PROSPECT SUMMARY – SHEMAR JEAN-CHARLES

Prior to starting over the final two seasons of his career at Appalachian State, Shemar Jean-Charles mostly served as a special teams ace. Following that point, he quickly transitioned into being one of the better players on the roster. Possessing a rocked-up top half, he’s an impressively put together corner prospect. Playing mostly on the outside, he was able to collect 26 passes defensed and two interceptions over the past two seasons combined. He's a physical corner out on the perimeter, but his lack of length could lead to him playing a nickel role on the next level. There is some hip tightness with Jean-Charles, which could make his transition inside result in some growing pains early on. But as he continues to become more comfortable, he’s a developmental player that could prove to be solid depth at the position.

Ideal Role: Developmental slot defender who has the capabilities of being a heavy special teams contributor during the early portions of his career.

Scheme Fit: Attacking Cover 1 press-man nickel corner.

FILM EVALUATION

Written by Jordan Reid

Games watched: North Carolina (2019), Charlotte (2020), Marshall (2020), Coastal Carolina (2020), Louisana-Monroe (2020), Troy (2020)

Best Game Studied: Charlotte (2020)

Worst Game Studied: Marshall (2020)

Man Coverage Skills: The area where he’s shown the most consistency is his ability to get his hands on targets early at the line of scrimmage and reroute them to the sideline. Using his limbs as a guide to help him through route plans has been a helpful tactic for him as he does have some hip tightness. A maxed-out top frame limits his lateral agility to an extent.

Zone Coverage Skills: Serving mainly as an outside corner during his time with the Mountaineers, he’s played a mixture of man and zone principles. When playing zone, he was often asked to play various types. Required to keep his back to the sideline, he didn’t appear to be comfortable as he struggled with driving downhill out of it.

Ball Skills: One of the better parts of Jean-Charles’ game is his ability to condense and affect throwing windows. During his final season, he led the country in passes defensed (17). Also accumulating an interception, the area where he could serve to improve is finishing those plays with turnovers. While he has a high amount of passes defensed over his two seasons as a full-time starter, he’s only recorded two career interceptions.

Tackling: Overall, Jean-Charles is a consistent tackler. Even though he has limited length, he’s not hesitant with sticking his face on ball-carriers and finishing them in the ground. A chiseled top half, he uses it to his advantage when engaging in tackle attempts.

Versatility: During his two seasons as a full-time starter, Jean-Charles has spent nearly all of his time on the outside. Because of a compact and maxed-out frame, combined with a lack of length, he likely will be transitioned inside. His best angle of versatility comes with his value on special teams, which he has a wealth of experience on during all four seasons.

Competitive Toughness: Jean-Charles is a high-level competitor in route stems and at the catch point. His physical notches run very high—often to the point where it needs to be toned down, which is another area of his development that may take time.

Functional Athleticism: Jean-Charles is a bit tight-hipped and it is noticeable when click-closing to mirror the top of routes. He takes extra stutter steps when trying to drive down on the ball, which indicates that he's a bit tight in the hips.

Football IQ: Over his final two seasons as a starter, Jean-Charles has shown well above average football intelligence. His ability to process route combinations and attacking them quickly are noticeable. Wasting little motion when in zone coverage, he’s been able to have an impact on throws. In man coverage, he’s aware of down and distances in his backpedal, which determines the tempo that he pedals with. Squatting and driving back toward the receiver quickly is seen often with him on short distances.

Run Defending: An area where he will need to improve the most is being able to untangle from blocks and then making tackles. Jean-Charles isn’t consistent with breaking free and then making those tackles out by his lonesome. Staying engaged too long has given matchups too much time to get too far inside of his frame and remain attached in order for runners to race by him.

Length: His lack of length comes to the forefront more in run support than in pass coverage. He’s shown to have lots of activity at the catch point as a competitor. When attempting to detach from perimeter problems, he has lots of struggles there. When trying to break free, he faces challenges with getting out from their grasp and then completing the tackling process.

Prospect Comparison: Mackensie Alexander (2016 NFL Draft, Minnesota Vikings)