From now until the 2025 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, down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Oklahoma safety Billy Bowman Jr.
#2 BILLY BOWMAN JR./S OKLAHOMA – 5096, 192 POUNDS. (SENIOR)
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Billy Bowman Jr. | 5096/192 | 8 5/8 | 28 1/2 | 69 1/2 |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| 4.42 | 1.52 | N/A | N/A | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| 10’3″ | 35.5 | 17 |
THE GOOD
– Played to athletic measurables with excellent game speed and pursuit range
– Explosive burst and acceleration
– Smooth, fluid athlete who played downhill from the back end
– Extremely good timing to disrupt and pick off passes
– Desirable combination of aggression and control
– Big-time flashes of playing downhill in run game
– Flies in from everywhere to make tackles with force
– Quick trigger from back-end safety alignment to drive on routes in front of him
– Showed the needed play speed and range to play post safety
– Quick recognition of routes with quick reactions
– Easy transitions and change of direction on the back end
– Smooth pedal with loose, fluid hips to turn and run
– Showed he could play mirror-match and physical press man vs. slot WR’s
– Versatility to play both safety positions and slot corner
– Special teams experience in coverage, FG block, and kick returns
THE BAD
– Not the ideal size you would like for a safety
– Severely lacking in arm length and wingspan and didn’t look big on the field
– In the run game, he would drop his head and throw his body at the runner
– Missed tackles are a major issue for him, and he has poor technique, often lunging and launching himself instead of wrap
tackling
– Tends to go low way too often on guys
– Height disparity shows up in jump ball situations with taller receivers
– Relies heavily on instincts to make plays on the ball
– Can be baited by QB’s with his overaggressive tendency to want to break on routes
BIO
– Birth date: 1/29/03 (22 years old)
– Born in Denton, TX and attended Ryan HS
– 2,565 total snaps (1,113 FS, 819 slot CB, 485 SS, 99 outside CB)
– 375 special teams snaps (152 FG block, 147 kick coverage, 42 kick return, 34 punt return)
– Appeared in 47 games with 41 starts in 4 years at Oklahoma
– Career: 195 total tackles (122 solo, 73 assisted), 9 TFL’s, 58 run stops, 63 missed tackles, 56.6% comp. allowed, 12 TDs allowed, 11 INTs (3 for TDs), 9 PDs, 73.2 passer rating against, 5 penalties
2024-25 season: 54 total tackles (40 solo, 10 assisted), 19 run stops, 15 missed tackles, 56.3% comp. allowed, 4 TDs allowed, 2 INT, 2 PDs, 79.6 passer rating against, 2 penalties
– Injury history: Left 2022 TCU game with a knee injury and missed the next two games.
– 2025 Senior Bowl participant
– Four-star DB recruit by 247Sports out of high school
– 2021 invited to the Under Armour All-America Game
– 2018 First-Team All-State (cornerback)
– Caught 86 passes for 1,207 yards and 15 TDs in his senior year as a WR
– His team won a state title his senior year
– Played basketball and track and field as well
– Ran on the 4×100 relay team and posted an individual 10.84 100-meter dash
– Once jumped 22-8.75 feet in the long jump event
TAPE BREAKDOWN
Billy Bowman Jr. came to Oklahoma over several other big schools, intending not to wait his turn for anyone and wanting to play right away. He exudes confidence in his ability and did just that coming in his true freshman year to earn playing time. Bowman Jr. made 41 starts over his 4-year career for the Sooners and played several roles for their defense. He lined up as the single-high safety in Cover 1 and Cover 3. He could give you snaps in off-man coverage against slot receivers, and he would sometimes play the robber role in the shallow part of the field, two-high in Cover 4, and rotate from single-high to two-high post-snap. Versatility, intelligence, speed, and tenacity are the backbone of what he is as a football player. He also has some special teams chops returning kicks, flying down on coverage units, and trying to block kicks from the edge.
What stands out immediately when you watch Bowman Jr. is his incredible instincts and athleticism to use open-field agility. He had many interceptions in his career (11), and when he got a hold of the ball, he immediately turned into a playmaker. Most of his picks are either him breaking on the ball or being opportunistic about being in the right place at the right time.
He isn’t able to break up or intercept many high-point balls. He runs and takes angles like a seasoned receiver and runner, which obviously translated from his time as a multi-positional weapon in high school. He is lean and undersized with length far below NFL threshold for any defensive back, especially as a safety. He has to compensate for these physical deficits with his football IQ, awareness, and speed. Bowman Jr. displays really good burst in the short part of the fields to close on quick outs, slants, screens, and crossers.
His track background shows up on long plays or reps where he may shorten the distance between himself and the receiver quickly to make a play on the ball. Hip tightness occasionally shows up when he attempts to open them and close in on receivers quickly.
Bowman has excellent vision that helps him read the quarterback’s eyes to jump routes. His reaction to the quarterback preparing to throw is lightning-quick. Bowman quickly recognizes route combinations and triggers with impressive closing burst.
His instincts occasionally lead to big turnovers, but he is more of a read-and-react defender than a truly instinctive safety. His tunnel vision on the quarterback and slow backpedal sometimes let receivers slip past him to access deep portions of the field. Bowman’s faith in his eyes leads to him biting on route fakes and being sucked downhill by play-action or RPOs. He has had some success in off-man against slot options but isn’t a man coverage defender. Bowman allows too much cushion in man coverage, and his movements become frantic when forced into tight man-to-man situations. His effectiveness in coverage is dependent on his vision of the quarterback, and he occasionally shortchanges throws and whiffs when jumping to bat the ball away.
Bowman plays physically despite his small build. He attacks wide receiver screens and doesn’t fear coming downhill to make a stop. His timing is impeccable, and he knows when to fly down to the line of scrimmage.
Bowman has an excellent motor and shows great effort in pursuit. Unfortunately, he takes steep angles to the football and misses a lot of tackles because his technique and mentality is very poor in wanting to wrap guys up.
A team that runs a higher percentage of deep single-high coverages will be more likely to value Bowman’s talents.
CONCLUSION
Billy Bowman Jr. has so many great qualities you look for in a single-high safety who can give you snaps as a slot corner. He has the vision, football IQ, fiery playing personality, and reactive quickness, but his limited size, lack of elite coverage versatility, and inability to tackle consistently make it harder to sell him. Bowman’s alignment versatility likely won’t translate to the NFL because of his limitations in man coverage and fears of putting him near the line of scrimmage.
He is almost a clone of the Tyrann Matthieu, Dadrion Taylor-Tomlinson mold of safety that should easily find a home in a defensive backfield. This safety prototype almost always gets drafted later than he should, but he’s a great football player who is a big play waiting to happen. Pittsburgh could use some center-field depth who can play in the slot, so it’s possible they would be interested in him, but he may be gone before they get a chance to consider him based on their team’s needs.
They’re set with Fitzpatrick and Elliot as their starters, but a guy like Bowman Jr. could find some snaps in their sub packages and provide the Steelers needed safety depth.
Projection: Day Two
Depot Draft Grade: 7.9 – Third Round (Potential Starter/Good Backup)
Games Watched: vs Texas (2024), vs Alabama (2024), vs Iowa State (2023), vs Arizona (2023)
