Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Morrison was a four-star recruit from Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, Ariz. in the class of 2022

Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison is one of my ten highest-graded prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. He’s a sticky man coverage corner with the speed, closing burst, and developing instincts to be a lockdown player at the next level.

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Benjamin Morrison, CB Notre Dame: 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Junior outside cornerback from Phoenix, Ariz.

Background: Morrison was a four-star recruit from Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, Ariz. in the class of 2022. He was the No. 311 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 342 for On3.com. Morrison was an unranked four-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked four-star recruit for ESPN with an 80 grade out of 100. He totaled 53 tackles, five passes defensed, and two interceptions as a senior to accompany several receptions on offense. That year, Morrison returned 11 kicks for 357 yards. He earned First Team All-Region honors as a kick returner and cornerback and earned an invitation to the Polynesian Bowl. Across his sophomore and junior seasons, Morrison amassed 73 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, seven passes defensed, two interceptions, two blocked field goals, and a blocked punt in 15 games. He also returned six kicks for 168 yards as a junior. Morrison has four siblings who have all participated in collegiate athletics. His sisters, Faith (gymnastics at Washington), Grace (volleyball at Appalachian State), and Naomi (gymnastics at Michigan) and brother, Samuel (football at Arizona and San Diego State), are older than the Notre Dame product. His father, Darryl Morrison, was a sixth round selection in the 1993 NFL Draft for Washington. He appeared in 48 games across four seasons in the league.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed three games as a high school junior with a nagging hip injury, missed 2023 Pittsburgh game with a quad strain, missed spring practices after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder in March of 2024

Awards: 2022 Freshman All-American (ESPN, FWAA, PFF, The Athletic)

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick coverage, punt return, and field goal block units, arm length meets thresholds, long enough to play the ball from behind receivers, fluid mover, feet and hips to mirror and match receivers, patient at LOS and doesn’t bite on fakes, impressive job mirroring Marvin Harrison Jr.’s releases (2023), quickly crowds receivers out of soft shoe press and off-man, starts the hand fighting early in the release, improved in 2023 at driving outside releases into sideline, easily mirrors inside releases and gets in phase, recovery speed to get back in-phase after false steps, speed to stay on the hip of WR on vertical routes, rarely stacked downfield, with no traffic Morrison easily stays attached on crossers, nice closing speed, closes quickly to contest catches, tracks the ball well, size and length to challenge at the catch point, timing at the catch point, reads QB’s eyes to undercut throwing lanes, some examples of jumping routes in zone, impressive vision on the QB while in zone, zone discipline, attacks and disrupts WR screens, some feistiness challenging blocks

Cons: Committed six penalties in 2023, limited to no slot experience, size is average at best, lean lower half, vulnerable to getting bumped around at LOS, could be more aggressive and accurate with press punches, few reps where he ends a route at the line, some false steps in press put him at potential disadvantage, gets too high in backpedal at times which limits transition speed and fluidity, turns back to WR to spin when beaten by release rather than swivel hips inside, sometimes late to anticipate and break at the top of the stem on slants, some issues navigating traffic over MOF, time to decelerate on comeback routes creates separation at stem’s peak, tugs and bearhugs receivers on comebacks and curls, grabbiness draws flags, frequently got away with tugging on jerseys mid-route especially over MOF, arrives early at the catch point sometimes, zone instincts can be a step slow to kick in, play strength tested and often overwhelmed by stalk blocks, play strength shows up on tackle attempts, stiff armed to miss tackles, drops head and dives leading to missed tackles, not a contributor in run defense

Overview: Morrison is an average-sized boundary corner with a lean lower half and arm length that should meet the NFL’s thresholds. He’s a fluid mover with the smooth footwork and hips to mirror and match receivers throughout their release. Morrison is confident in his athletic traits and extensive experience in man coverage, allowing him to patiently sit on releases and avoid biting on route fakes. This ability flashed several times in the matchup against Ohio State and Marvin Harrison Jr. in 2023. Morrison’s size leaves him vulnerable to being bumped around at the line of scrimmage by physical receivers. His play strength limits his aggressiveness and power throwing punches in press coverage. Morrison starts hand fighting early in plays but needs to be more assertive, improve his punch accuracy, and refine his hand placement. There are a few false steps he can eliminate early in press to perform at an even higher level. Morrison quickly crowds the receiver at the top of the stem when operating in soft shoe press or off-man. He drives outside releases toward the sideline and easily gets in phase against inside releases. The junior plays too high in his backpedal at times, which leads to some clunky transitions. He has a bad habit of turning his back to the receiver and spinning to relocate his man when he loses off the line. Morrison is occasionally late to close on slant routes, but there are also some fantastic reps of him pressing receivers, remaining sticky, and forcing incompletions on slants. He has the recovery speed to get back in phase after taking a few missteps. Morrison sticks with vertical routes and rarely allows receivers to stack him. The Arizona native easily stays attached on crossing routes but sometimes finds himself caught up in the wash when the middle of the field is muddy. His closing burst helps him undercut crossing routes and quickly close to contest catches. Morrison takes a little too long to decelerate and match comeback routes, which leads to him tugging or grabbing receivers. His grabbiness drew six flags in 2023 and could’ve led to even more penalties that weren’t called. He needs to tone down the jersey clinging. Morrison tracks the ball well and has the length to give receivers headaches at the catch point. He times his arrival well but sometimes contacts the receiver early. The former Freshman All-American plays the ball from behind the receiver without fouling. He reads the quarterback’s eyes and uses his closing burst to anticipate and jump routes. Morrison is still developing his instincts in zone coverage but already knows how to analyze and bait quarterbacks into bad throws. He maintains good zone discipline. Morrison attacks downhill against wide receiver screens and fights to escape stalk blocks, but his play strength limits his ability to hold his ground against blockers. His lack of strength also shows up on failed tackle attempts. Morrison is guilty of dropping his head and diving in blind as a tackler. He can’t be counted on as a contributor in run defense.

Overall, Morrison doesn’t have ideal size, but he’s a fluid corner who uses his impressive athleticism, speed, and developing instincts to mirror and match receivers throughout their routes. Morrison’s sticky coverage skills and combativeness make him a potential true lockdown option. He needs to grow stronger to offer more resistance at the catch point and in run defense.

Role & Scheme Fit: Outside corner in a man-heavy scheme

Round Projection: First Round

Size: 6'0", 190 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 08-12-24

Updated: 10-07-24