Denver Broncos 2021 draft: Analyzing instant impact for every pick

7 (237). Kary Vincent Jr., CB, LSU

Despite being a starter in every NFL defense, the nickel defensive back position is still devalued when it comes to the NFL Draft.

Most years, you will see teams prioritize outside cornerbacks, and that’s not without good reason. Those guys might play 1000 snaps compared to the slot cornerback playing 600-700, but those 700 snaps are still extremely important and slot corners play a huge role nowadays having to be some of the quickest players on the team.

Kary Vincent Jr. was the fourth defensive back among the Denver Broncos’ 2021 NFL Draft class and he’s certainly one of the smaller players they added at 5-foot-10, 186 pounds.

With that being said, Vincent brings the juice when he’s out on the field from that slot position.

Vincent’s game has always been highlighted by his tremendous speed — he ran a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash at LSU — but it’s his play speed combined with his reactive quickness and instincts that make him a candidate to replace Bryce Callahan as the slot sooner rather than later in Denver.

In 39 games (19 starts) at LSU, Vincent picked off six passes and broke up 22 overall. He had a season-high 47 tackles, four interceptions, and 13 pass breakups in LSU’s banner 2019 season.

Adding Vincent out of the slot with Patrick Surtain as an outside corner gives the Denver Broncos a duo that would have been envied by any college football coach in the country.

With special teams ability and versatility to play some safety, I think Kary Vincent Jr. is going to factor into the Denver Broncos’ rotation later rather than sooner because of their depth there, but who knows? Maybe he could steal a job from someone at training camp.

He has the look of a future top nickel corner.