Carrington Valentine, CB Kentucky: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Valentine was a three-star recruit from Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio in the class of 2020

The Kentucky Wildcats have two cornerbacks who could hear their names called in the 2023 NFL Draft. Keidron Smith went to the Senior Bowl, but junior Carrington Valentine is the real Kentucky corner to keep an eye on this spring.

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Carrington Valentine, CB Kentucky: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Junior outside corner from Cincinnati, Ohio

Background: Valentine was a three-star recruit from Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio in the class of 2020. He was the No. 1,064 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 982 for On3.com. Valentine was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals. He was an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 74 grade out of 100. Valentine committed to Kentucky over offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, and other Power Five programs. He began his high school career as a wide receiver before moving to cornerback as a high school junior. As a senior, he received First-Team All-Southwest Ohio honors and produced 32 tackles, five passes defensed, and two blocked kicks. Valentine returned kicks for Moeller, averaging 31.7 yards per return and scoring two touchdowns. He also lettered in basketball and won a state championship on the hardwood in 2019. Valentine only played defensive back for one or two seasons before arriving at Kentucky. He is one of four siblings. His sister (Shala) played basketball at UMass Lowell while one of his brothers (Jerrick) played soccer at Bellarmine University.

2022 Production: 12 games, 48 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception, 10 passes defensed

2021 Production: 13 games, 61 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 5 passes defensed

2020 Production: 10 games, 9 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass defenses

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed one game in 2020 and in 2022

Awards: 2020-21 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll, 2021 & 2022 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, appears to have above-average arm length, rarely stacked despite speed limitations, loves to talk trash and plays with swagger, doesn’t mind being physical early in the route, stiff punches in press, gave Cedric Tillman (2022) some real fights in press coverage, squeezes routes along the sideline, very aggressive at the catch point, mirrors and engulfs short routes, willing tackler who wraps up receivers post-reception, quick to close on screens and short passes, willing contributor in run support

Cons: Nine penalties in the past two years, ball production, failed to haul in several potential interceptions, sits high in his stance, doesn’t have the speed to match burners, foot speed, not twitchy or sudden, agility allows for separation on comeback routes, allows significant separation at the top of comeback routes, struggles to sink and plant his feet at the top of comeback routes to remain sticky, possible ankle stiffness limiting his change of direction skills, gets caught falling for eye manipulation, hand placement in press, allowed Cedric Tillman (2022) into his chest while in press coverage, swatted around by Cedric Tillman at times, could use more one-handed punches in press instead of two-handed, involved in multiple blown coverages leading to TDs against Tennessee (2022), voided zone coverage assignments seeking big plays, not a consistent form tackler

Overview: Valentine is unofficially listed at 6'0", 194 lbs. The corner primarily lined up to the left side of Kentucky’s defense in 2022, regardless of whether it was the field or boundary side of the play. He has extensive special teams experience on the kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. Valentine appears to have above-average arm length. He doesn’t have the deep speed to carry burners but was rarely stacked at Kentucky despite his speed limitations. The junior cornerback loves to talk trash and plays with the swagger typical of an alpha corner. He doesn’t mind mixing it up with receivers early in the route. Valentine throws stiff punches in press coverage and gave the much larger Cedric Tillman some tough battles this past season. Valentine squeezes routes along the sideline and is very aggressive at the catch point. He doesn’t appear to have high-end leaping skills but is excellent at timing when to go for pass breakups. The Ohio native frequently mirrors and engulfs short routes, especially against larger receivers like Tillman and Florida’s Justin Shorter. He is quick to close on screens and short passes and is a willing tackler who contributes in run support. Unfortunately, Valentine only has one season with significant ball production. He failed to complete several potential interceptions in 2022. Valentine isn’t a sudden or twitchy athlete. He sits high in his stance and lacks elite foot speed. The former three-star recruit allows significant separation at the top of comeback routes, possibly because of stiffness in his ankles limiting his change of direction skills. Valentine struggles to sink his hips and plant his feet at the top of comeback routes, which contributes to the separation he allows on those routes. He is fooled by quarterback eye manipulation and will abandon his zone coverage assignments to seek big plays. Valentine wasn’t to blame for most of Kentucky’s miscommunications against Tennessee in 2022, but he was involved with multiple blown coverages that led to Volunteer touchdowns. Valentine is a willing tackler, but he plays with inconsistent form. The standout junior has poor hand placement in press coverage, which invites wide receivers into his chest. Tillman took advantage of Valentine’s poor hand placement to push the cornerback around several times. Valentine needs to become more comfortable using a one-handed punch instead of a two-handed punch in press coverage.

Overall, Valentine is a physical press corner who thrives within ten yards of the line of scrimmage and at the catch point, but he’s not a shutdown corner and will get burned trying to make big plays. Valentine has the skill set to see regular defensive snaps early in his NFL career as an outside cornerback, but teams will have to smooth out his technique and improve his zone discipline.  

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

Round Projection: Late Fourth to Early Fifth

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 02-24-23