HEIGHT: 6'2"

WEIGHT: 206

HAND: 9½"

ARM: 29¾"

WINGSPAN: 73"

40-YARD DASH: 4.45

3-CONE: N/A

SHUTTLE: N/A

VERTICAL: 39"

BROAD: 10'4"

POSITIVES

— Versatile defender who can play at all three levels of the defense and becomes more effective closer to the line of scrimmage.

— Instinctual player who displays good vision and route recognition to see threats.

— Strong tackler who takes good angles and tracks the ball very well. Does a great job of quickly closing ground and explodes through the ball-carrier.

NEGATIVES

— Short strider who shows a good burst but lacks the speed to flow sideline to sideline. Forced to readjust his angles with speedier backs.

— Shows some stiffness in his coverage drops. Rigid hips to flip and run, causing him to be slow to climb and gain ground.

2023 STATISTICS

— 11 G, 60 TOT, 6.5 TFL, 3.0 SK, 2 INT, 4 PD, 2 FR, 1 FF

NOTES

— 29 career starts

— 3-star recruit in the 2021 class, per 247Sports

— 2023 second-team All-America (College Football Network)

— 2023 Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist

— Three-time All-Pac-12 (2023 Phil Steele first team, Coaches second team; 2021 and 2022 honorable mention)

OVERALL

Cole Bishop is a multiyear starter with very good size for a safety at 6'2" and 207 pounds. He's an instinctual player with a high football IQ and the versatility to play all over the field. He has the physicality to be a box player and the movement skills to cover in space.

While playing the run game, Bishop excels when he's close to the line of scrimmage. He uses his instincts to identify and react to the run with very good short-area quickness, and he closes on the ball with very good angles. He's a strong tackler who does a good job of fronting up and running through the ball-carrier when in the box, but he tends to dive and have more inconsistent tackling when on the edge. Bishop is a downhill player who does a great job of attacking the line of scrimmage and playing close to or in the backfield.

As a pass defender, Bishop has shown the ability to drop as a deep defender, where he is able to play the routes in front of him and react to the ball in the air. When defending intermediate routes, he has the ability to play man coverage, using his short-area bursts to get out of breaks and drive on the ball.

Bishop does his best when playing as an underneath defender, where he can pass off receivers and has over-the-top help. He is a short strider with some stiff hips, and he struggles to turn and run. He's slow to climb and gain growth, which may cause issues in the NFL.

Though Bishop has versatility within his game, he lacks true scheme versatility. He's best as a box defender, so he'll fit best as a strong safety who can occasionally switch up his look as a deep defender. Bishop could carve out a successful NFL career if the right team selects him.

GRADE: 7.5 (High-Level Backup/Potential Starter — 3rd Round)

OVERALL RANK: 41

POSITION RANK: S5

PRO COMPARISON: Su'a Cravens

Written by B/R NFL Scout Cory Giddings

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