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 Ithaca College S Derek Slywka.
#8 DEREK SLYWKA/S ITHACA COLLEGE – 6026, 215 POUNDS (GRAD STUDENT)
MEASUREMENTS
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Derek Slywka | 6026/215 | 9 1/2″ | 31 3/8″ | 76″ |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| 4.55 | 1.56 | 4.15 | 6.78 | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| 10’7″ | 39″ | 8 |
THE GOOD
– Excellent size for the safety position
– Great ball production for him to come away with INTs and PDs
– Good agility and hip fluidity to change direction in coverage
– Is able to make up ground with long strides when beaten
– Plays hard and loves to get into it with offensive players
– Reads the quarterback’s eyes well to diagnose and react
– Able to close quickly on routes in front of him
– Anticipates receivers or tight ends breaking open with intermediate routes
– Quick downhill trigger
– Goes for the tone-setting hits
THE BAD
– Lean and narrow upper body
– Arm length doesn’t quite match frame
– Some tightness in lower body shows up in turn radius
– Aggressiveness can backfire and lead to penalties
– Closing burst appears average
– Lacks technique and traits for man coverage
– Can get overly grabby with receivers at the line of scrimmage
– Don’t make him turn his back to the QB
– Beaten over the top when starting near the LOS
– Drawn down by eye candy in the backfield
– Difficulty getting off blocks in run support
– Doesn’t consistently wrap up as a tackler
– Can get dragged by guys after the catch at times
BIO:
– Started in 26 games and played in 34 games over three years at Ithaca College
– Career: 119 total tackles, 0 sacks, 30 PDs, 11 INTs, 7 TFLs, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, and 4 blocked kicks
– 2023 season: 51 total tackles, 0 sacks, 16 PDs, 6 INTs, 2 TFLs, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, and 2 blocked kicks
– 2023 AFCA second-team All-American
– 2023 D3football.com first-team All-American
– 2023 Cliff Harris Award Finalist (college defensive player of the year)- 2022-23 Liberty League first-team All-Defense
– 2022-23 Liberty League All-Academic Team
– 2019-2020 played college basketball at Finger Lakes Community College
– Was a quarterback and strong safety during his high school football career
– Also played basketball and baseball in high school
TAPE BREAKDOWN
Derek Slywka is a strong safety with a big-time reputation as a towering ballhawk who had a really productive career at Ithaca College at the Division III level. He also has significant special teams experience on the punt and field goal-block units. The first thing that jumps out about him on tape is his height. He has a strong and explosive lower body that shows burst and acceleration. He does have slight arms and upper-body strength that he will need to work on as tackling at the NFL level may prove difficult if he doesn’t.
Ithaca deployed Slywka in various alignments and roles, including two-high, single-high, box, slot, and robber positions. His slot snaps are usually with slot wide receivers and tight ends where he can mirror and stay in phase well in underneath and intermediate coverage. Slywka doesn’t have the speed or range to keep his single-high snaps in the NFL, but his two-high and box snaps should stick. He has good hip mobility at his size and uses long strides to eat up ground.
He is No. 8 for Ithaca College in all of the following clips:
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) April 5, 2024
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) April 5, 2024
Slywka plays with effort in run support, but he really struggles to shed blocks and more so tries to slip by guys instead of taking them head-on. The lack of upper-body strength really catches up with him in the tackling department as there are too many shed tackles by runners and receivers. There also appears to be hesitation at times by him to go into the pile to tackle guys. He also often comes to balance as a tackler and wraps up. He gives up yards after contact when he opts for the latter style because of his frame and limited lower-body strength. Ball carriers drag him for extra yards, and some of his attempts to land tone-setting hits misfire.
He can get grabby in man coverage and isn’t suited for playing with his back to the quarterback. His testing numbers were excellent at the Buffalo Pro Day, but on tape he looks like he lacks the recovery speed to get back into routes when beaten early in the play near the line of scrimmage. Slywka occasionally gets caught being flat-footed in the secondary, leading to him being out-leveraged on vertical routes.
He is a very opportunistic and instinctual player who knows how to make plays on the ball in the deep portion of the field, but at the NFL level he will have to be wary of taking too many gambles in Cover 0 or 1 situations due to getting beat by double moves, hitches, and play-action. His basketball athletic traits come into play as he can high point the ball very well and uses his height and verticality to his advantage with his lack of wingspan to make up for it. The ball production is excellent, and he deserves to be commended for that, as he shows great ability to pluck the ball out of the air or deflect with his hands. He knows how to get in the receiver’s catch radius and be a nuisance.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) April 5, 2024
This is high-level effort to break up the pass and with his size, is a really difficult obstacle for quarterbacks to target the middle of the field.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) April 5, 2024
For all of the people who love special teams play, Slywka has blocked his fair share of field goals and could be a potential impact player in this role for an NFL team.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) April 5, 2024
CONCLUSION
When it comes to the safety position, Slywka is a player who should garner some consideration as an undrafted free agent because of his great size, athletic abilities, and ball production in college. Making the jump to the NFL could prove to be difficult in the level of catching up to the speed of the competition, but he is a player who continuously improved over his three years at Ithaca and still has room to grow in his role as a safety due to his lack of experience. Hopefully he’s able to go to a team with a good defensive backs coach and continue his development.
He will most likely be a practice squad player at first who may be able to carve out a role as a depth safety with special teams value in the future. It was difficult to find a comparison because of Slywka playing in Division III, but he does remind me of Jason Taylor II when he was coming out of Oklahoma State. Both guys had great ball production at the college level, but still have a lot of areas of improvement to become a complete safety.
Projection: Undrafted Free Agent
Depot Draft Grade: 5.8 – Backup/Special Teamer (Undrafted Free Agent)
Games Watched: at Rochester NY (2023), vs Buffalo State (2023), vs Union NY (2022), vs Rensselaer (2022)
