Adebo ranks No. 29 on McShay’s top 50 prospects for 2021 NFL Draft

As crazy as it sounds, the 2021 NFL Draft is the next big step for several of the members of the Stanford Cardinal football team.

One of those players with his eyes on the draft is CB Paulson Adebo.

Seen as a first-round player for what feels like the better part of a few years now, Adebo is officially getting some first-round love, now that the fall football season has been at the very least postponed.

And now, in Todd McShay’s preseason top prospects list, Adebo checks in at No. 29. McShay ranked the top 50 prospects for the 2021 NFL Draft given the caveat that some of the players drafted in the 2021 draft may not even play another down of football until their NFL debuts.

Adebo though being one of the latter prospects who may not play a down until fall 2021, is firmly in the first-round discussion.

McShay had this to say about the 6’1, 190-pounder:

His four interceptions in 2019 matched his 2018 total, and Adebo has length and speed to go along with those elite ball skills. He is at his best in press-zone coverage, but the tool set is there to improve in press-man. His instincts are borderline excellent, though he will occasionally find himself out of position.

Adebo also had a grade of 86 from Scouts Inc.

He checked in as the fifth-best cornerback in the draft class, behind Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II, Ohio State’s Shaun Wade, Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley (who famously became the first NFL draft prospect to opt out of the season) and South Carolina’s Isreal Mukuamu.

It’s a close race between Adebo and Mukuamu, as the latter ranked just 25th, or four spots ahead of Adebo. In Mukuamu’s favor, however, is the fact that he’ll have a relatively full schedule of SEC action to continue to impress for his NFL draft resume, while Adebo still has to make a decision on whether or not he’ll play any football this spring, if the Pac-12 organizes a spring season.

Walker Little also checked in on the rankings — but only on the positional rankings. He did not crack the top 50 overall players, and rather found himself as the 10th-best tackle in this class.

For the full list of top 50 NFL Draft prospects for 2021, read the entire article at ESPN+. (Subscription required.)

Go Card!