From now until the 2025 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 Kansas cornerback Mello Dotson.
#3 MELLO DOTSON, CB, KANSAS (rSR) – 5117, 190 lbs.
East/West Shrine Bowl
Measurements
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Mello Dotson | 5117/190 | 8 1/2 | 31 5/8 | 77 1/8 |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
The Good
— Good size and length
— Experience playing in man and zone coverages
— Solid balance and hand placement in press
— Solid COD on short-area throws in man coverage
— In short zone, has good awareness and solid redirect of receiver in his area
— In deep zone, gets good depth and is best with the play in front of him
— Solid as the force player against the run
— Good ball production
The Bad
— Footwork in press is adequate; gets caught on his heels
— Slow transition at the break point
— Burst is adequate to catch up/speed is adequate
— Gives way too much space in off coverage
— Poor getting head around on deep routes
— Struggles to stay close to quick receivers on in-breaking routes
— Play strength is marginal
— Overall tackling ability it marginal
Bio
— Career: 177 tackles, 139 solo, 5 TFL, 1 sack, 12 interceptions for 231 yards, 4 TD, 25 PBU, 2 FR, 2 FF
— 2024: 49 tackles, 39 solo, 1 TFL, 5 Interceptions for 58 yards, 2 TD, 7 PBU, 1 FR, 1 FF
— 53 games/ 46 starts
— 2024 Walter Camp second-team All-American; AP third-team All-American
— School record holder for interceptions returned for touchdowns.
— 2024: First-team All-Big 12
— 2024: Led Big 12 with five interceptions; tied for first nationally in INTs returned for touchdown
— Brother Meiko Jr., played for Florida Atlantic
Tape Breakdown
Mello Dotson is a multi-year starter and played primarily as the left cornerback in 2024. He was used in a variety of coverages but most often played in off man or zone coverage. He has good height and weight with good length and adequate hands size.
In press coverage, he plays with solid balance and solid hand placement on his jam. In off-man coverage, he has a smooth backpedal and displays solid COD on comeback and short-area routes. Occasionally, when asked to blitz he showed good burst to get to the quarterback from a press alignment.
His change of direction in the short-area passing game:
A pass breakup late in the game.
Dotson is an active communicator. When in zone, he plays with good awareness and is solid redirecting receivers through his area. Against screens he shows good awareness to get downhill. When playing in Cover 3 he gets good depth and is good at recognizing routes coming into his area.
Awareness in zone coverage:
Nice hands on an interception after rotating to the deep zone.
Against the run and when tackling on the outside he is solid as the force player and gives a solid effort to make the tackle in space. On the line of scrimmage, he is willing to help out when there is no receiver on his side. When he comes downhill on the outside he comes to balance and aims low to make tackles.
Dotson’s footwork in press is adequate, and he will get caught on his heels. At the breakpoint, his hips are a bit tight, and his burst is adequate leading him to play catch up, especially on in-breaking routes. In off coverage he gives way too much space, up to 10 yards, leaving the receiver with ample room. In man coverage on deep routes, he is poor getting his head around to find the ball. His lateral COD from off coverage is marginal.
Overall speed is adequate with no extra gear to catch up when behind. When taking on blockers he displays marginal play strength and struggles to get off blocks. In the games I watched, he was marginal staying in phase to get his hands into the catch basket.
Space allowed and COD to match receivers was an issue.
At least three times I saw him never get his head around on deep throws.
Dotson’s overall tackling technique is marginal. He has marginal play strength and will dip his head dangerously low on some tackles. Often, he tries to tackle above the waist and will either slip off or give up additional yards.
Conclusion
Overall, Dotson has good size and length with adequate hand size. He has played in both man and zone coverages with the majority being the latter. He is balanced with solid hand placement, playing press and has solid COD in the short area. He is an active communicator, has good awareness and gets good depth in zone coverage. As the force player he shows solid effort and will help versus the run on the edge.
Areas to improve include his overall play strength, staying off his heels in press coverage and improving his route recognition in man to be close enough to make a play on the ball. His tackling technique needs a lot of work to prevent extra yards.
Dotson has a lot of experience and that is desirable. However, I have questions about his speed and physicality at the next level as well as his man coverage. Some teams may view him to safety, but he will really need to improve his tackling to do that. He would fit best as a reserve corner in a zone-heavy scheme, especially Cover 2/Cover 3 to react to plays in front of him.
For a player comp, I’ll give you Tay Gowan. Coming out of college he too fit best in a zone scheme and struggled to stick with receivers out of their breaks. He has the size but needed to add strength and learn to find the deep ball.
Projection: Mid-Day 3
Depot Draft Grade: 6.4 End of Roster/Practice Squad (6th Round)
Games Watched: 2024 – At Illinois, Vs TCU, At Arizona State, At Kansas State, Vs Colorado
