Kelee Ringo NFL Draft Overview
Position: Cornerback
Height: 6′-2″
Weight: 205 pounds
School: Georgia
2023 NFL Draft: Kelee Ringo Scouting Report
Deciding to forego his final three years of eligibility, and entering this year’s NFL draft, Kelee Ringo is viewed as having “first-round worthy” talent. As a high schooler, he was a state champion in Arizona, in both the 100 and 200 meters. His speed is his biggest asset and was in large part, what brought him to the University of Georgia.
In two National Championship-winning seasons (29 total games) with the Bulldogs, Ringo totaled 76 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, four interceptions, and one touchdown. He also earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors in 2021. Though his resume may seem sparse, scouts feel he has the talent and potential to be taken in the first round by a team that is desperately in need of a cornerback.
Strengths
- Has NFL-ready size and strength;
- Makes playing cornerback look effortless and natural;
- Changes in body positioning and biomechanics flow easily and efficiently;
- Has NFL-caliber speed;
- Plays the run like a free safety would.
Weaknesses
- Gets baited on stop-and-go routes;
- Gets beat consistently on come-back routes;
- Lackluster side shuffle ability;
- Deep routes are an Achilles’ heel;
- He often, anticipates what he thinks the wide receiver will do and gets beat on the play when he is incorrect.
NFL Comparison: A young (and taller), Patrick Peterson
Teams With Need At Position: Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Commanders
Projection: First-Round Pick
Bottom Line on Kelee Ringo
Despite an extremely small body of work (two seasons totaling 29 games), Ringo will be a first-round pick. Scouts see a prospect who has unfathomable speed and the prerequisites to be a top cornerback in the league. His strengths outweigh his weaknesses. His weaknesses, for the most part, are behaviors that can be remedied with time, maturation, and expert coaching.
Because the prospect of his speed is so tantalizing, that aspect of his game alone outweighs his perceived flaws. If there is any area of his game that may take some time to remedy, potentially, it is that of getting beat on deep passes. All of the other aforementioned weaknesses are things that should not take a large amount of time to fix.
In many ways, Ringo is an enigma. He has an extremely small sample size and statistics that really do not jump off the page when reading his stat lines. Still, NFL scouts seem to be enamored with Ringo. Cornerbacks are going to be a hot commodity in the draft. There are many teams in need of a cornerback in this draft (50% of the league to be exact). Of those 16 teams, 15 have at least one pick in the first round.
It will be interesting to see which one of those 15 teams, drafts Ringo because he will either be an All-Pro cornerback, (at least according to NFL scouts), or he may go down as one of the greatest “draft busts” in NFL history; there appears to be no in-between when it comes to Kelee Ringo.
