New York Giants Draft Prospect: CB Kelee Ringo

Nick has a look at one of the top cornerback prospects in the draft.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
Mar 11, 2023 4:52 PM EST

In this story:

Kelee Ringo, CB

Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 207 lbs.
Class: RS-Sophomore
School: Georgia
Age: 20 years old (06/27/2002)

Combine Measurements

Arm length: 31 ¼”
Hand size: 8 ½”
40-yard-dash: 4:36
10-yard-split: 1.54
Vertical jump: 33.5”
Broad jump: 10’2”

A former five-star recruit out of Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was the first overall cornerback and Arizonian prospect during the 2020 recruiting cycle. According to 247 Sports, Ringo was the fourth-ranked prospect in 2020 and the 97th All-Time graded recruit. Ringo was also a track athlete in high school, where he was a spring champion. Saguaro High School was also the home to Christian Kirk, Byron Murphy, and comedian David Spade; two of three were drafted by the hometown Arizona Cardinals.

Notables

Kelee Ringo was a coveted Scottsdale prospect who opted to join Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs. Ringo was red-shirted and missed all of 2020, recovering from surgery on a torn labrum. He quickly made an impression in 2021 and was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team. He knocked four balls away with two interceptions while only allowing a 40.7% catch rate on 59 targets.

His second and last seasons were similar, but Ringo’s limitations were exploited a bit more. His propensity to grab drew nine flags instead of the three he caused as a freshman. He only allowed a 53.8% catch rate on 78 targets, and he was able to swat five balls away with another two interceptions.

He was named to the Second-Team All-SEC and won two national championships during his two years seeing action at Georgia. He finished his career with 76 tackles, three for a loss, with one sack and one forced fumble.

Strengths

Size and speed freak - was 6th on Bruce Feldman’s “Freak List” ahead of the 2022 season
A combination of size and athletic ability is an excellent baseline to build upon
Press-man coverage cornerback with elite linear speed and solid short-area-quickness
Stays low and controlled out of backpedal
Physical up WRs stem
Physical jam and ability to reroute receivers
Enough fluidity to open and close hips while staying low with good momentum
Good ball skills and excellent ability to disrupt the catch point
Has the physicality to man up tight ends
Sheds blockers at the point of attack and finds the ball-carrier quickly
Aggressive and physical in run support
Does well tackling ball carriers and not surrendering extra yards
Displayed excellent awareness of deep zone concepts - replaced deep thirds vs. backside crossers
A lot of upside and potential - still raw

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Weaknesses

Thought he’d have longer arms
Change of direction is modest
Doesn’t have the same fluidity as other top corners in the class
Only jumped 33.5” in vertical - showed up on tape
Has some false steps in press
Opens hips too early in press
Slight struggle clicking & closing in zone on routes in front of him (curls/comebacks)
Could improve zone technique/control
Gets too physical and draws too much yellow laundry
Lost too often in 1v1 situations on deep vertical routes

Mizzou: Q3, 5:48, 1st & 10
Vanderbilt: Q1, 3:28, 3rd & 11
Kentucky: Q1, 13:24, 3rd & 11
Florida: Q2, 8:21, 2nd & 18

Has to improve his ability to track and contact deep passes
Could do a better job recognizing and reacting to screens
Struggled against Tennessee’s Cedric Tillman, especially in 2021

Summary

Kelee Ringo’s elite vertical speed and size profile are excellent foundational pieces to possess. He’s played in several coverage schemes, was the number-one cornerback for the best team in the nation, and he’s a tough physical player. He’s still raw and has some parts of his game that can be ironed out.

Yes, he’s got a press-man upside, which should entice the Giants, but I wouldn’t say his press-man technique is very refined. He can be a bit impatient with his hips and feet, and he has some false steps in his tape.

I appreciate his physical nature, but he has to clean it up - nine penalties in 2022 is a lot. He’s not a complete stiff, but his ability to swivel his hips and change direction is only modest. His arms also measured shorter than I believed (sub-32 inches).

I also think he misjudged/mistimed several deep one-on-one shots, resulting in long gains for the offense. He needs to better maintain body presence on the wide receiver while concentrating on the football in the air.

Ringo has scheme diversity but may be the best fit in a Cover-3 match scheme. He has much press experience and is unafraid of contact or a challenge. He should be a solid player at the next level, albeit there could be some rocky moments early on.

GRADE: 6.34