Kelee Ringo Did Not Grade Out Well on Game Film

Georgia’s cornerback Kelee Ringo played on the National Champion Georgia Bulldogs.

That must mean he’s pretty good?

Not according to the game film.

The contrast between when I put my fan hat on and put on my scouting hat is astonishing. There’s a huge difference watching a game versus when I sit down and study game film. The difference is instead of me watching where the ball goes, I’m zeroing in on every single move a prospect makes (sometimes rewinding the play and re-watching it 3-6 times).

Turn on the evidence

If we were standing in a courtroom, I would say, “Exhibit A your Honor, the Tennessee game.”

Granted, I had a first-round grade on Ringo based mostly on 2021 game film, “Don’t Put Georgia Corner Kelee Ringo Top 10 Just Yet.”

Wow, did he regress when I turned on this game this past season.

Several limitations showed up that will not be easily overcome

Looking back at my top four questions I walked away with in my previous article, it makes sense.

Ringo will have to go to a defensive system that plays a lot of zone or he will have to attempt to transition to safety.

There’s no way he can be on an island in press man coverage at the next level for the following reasons:

-too rigid in his movements

-no short-area burst shown

-no make-up speed displayed

These are not characteristics any NFL team wants to see when considering a corner.

While Ringo was good on straight-line routes (for the most part), he struggled on any kind of routes that featured a quick change of direction. His stiffness also causes issues in support trying to tackle and play angles in the open field.

Tennessee torched him on four comeback routes. It took Ringo too long to gather himself and come back downhill.

This isn’t a case of, “We’ll coach Ringo up and he’ll be fine.” This is a case of him having serious athletic limitations that are spray painted all over this block of game film.

Technique is an issue too…

If the athletic limitations were not enough, positional technique issues showed up.

Receivers were dictating play flow and he ended up chasing them too often.

There was a deep pass when he mis-timed his jump, another time he gave up inside leverage on a deep pass.

He tried to get too physical and “handsy” to compensate on some plays too. This drew three flags in these four games.

Ringo got lazy looking in coverage when he drew penalties.

Another red flag

Just when you think there can’t be anything else, there is.

A report has come out from 247Sports citing that Ringo has been named as a prospect who underperformed this past season by Pro Football Focus. Ringo’s coverage grade slipped from 73.3 (2021) to 70.3 (2022). The report additionally states:

As we can see, he didn’t develop much between the two seasons. On top of that, there have been growing concerns over Ringo’s ability to track deep passes, as he often looked lost trying to find such throws, something that NFL quarterbacks and receivers will feast on.

None of this is going in the right direction.

#5 Kelee Ringo 6-foot-2, 210 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Final 2023 NFL Draft Grade: Fifth-Round (I would not select him)

First Round Mock Big Board: TBD

Bust probability: High

Projected by 88.2% (down from 91.3% on October 2) of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of February 24, 2022 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2022 game film reviewed: Tennessee, Florida, Missouri, and South Carolina (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

2021 stats: 34 tackles (26 solo, 8 assists), 8 passes defended, 2 INT, 1 sack

2022 stats: 42 tackles (37 solo, 5 assists), 7 passes defended, 2 INT

2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Boxy and muscular frame with noticeable rigidity and good straight-line speed. Played press and off-man as well as zone coverage. Struggled on routes featuring breakpoints. Had a hard time matching receivers and breaking on the ball. Usually an after the fact defender. Looked distracted, uncomfortable and frustrated in coverage too often. In run support, he did not show himself to be a solid, dependable wrapping form tackler. There were some missed tackles.

Final words

Someone gave Ringo bad advice on declaring early.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated New York Jets and he is the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.