New York Giants Draft Prospect: S Trey Dean III

Brandon Olsen offers some firsthand insight on Florida safety Trey Dean III as a prospective Giants draft pick.

Author:
Brandon Olsen
Publish date:
Feb 11, 2023 1:57 PM EST

In this story:

Trey Dean III, S

Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 207 lbs.
Class: RS-Senior
School: Florida

Dean was a four-star recruit out of Dutchtown high school in Hampton, Georgia, in 2018 that fielded offers from Alabama, Kentucky, and Georgia, along with over 30 other schools. Dean was the 25th highest-ranked player in the state of Georgia in 2018, the 17th-ranked safety in the nation, and the 217th nationally-ranked player.

Notables

Despite being listed as a safety coming out of high school, Dean started his college career playing as a boundary cornerback for the Florida Gators. Dean is one of the few, if not the only, defender in college football with over 600 snaps at boundary cornerback, slot defender, deep safety, and box safety. Was the MVP in the East-West Shrine Game.

Strengths

Has elite size and length
Fluid athlete with great straight-line speed
Man coverage comes relatively easy to him consistently
Quick trigger to come downfield and make a play against the run
Capable of playing any spot in the secondary
Motor runs hot 100% of the time
Is a willing and able hitter

Weaknesses

As the primary communicator in the secondary led to multiple mistakes and coverage busts
Gets turned around in zone coverage too frequently
Keeps his eyes on the quarterback but loses track of his zone
Misses tackles far too often - whether it’s because of going for big hits, taking a poor angle, or not wrapping up properly
Football IQ isn’t great - Florida defense required recognition and communication, areas in which he sometimes fell short

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Summary

For two years, I’ve been asking the Florida Gators to do one thing with Trey Dean III - line him up against the opposing tight end and let him be an eraser in coverage. Dean is a physical freak that you could only hope to create in Madden. The mental game for Dean needs plenty of work, which isn’t promising for someone with as much experience as Dean has. But mastering three different defensive systems is no easy task.

Dean showed up to Las Vegas for the Shrine Bowl during the pre-draft process and dominated. Not only did Dean have multiple interceptions during practices, but he also won Defensive MVP of the game itself. A versatile defensive back best suited to a box role but has the versatility to line up anywhere in the secondary is a Day 3 value that NFL franchises will be interested in.

GRADE: 6.0