Kevin Barnes DB 6' 187 Maryland 4.52

Barnes was a reserve for two seasons before becoming a starter as a junior. He had 65 tackles and four picks in his first year as a starter, while having just 15 tackles combined during his first two seasons. Barnes was off to a fast start as a senior, picking off two passes to go along with 20 tackles through seven games, but his season ended early due to a shoulder injury.

Strengths

Barnes is a player with a lot of upside that has yet to be tapped, but has already been a very good performer at the college level. He is tall, athletic, and has very good speed. He has the physical gifts to project well to the NFL, and he brings the toughness to go with it. He is not afraid of contact and will come up and support the run. Barnes has also developed very good ball skills and he is a playmaker in the secondary. He has continued to improve every year in college, and may be a better pro than collegian.

Weaknesses

Barnes does not have a lot of experience on the field, so he is a work in progress. He only has a year and a half of meaningful playing time, so his projection to the NFL level is based more on potential and physical skills. The shoulder injury should not hinder him long term but he will need to show he is healthy and ready to go when the combine and individual workouts come around. On the field, Barnes has a very thin build and will have to bulk up in the NFL. That will cause him a lot of problems with the number of bigger and stronger receivers at the NFL level.

Future

Barnes has steadily improved throughout his career and combined with his natural ability it may give teams reason to believe he will continue to improve once he is drafted in April. Barnes was having a very good senior year when he was injured, which hurt his draft stock. He was able to bounce back at the combine and put his name back on draft boards for the top three rounds. Barnes ran a solid 4.52, a 38.5" vertical, then displayed very good natural athleticism and agility in drills. He followed that up with another impressive performance at the UM pro day, running in the 4.4's and jumping 41" this time. His combination of height, jumping ability, and athleticism should allow him to break up a lot of plays in the NFL. He was unable to do the bench press because of the shoulder injury, but that shouldn’t hurt his stock too much after the cover skills he displayed. Barnes could hear his name called in Round Two, but definitely should not last long in the third if he slides there.