by J.T. Toth
Photo courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics.
At Draft 412, the NFL draft talk never ends. We will keep you ready for the next set of gridiron stars—from today and all the way until draft night 2024. We will bring you mock drafts, player profiles, individual team needs, and everything else you may need related to the 2024 NFL Draft.
Today’s Spotlight - Texas A&M, Cornerback, Tyreek Chappell
Name - Tyreek Chappell
Pos - CB
Team - Texas A&M
HT/WT - 5’11” 185 lbs.
Born- n/a
Home – Philadelphia, PA
Chappell played football at Northeast High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the 2019 season, he was targeted 41 times and only gave up 2 receptions. He was considered a consensus 3-star prospect by 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN and committed to Texas A&M to play football for the Aggies.
As a freshman, he played in all 12 games, making 8 starts at cornerback for Texas A&M. He finished the season with 41 tackles, 1 interception and 9 passes defended. His successful season led to him being named on the Coaches’ All-Freshman Team and The Athletic’s All-American Freshman Team.
Last season, Chappell started all 11 games he played in and collected 44 tackles, 8 passes defended and a fumble recovery.
So far this season, Chappell has started 7 games at cornerback and has picked up 16 tackles and 5 passes defended for the Aggies.
Tyreek Chappell does a good job at jamming receivers at the line and being able to swiftly get into his backpedal and mirror receivers after contact. He tracks the ball well and does an effective job at high pointing 50/50 balls. When the ball is in the air, he’s good at getting his head turned around to discourage pass interference calls. He is a smooth athlete who uses his hips well to transition from his backpedal to completely opening up his body. Chappell always seems to get his hands involved in passes and does a really good job of deflecting and tipping throws.
Chappell, however, is a bit of a gambler, and will sell out at times on pump fakes, being prone to giving up big plays. Though he does a decent job of mirroring receivers off the line, he has trouble on double moves and has a habit of clutching and grabbing at receivers making a second move. He does not break down well after a catch and misses key tackles that lead to big gains. He is not a physical tackler in the run game and at times seems more interested in locking up with blocking receivers than he does in pursuit of the ball. He does not have much room on his slender frame to gain weight or strength and this may hamper him in the NFL. He projects as a nickelback at the next level.
By way of comparison, Michael Carter III was a 5th round pick in 2021 out of Duke and had a similar draft profile to Chappell. A smaller defender who was uber-aggressive on pump fakes and could be beaten for a big play from time to time, Carter has played the nickelback role well in the NFL. There is no reason to think Chappell can’t become a similar player.
Strengths
Athleticism
Ball tracking
Press
Fluid backpedal
Weaknesses
Pump fakes
Catch and run
Size
Tackling
Final Analysis
Chappell is a risk/reward type prospect who some teams may value higher than others. With his limitations, his ceiling will be in a nickelback role for an NFL team.
Draft 412 Draft Prediction - 6th or 7th round