 years of play
– 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl invitee
– 2023 College Football Network All-America Second Team
– 2023 Jim Thorpe Award Semifinalist
– Three-time Pac-12 All-Conference (2023 Second Team; 2021 and ’22 Honorable Mention)
– Three-star recruit by 247sports and Rivals out of Starr’s Mill HS
– First-team all-state as a junior, all-region and all-county as a sophomore
– Invited to Blue-Grey All-American Bowl
– 101 tackles, nine pass breakups and five interceptions his junior season, also recording five rushes for 145 yards and a touchdown as a senior.
TAPE BREAKDOWN
Cole Bishop is a 3-year starter for a very good Utah defense that possesses very good size for a safety and lots of experience playing multiple positions. You can tell quickly that he is very intelligent on the field and is able to diagnose plays pretty quickly, whether he’s down near the line of scrimmage or as a box safety in the middle of the field. He can play all over the field, but he’s best when he’s allowed to read and react in short areas of space. He has the physicality to be a box player and the movement skills to cover in space. His effort and motor are always evident and when watching him, the guy seemed to be around the football quite often. This guy looks to really lay the wood on receivers if they come into his area, and he really hustles to get there in a hurry. Caleb Williams from USC threw up a balloon for his receiver after being pressured, and unfortunately for him, he got to meet Bishop coming downhill in a hurry.
He is #8 for the Utah Utes in all the following clips in this profile:
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 8, 2024
Bishop has excellent anticipation and diagnoses plays quickly. His urgency when coming downhill is so sudden and he tackles with his entire body most of the time, really driving through guys. There are definitely times when his reckless abandoned nature gets the best of him, and he tries to ankle tackle too quickly or throws his body around, allowing for broken tackles. There were issues with this when I watched him against the 2022 Florida team with Anthony Richardson on it, which in and of itself creates its own sets of problems. Bishop got run over on one play and then had difficulty shedding a tackle as well.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 8, 2024
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 8, 2024
However, he is a very good tackler who knows how to take the right angles to get to runners and receivers. One area that is evident he has difficulty getting to is backside running plays because of the time it takes his long speed to get going, being a short strider. Blitzing from multiple spots is something he is very adept at. His snap count timing and anticipation are impeccable when he is asked to go after the quarterback. These next two clips highlight his ability to anticipate, react, and finish the job when in run-defense situations. He can show patience and then close quickly on a runner, or he can use his instincts to completely disrupt the line of scrimmage, screaming after a guy to hit them in the backfield.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 8, 2024
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 8, 2024
When looking at his coverage skills, this past year, Bishop really made a lot of improvements to his game. Moving more so to the strong safety position allowed his football intelligence and instincts to shine. He was good in zone coverage and knows how to identify the routes the quarterback is targeting to trigger downhill quickly on receivers. This allows him to get his hands on the ball and, at the very least, rarely allows yards after the catch. He is best when he can be near the line of scrimmage and not be tasked with covering a lot of grass.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 8, 2024
Bishop can play in off-man coverage and knows how to mirror receivers well. He lacks the range to play sideline-to-sideline but can carry guys vertically if he’s already on the back end. His backpedal is a little stiff, and he has some difficulty turning his hips fluidly to mirror short routes. Bishop can match up against tight ends and spot-drop in zone coverage, but the lack of arm length may be concerning for him getting boxed out by bigger guys. He also tends to read the quarterback’s eyes too much, which causes him to sit underneath for too long, as this clip shows.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 8, 2024
Bishop has good, not great, ball skills. He can jump vertically well, but his lack of arm length can show up in contested catch situations. This shows up in his interception against Oregon St., where you really see the athletic ability to make a great play on the ball.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) March 8, 2024
CONCLUSION
Bishop has a lot of desirable traits that teams look for in a strong safety, and he really tested well at the NFL combine to hopefully quell some of the long-speed concerns prior to that. He has good measurables for the position, is very instinctual and smart, and plays with a ferocity that teams will love. His ability to match up with tight ends and slot receivers is appealing, but it’s his ability to read and react that will allow him to carve out a role in the NFL for years to come. He is a tough kid that will give you everything he has, and the good thing is, he’s very young and there’s a lot of room still to grow for him. He will need to clean up his tackling technique, improve his turning on routes, and be stiff in his backpedal in order to keep up with faster guys at the next level.
I see a lot of Talanoa Hufanga when he was coming out of USC in Cole Bishop. Both guys are heat-seeking missiles on the field who are smart, tough safeties who can play multiple positions. You don’t think they should be able to make as many plays on the ball as they do, but their instincts, intelligence, and physicality allow them to make up for athletic limitations. I think that Bishop could be a similar type of player. An above average starter that’s dependable to bring coverage and a physical nature to a team. Pittsburgh just so happens to be in the market for a player like him, however that will all depend on what they do in a deep free agency safety class as well. Bishop is one of the best strong safeties in this draft and the upside for continued growth in areas of improvement is there as well.
Projection: Late Day 2
Depot Draft Grade: 8.1 – Rotational Player (3rd Round)
Games Watched: at Oregon St. (2023), at USC (2023) at Florida (2022), at Washington St. (2022)
