A.J.

Green III

Green (6'1/202) made 39 starts across 48 games in four years as a Cowboy, forcing an FBS-high 32 incompletions across his final two seasons with the Pokes. While his raw yards allowed (634 < 485 < 413) progressively decreased, his career 8.4 yards per target in coverage represents his struggles against Big 12 competition. He’s also highly susceptible to getting burned, permitting the nation’s sixth-most catches (14) of 20-plus yards on only 30 downfield targets. Green teased starting chops in manhandling NFL prospects Denzel Mims (1/16) and CeeDee Lamb (4/36) in 2019, but his 4.62 40-time and persistent downfield contact (flagged 15 times the past two seasons) project a fringe NFLer.

Green (6'1/197) ran a disappointing 4.62 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, the third lowest of the corners group. This 4.53 time would be a drastic improvement should it hold up as his main knock from NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein is his lack of speed. Green possesses good size and length for a cornerback and is seen as a fit for teams that utilize a lot of zone coverage to keep him from getting beat deep. He is likely slotted to be picked in the middle-to-late rounds of the NFL Draft.

To Zierlein’s point on speed or lack thereof, Green managed a 40-yard dash run of just 4.62 seconds at the combine this past weekend. The analyst does like the 6-foot-1, 202-pound cornerback’s length and size, but notes that Green has “issues sticking with quick route breaks and longer routes where he will fall behind against NFL speed.” Zierlein sees his best fit as coming with a team which runs heavy zone in coverage, as that would help to keep him from getting overly exposed.

Green’s 40 time and 13 bench presses make this a disappointing testing day for the 6-foot-1, 190-pound corner. He does get a bit of a pass because of that size, but that’s still the third slowest time of any corner that participated in Indianapolis. He was a very solid performer in his time at Stillwater, but we doubt this did much to improve his mid-to-late round stock coming into the week.

Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy said he plans on watching a few of Green’s games live this season, which isn’t surprising given his size (6'1/190) and experience. Green will be a three-year starter by the time Senior Bowl invites are sent, and he should at least be in the mix for a roster spot. Green is one of the better Big 12 defensive back prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft class. Consider Green a Day 3 candidate for now.