CB, Minnesota
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 205 lbs
Class: rs-Senior
A four-star recruit back in 2017, Benjamin St-Juste committed to Michigan. Injuries limited his playing time there and he ended up transferring to Minnesota as a graduate back in 2019. It was with the Gophers that he finally saw the field for an extended period, playing in 18 games across his two years with the programme. He now enters the draft off the back of an incredibly impressive Senior Bowl performance.
You can read more of my 2021 NFL Draft content here.
Strengths
St-Juste is 6’3″ and 205 lbs, which is the ideal build to play as a boundary corner in the NFL. He combines this size with a 80+ inch wingspan, which ranks in the 96th percentile amongst defensive back prospects. It will therefore come as no surprise that he is more than comfortable in press coverage. St-Juste has no issue with facing bigger and more physical receivers and should hold his own in the NFL. He is a solid athlete too, with more than enough long speed to stick with his man downfield.
St-Juste did not have a single interception in his career, but this is not reflective of his ability at the catch point. He knows how to use his length and showcases great timing to disrupt at the catch point. Although he doesn’t have the largest sample size, the numbers bear this out. St-Juste has allowed a completion percentage of just 56.5 per cent across his 62 career targets. He has also logged a forced incompletion rate of 17.7 per cent throughout his career. For context, this is comparable to many of the corners that are considered first round talents.
Another of St-Juste’s biggest strength is as a tackler in the open field. Along with Elijah Molden he ranks as perhaps the best tackling corner in the 2021 class. St-Juste possesses a huge tackle radius and was able to consistently make plays and wrap up his man. He finished his collegiate career with just two missed tackles on 58 career attempts. His ability as a tackler extends to the running game and St-Juste is great at getting off blocks in order to make plays on the ball-carrier. These are not the most important traits for a cornerback, but it certainly doesn’t hurt his stock.
Whilst St-Juste’s skillset clearly lends itself well to man-heavy schemes, he provides the potential to be a scheme-versatile corner in the NFL. He is comfortable in press coverage and his ability to shut down vertical routes makes him an ideal fit in any single-high defense. His length and anticipation provide the potential for him to develop into an excellent zone-cover corner too. This part of his game is still developing, but teams will like a player who offers versatility across different schemes.
Weaknesses
The biggest concern with St-Juste is his lack of experience. He started his career at Michigan in 2017, but injuries seriously limited his playing time. At the time there were even rumours that he would medically retire from football. The transfer to Minnesota saw him play more, but the sample size isn’t huge. An abbreviated 2020 season means that St-Juste has just 420 career coverage snaps and just 62 career targets. He is also a redshirt senior, who will turn 24 before the 2021 season begins. His performances have certainly been promising, but the sample size is really limited.
The other concern is his lack of fluidity. He doesn’t have particularly smooth hips and can struggle when asked to turn and run. Whilst his long speed is impressive, he isn’t overly explosive in short areas. This caused him problems when faced with more sudden, twitchy receivers. St-Juste’s length is an obvious strength but he does have a tendency to run very upright and this limits his change of direction ability.
Bottom Line
St-Juste is a really interesting prospect to evaluate. His height and length make him the ideal candidate for a boundary role at the next level, and he looked good during his time with Minnesota. He isn’t the most fluid athlete you’ll find at the position, but he’s got more than enough speed to stick with receivers downfield. His limited sample size is going to be a concern, but the potential is there for him to be a starter in the NFL.
Big Board Rank: #64
Positional Rank: #10
