Rejzohn Wright NFL Draft Profile and Scouting Report
Rejzohn Wright Scouting Report
CB, Oregon State Beavers # 2
2023 NFL Draft Measurements
Rejzohn Wright 40 time: Well according to the NFLDraftbuzz website it’s a 4.35 but I’m pretty sure they just googled it and saw the time for Oregon State’s RB in the same meta data and copy pasted it. He should record a good time but I’m going to wait and see before I provide bad info…
6’ 2” / 200 lbs
Rejzohn Wright Oregon State, NFL Draft Profile
Rejzohn Wright was only a two star prospect according to 247sports and received no offers out of high school. He did have interest from San Jose State, but unfortunately no official offer. He would eventually attend Laney Community College in Oakland, California. Wright helped lead Laney to the CCCAA Title and secure a spot with a D1 school after being named the number 5 CB in the 2020 JUCO class by 247sports.
Wright would also find himself in the spotlight as Laney Community College where he would star in season five of the Netflix docuseries Last Chance U. The Laney team would struggle through the season with injuries and obstacles. However, Rejzohn was one of the lone bright spots. Many will say he is overly confident, but any ex CB will tell you that’s just how cornerbacks are. Deion Sanders is the ultimate example.
Rejzohn Wright would follow in his brother Nahshon Wright’s , drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, footsteps and choose Oregon State. He chose the Beavers over schools like Colorado, UCF, and Fresno State. His brother was a bit of a surprise to many on draft day and has since found some success in the NFL. Oregon State has continued to establish their defense and Rejzohn Wright has been an integral part of their recent dominance.
Strengths
Size
Some have commented he looks thin framed, but after watching Last Chance U to see how Wright was on the camera in his JUCO days, I think he is long and has a strong frame. He stands 6-2 or 6-3 depending on where you look and weighs in at 200 pounds. He has long arms and uses them well to contest the ball and knock the ball away in the air. If he can maintain his speed while adding bulk, I would expect an NFL training staff to thicken him up just a bit.
Coverage Ability
Seems like a no-brainer for a cornerback, but lets be honest it doesn’t always apply. Wright plays man coverage well. He stays in the receivers hip pocket and doesn’t allow any serious separation. In zone coverage he is quick to make decisions and they are the right ones.
I like him at the line as well. I know some analysts think he avoids contact at the line, but I don’t agree. When lined up in press, I think he does an above average job getting his hands on the receiver and squaring them up to redirect them at the line. However, the Beavers regularly have their corners playing with a 10 yard cushion. Wright also does a good job swinging his hips quickly, allowing him to stay with receivers through route breaks.
Against USC, Wright dominated former Bilitnekoff Award Winner Jordan Addison. I don’t recall seeing Addison pull in a pass while Wright was the responsible party. As a matter of fact, I believe if they would have stayed in man coverage at the end of the game Wright wouldn’t have allowed Addison to get open for the winning TD.
Awareness
Wright seems to have good play recognition and quick instincts. In zone coverage, he makes the correct read and anticipates the throw. This allows him to bring receivers to the ground immediately after a catch, or break up a would be completion. When watching the film, he makes reads on screens and breaks toward the receiver quickly. This allows him to turn the play into a loss for the offense.
Play Speed
We don’t have an official 2023 NFL Draft Combine 40 time yet, so we have to use game film. Wright has long legs and can run stride for stride with receivers. When a team does try to stretch the field against him, they fail as he is once again in the receiver’s hip pocket. The receivers are unable to create separation on go routes against him and I think he will have a decent time at the Combine.
In his back pedal, Wright’s legs move fluidly. He accelerates quickly allowing him to keep receivers in front of him while maintaining his field vision to read and react.
Weaknesses
Run Defense
Wright doesn’t find himself in the scrum often. I like to see corners come downhill in the run game and stop the ball carrier, or at least try. Wright will make a tackle on the outside because he needs to. Other than that, don’t look for him to have many assists as he will back off when the ball carrier is already engaged. I’m not saying he doesn’t do it, I’m just saying I’d like to see a bit more from him.
Inside Leverage
This might be why you don’t see a lot of INT’s on his stat sheet. As fellow analyst Matthew pointed out, Wright tends to line up with outside leverage forcing the receiver to the inside. In the NFL, he will have to show he can play from the inside and force receivers to the sideline on go routes. I still think the biggest reason he doesn’t have a lot of takeaways is the fact that the other team doesn’t really throw at him much.
Rejzohn Wright Oregon State NFL Draft Stock
As of today, 1/10/23, PFF doesn’t even have him listed in their top 263 prospects. I would expect that to change very soon. Wright has accepted an invite to participate in the 2023 Reese’s Senior Bowl. I expect him to take advantage of the opportunity and create some noise in Mobile. He came from nothing and has taken the harder of the roads to get this far.
His coach at Laney was the legendary John Beam, who made note of this young man in episode 1 of the Last Chance U by mentioning that Wright had Sunday potential. I tend to agree. The most recent mock with him in it has him going at pick 198. I have a round 3-4 grade on him, but after the Senior Bowl it might be higher. So if you get him at 198, I’d say he’s a steal
Final Thoughts on Rejzohn Wright Scouting Report
Last season I wrote about a young man nobody was talking about yet. I gave him a 3rd round grade long before a running a sub 4.3 40 at the NFL Combine. It is safe to say teams took notice. I’m not saying Rejzohn Wright is the next Tariq Woolen, who is poised to possibly when the defensive rookie of the year, but I am saying scouts need to take notice now.
Wright will have to interview well and play hard to climb the ranks of PFF. However, I’m hoping one NFL team employs someone who follows me and adds him to the draftboard. Wright is a player flying under the radar, but the question is, for how long? Just remember you heard it here first!
Rejzohn Wright Player Comparison
It seems so easy because it is. Rejzohn is a better, more athletic version of his older brother Nahshon Wright, of the Dallas Cowboys. Nahshon was the 99th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. This season he has 23 tackles and 1 INT in 5 games played.
Rejzohn Wright Scouting Report analyst-Ken Noble
