Texas Football: Grading early entrant 2021 NFL Draft decisions
Grading draft decisions for Texas football entrants
Caden Sterns, Safety
Looking at the safeties to start for the Longhorns entrants into the 2021 NFL Draft, a good place to start is with the former elite five-star recruit and standout junior defensive back Caden Sterns. Not only is sterns one of the most talented early entrants for the 2021 draft off of the Forty Acres, but he possesses a skill set and physical tools that should translate very smooth to the next level.
The 6-foot-1 and 270 pound Sterns played three years for Texas as one of the better safeties in the last half decade or so for this team. He registered 173 career combined tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, five interceptions, and eight pass breakups.
Sterns is a versatile safety that is solid in pass coverage and really started to round out his game the last two seasons. He looks to be making an unsurprising decision that should play out well for him come the 2021 draft.
Draft decision grade: B+
Chris Brown, Safety
There likely wasn’t much of a choice for the Longhorns breakthrough redshirt senior safety Chris Brown in declaring for the 2021 draft following the conclusion of the 2020 regular season. Brown had a career year for the Longhorns secondary this fall, and definitely should’ve cashed out while his draft stock is high.
The only part of the draft decision that I would dispute for Brown is the timing. He doesn’t look like he will play in the Alamo Bowl next week against Colorado, and that additional exposure on the national stage could’ve helped Brown’s draft stock more than hurt it, in all likelihood.
In four years playing for Texas, Brown registered 107 career combined tackles, six tackles for loss, three interceptions, nine pass breakups, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.