Jahdae Barron was a 4-star in the class of 2020 and committed to Texas out of Pflugerville Connally High School in Texas. Barron was originally committed to TCU after they gave him his first collegiate scholarship offer, but he quickly decomitted after receiving more interest.
Barron has started 36 games for Texas in his 4 seasons with the team and totaled 47 tackles, 5 interceptions, and 14 pass breakups in 2024 on his way to being a 1st-Team All American selection and the winner of the Jim Thorpe Award.
Barron was a great draft prospect in the 2023 draft process as a highly touted slot defender but opted to return to Texas for his senior season where he took over the role of outside cornerback for the first time.
Player Info
Name: Jahdae Barron
Jersey: No. 7
Position: Cornerback
School: University of Texas
Class: Senior
Height: 5-11
Weight: 200 lbs.
Jahdae Barron’s Strengths
Jahdae Barron’s strengths all stem from his plethora of experience that he has gotten at Texas. Barron has started 36 games and played in 54 in his 4 years with the Longhorns and in that time has played all over the back end of the defense.
Barron is a very skilled deep coverage corner while playing on the outside and shows great technique and disabling in zone coverage. Texas plays a lot of cover 3 and cover 4 and use their athletes to take care of short plays while using coverage to stop explosive plays down the field and Barron played that role very well.
Barron keeps his eyes on the QB while being able to successfully lock down his zone and because of this he’s able to capitalize on turnover opportunities and intercept overthrown passes or tips.
Barron also showcased his high IQ when playing in the slot in 2023 which led to 61 tackles, an interception, and 7 pass breakups. In addition to his high level IQ and decision making on defense, Barron has very quick acceleration ability which allows him to break on the ball and make a play or tackle very quickly.
Barron also has a good frame to play either slot corner or on the outside in the NFL.
Jahdae Barron’s Weaknesses
Jahdae Barron hasn’t shown much ability to be a great man coverage corner, mainly because he hasn’t been asked to in Texas’ defense.
I worry about Barron’s top end speed as well and despite his quick start ability he may lack the necessary long speed to be a successful outside corner at the next level.
Barron also isn’t a very willing tackler, especially from what I’ve seen on film this season. Barron plays his role against the run well and usually forces ball carries back inside but he often looks content to get blocked after playing his leverage. In situations where he does make a tackle it isn’t pretty, however his tackling looked much better in 2023 when he was able to make tackles on players as they caught the ball rather than in the open field as dynamic ball carriers.
Draft Projection
Barron returned to school to play a more coveted role for the NFL which is outside corner. He was a projected Day 2 pick as a slot defender and I don’t think the decision to return to school has bolstered his draft stock very much.
Barron brings a high level of versatility to an NFL secondary which should make him a lock to be a Top 100 pick in April. I have Barron grades as an Eventual Starter/Could be Replaceable as a slot defender, with versatility to play on the outside if needed, which is where I think he should play and would be the most successful in the NFL.
