School: Georgia

Position: CB

Year: Redshirt Sophomore

The Good: Cornerbacks rarely ever look like the Incredible Hulk, but Kelee Ringo fits that mold. He has an incredibly well-built frame and legit 4.36s 40 speed to go along with it. You hear a lot about GMs seeking out size/speed prospects in the NFL Draft, and Ringo is one of the top ones in this class. Ringo’s speed is more long than burst, so he’s an excellent defender on deep balls. Ringo isn’t versatile, but it’s ok in his case because he can only play on the outside. He’s clearly at his best playing as close to the sidelines as possible. He’s a solid tackler for a CB too.

The Bad: Man, if you’re reading this then I’ve assumed you’ve watched at least one Georgia football game over the last two years, so you know there’s some negative with Kelee Ringo. He can get absolutely cooked, especially off the line of scrimmage. His ability in press doesn’t match his muscular frame; Ringo actually has really short arms. Ringo has a ton of stiffness to him – perhaps one reason you don’t see more jacked CBs! He does not turn and flip easily, and it can look ugly when he needs to stop on a dime. In man coverage, Ringo makes it too hard on himself chasing down receivers sometimes. In zone coverage, well I don’t even need to go there. Ringo looks lost in it.

The Bottom Line: It’s easy to rip Kelee Ringo, and it’s not like I have a Round 1 grade on him or anything. And I’ll even admit that there’s a high bust factor for a prospect who’ll likely get drafted in the Top 50. But he’ll go that high for good reason: there just aren’t many players built like him at a premium position. He’s very young at 20 years old, yet he still might be the most battle-tested cornerback in this entire class. He won’t log much statistical production in the NFL and he’s probably not agile enough to ever become an elite player, but there’s a fairly high-percentage chance that Ringo is a serviceable CB2 on the outside in a man-heavy scheme early on in his career. 

Grade: Late Second Round / Early Third Round

Pro Comp: Fabian Moreau

Games Watched:

• Kentucky 2021
• Alabama 2021
• Oregon 2022
• Tennessee 2022
• Ohio State 2022

Plays That Matter [LINK]