HEIGHT: 6'0"

WEIGHT: 190

HAND:

ARM:

WINGSPAN:

40-YARD DASH:

3-CONE:

SHUTTLE:

VERTICAL:

BROAD:

POSITIVES

— Very good press man player. Patient at the line of scrimmage with quick feet and the ability to stay square. Does a great job of getting hands-on to disrupt progress downfield.

— Plays well against the run. Quick to trigger and uses his agility to beat blocks in space. Good functional strength to take on and control blocks on the edge.

— Willing tackler who quickly comes up to support the run. Does a good job of securing and wrestling down ball-carriers.

NEGATIVES

— Short strider who is limited with top-end speed. Lacks the recovery speed to catch up when out of position.

— Can be lazy and play with a high pad level, which leads to him rounding and hopping into his breaks.

2023 STATISTICS

— 12 G, 33 TOT, 1 INT, 9 PD

NOTES

— Born Sept. 14, 2000

— 58 career starts

— 2-star recruit in the 2018 class, per 247Sports

— 2022 transfer from University of Louisiana-Monroe

— 2024 Senior Bowl

— 2023 team captain

— 2023 second-team All-Big 12

— 2022 first-team All-Big 12

OVERALL

Josh Newton is an extremely experienced defensive back who started 58 games across five seasons in college. He started at the University of Louisiana-Monroe, where he played for three seasons, before transferring to TCU in 2022. He was an immediate starter at TCU over the last two seasons and was even selected as a team captain for the 2023 season.

Newton is a very good press-man cornerback, but he fits best in a zone scheme. When playing in press, he excels at the line of scrimmage, where he has the patience and footwork to mirror releases. He uses his hands extremely well to press and disrupt receivers from working downfield.

When in off coverage, Newton has a choppy backpedal and tends to rock back on his heels at times. Combined with his high pad level, that led to him having sloppy and rounded breaks.

While working down the field, Newton lacks the desired top-end speed to run with receivers and even lacks the recovery speed when caught out of position. He does a decent job of playing the ball through the catch point but has below-average ball skills and hands to capitalize on turnover opportunities. As a zone defender, he does a very good job of putting himself in the right position with leverage and playing the quarterback's eyes to the ball.

Against the run, Newton does a very good job of identifying and triggering downhill. When in space, he uses his short-area quickness to beat blocks while stacking and working to the ball-carrier. When caught in phase with the ball-carrier, he shows off his strength and physicality against blockers while also showing the ability to control and quickly disengage to the ball. Newton isn't an overly physical tackler, but he is a secure tackler who wraps and wrestles down ball-carriers.

Throughout his collegiate career, Newton was a highly competitive cornerback. He's schematically limited, but he had some bright spots in both the run and pass game. He is a high-level developmental prospect who will need a perfect fit to thrive in the NFL.

GRADE: 6.3 (High-Level Developmental Prospect — 5th Round)

OVERALL RANK: 138

POSITION RANK: CB17

PRO COMPARISON: Rachad Wildgoose

Written by B/R NFL Scout Cory Giddings

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