2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Auburn CB Nehemiah Pritchett

From now until the 2024 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, a scouting report on Auburn cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett.

#1 NEHEMIAH PRITCHETT, CB, AUBURN (rSR) — 6001, 190 lbs.

Combine/Pro Day

Measurements

The Good

— Good experience as a starter in the SEC
— Very good speed; can stick with the deep routes
— Solid feet, hips, and agility in Press coverage
— Solid hand fighting within the route
— Good mental processing; doesn’t bite on double moves
— Awareness and spacing in Zone coverage
— Click and close to get downhill quickly
— Willingness as a tackler and blitzer
— Experience as a kick returner

The Bad

— Jam timing and placement in Press coverage
— Lateral agility to match in breaking routes
— Grabby when trailing; less comfortable with back to the line of scrimmage
— Matching comeback routes in Man coverage
— Avoiding or getting off blocks
— Physicality overall; lacks play strength
— Bounces off ball carriers when attempting shoulder tackles
— Not much help in the run game

Bio

— Career: 115 tackles, 81 solo, 5.5 TFL, one sack, 3 INT, 29 PBU, 1 FF; 10 KR for 313 yards
— 2023: 22 tackles, 18 solo, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 4 PBU
— 51 games played, 34 starts
— Senior Bowl invitee
— In high school, was a Class 5A first-team all-state outfielder in baseball
— Graduate of the College of Education
— Birthday February 11, 2001 (23)

Tape Breakdown

Nehemiah Pritchett is a cornerback with good size, length, and speed. For Auburn, he played on both sides of the field on the outside. He has good starting experience in Zone and Man coverages.

Against the pass, he has solid feet, agility, and hips in Press to match the receiver off the line of scrimmage. In off-coverage, he has a solid backpedal and pad level, and on deep routes, he has very good speed to hang with the receiver. Within the route, he offers solid hand fighting to gain good position. In the games I watched, he was good versus double moves, showing good mental processing and agility to not bite on the first move.

In Zone coverage, when playing deep, he plays with good depth and awareness to identify receivers coming into his area. When playing the underneath Zone, he maintains good spacing and awareness and has a good downhill change of direction to click and close on underneath throws. As a blitzer, he displayed solid timing and acceleration into the backfield. When in position he displayed solid timing and location of the ball to get a hand in play to knock the ball away.

A couple of pass breakups. The first is in the scramble drill, and the second shows his burst downhill.

Another clip coming downhill. He limits the yards after the catch despite missing the tackle.

Against the run, he showed a good willingness to come up and help in the run game. He displays good pursuit of the ball across and downfield and has plus speed to chase down runners. When taking on blocks he uses solid hand placement and good effort to try to get off blocks.

His jam had marginal play strength and adequate placement when playing in Press coverage. In lateral breaking routes in Man coverage, when the receiver breaks, he is on his heels, forcing him to bend forward and making his balance adequate. In Trail Man coverage, he can be grabby and doesn’t look as comfortable with his back to the quarterback. He displayed adequate COD to match the receiver on comeback or back shoulder throws in Man coverage. When blitzing, he was marginal at beating the block of running backs.

Here in Man coverage, he has trouble sticking with the receiver, making lateral breaks.

His play strength is marginal and affects his tackling. He will bounce off players lacking the physicality to shoulder the runner. Additionally, this makes him marginal overall getting off of blocks.

Again, you see the willingness to help in the run game, but he doesn’t have the play strength to take down the runner.

Conclusion

Overall, Pritchett has experience playing on both sides of the field in multiple coverages. He has good size and very good speed to contest deep routes. In Press, he has solid feet, hips, and agility to match the receiver. He has good mental processing and uses his hands solidly within the routes. In Zone coverage, he has good spacing, awareness, and mental processing. He is willing to try to be the force player and help in the running game.

Areas to improve include the placement and timing of the jam in Press, balance when matching the receiver’s break and staying closer to the receiver at the breakpoint. Overall, adding play strength would help his game, especially as a tackler and when getting off of blocks.

Pritchett’s size and speed are desirable traits, but physicality is lacking at this point. I don’t really see him as a fit for Pittsburgh. When it comes to best fit, he would be best utilized as an outside-only corner in a zone-heavy scheme where he can keep his eyes toward the play and use his mental processing, awareness, and click-and-close ability. He also has kick-return experience that could help his endeavors.

I’ll give you former Notre Dame corner Troy Pride for a player comp. They are of similar size with very good speed and are a better fit for a Zone scheme to use their burst coming downhill in the passing game. However, they would have some struggles in run support.

Projection: Mid-Day Three
Depot Draft Grade: 6.8 – Backup/Special Teamer (Fifth Round)
Games Watched: 2023 – At Texas A&M, Vs Georgia, At LSU, Vs Ole Miss, Vs Alabama