Jarius Monroe, CB Tulane: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Monroe was a three-star recruit from East St. John High School in Laplace, La. in the class of 2019

Tulane cornerback Jarius Monroe had a solid week at the East-West Shrine Bowl. The former Nicholls State transfer developed into one of the best AAC defensive backs during his two seasons with the Green Wave. He projects as a day three selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Jarius Monroe, CB Tulane: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Fifth-year senior outside cornerback from LaPlace, La.

Background: Monroe was a three-star recruit from East St. John High School in Laplace, La. in the class of 2019. He was the No. 1,403 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 1,360 for On3.com. Monroe was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and didn’t receive a star rating or grade out of 100 from ESPN. He transferred from Nicholls State to Tulane for the 2022 season. As a high school senior, Monroe produced 76 tackles, four tackles for loss, four interceptions, eight passes defensed, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and a defensive touchdown on his way to earning The Times-Picayune Large Schools All-Metro honorable mention honors. As a junior, he totaled 48 tackles, eight interceptions, three fumble recoveries, and two defensive touchdowns while earning 7-5A First Team All-District honors. Monroe was also an All-District selection as a sophomore. His cousin, Ahmani Martin, played at Nicholls from 2015-18. Monroe’s brother, Darion, was a four-year starter as a defensive back at Tulane (2012-15). Monroe was born on Oct. 6, 2000.

Injuries & Off-Field: Played limited snaps vs. North Texas (2023) due to injury

Awards: 2021 First Team All-Southland, 2022 First Team All-AAC, 2023 First Team All-AAC

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick coverage, punt return, and field goal block units, excellent size and good arm length, appears to have large hands, physical corner, long-strider, solid mirroring releases at the line, excellent inside leverage on outside releases, compresses outside releases along the sideline, quick to crowd receiver at the stem from off-man, good eye discipline in zone coverage, spatial awareness and processing of plays in front of him, reads the quarterback’s eyes and baits him into throws, drives receivers out of bounds on potential sideline catches, size dominates in the red zone, physical at the catch point, ball production, plays the receiver’s hands at the catch point, high points ball well, ball skills, willing to trigger on short throws, wrap-up tackler, willing contributor in run defense, can be a big hitter

Cons: Committed 13 penalties over the past three years, smaller than school listed height, inconsistent competition level, a little high-hipped, tightness in his hips, some natural agility limitations at his size, not a twitchy player, inconsistent short-area explosiveness, doesn’t have elite downfield speed, speed testing will be a huge question, Ole Miss got him twice early (2023), some false steps in soft-shoe press, receivers who accelerate quickly can beat him at the line when he doesn’t jam them, not as many reps of aggressive true press coverage as expected, spun around by receivers when he declares his hips too early, allows some separation at the top of the stem in press man coverage, loses ground on crossing routes, gets grabby when he takes his eyes off the receiver or is threatened vertically, doesn’t get head around for the ball consistently, angles in run defense must improve, block shedding is a work in progress, defaults to throwing a shoulder instead of wrapping up sometimes

Overview: Monroe has special teams experience on the kick coverage, punt return, and field goal block units. Tulane primarily used him in soft-shoe press and zone coverages with some off-man mixed in. Monroe played to the boundary and field sides of the defense with the Green Wave. He has ideal size and arm length and appears to have large hands. His size and physicality make him difficult for receivers to beat at the catch point. Monroe has had success mirroring releases at the line of scrimmage and using his long strides to carry receivers vertically, but he isn’t an ideal match for burners or twitchy receivers. The Nicholls State transfer excels at using inside leverage to compress outside releases along the sideline and eliminate throwing windows. He quickly drives forward from his spot in off-man coverage to crowd the receiver at the stem. Zone coverage appears to be Monroe’s natural fit at the next level. He's much more comfortable facing the quarterback than he is with his back to the ball. This also maximizes his quick trigger and coverage instincts. Monroe has good eye discipline and awareness in the zone. He processes plays well and reads the quarterback’s eyes to bait him into throws. The fifth-year senior is a menace at the catch point. He has excellent ball skills to fully maximize his size and blot out chances for the pass to be completed. Monroe wins jump balls and plays the receiver’s hands at the catch point when he doesn’t locate the ball mid-pass. He is quick to trigger on short throws and usually wraps up as a tackler, although he sometimes relies on throwing a shoulder instead of wrapping up. The Louisiana native is a willing contributor in run defense and is a big hitter when he lines up his downhill angles correctly. Unfortunately, he has committed 13 penalties over the past three years and battles some physical limitations. Monroe is high-hipped, which leads to some tightness in his transitions and looped movements instead of precise flips. He deals with some natural agility limitations at his size that make mirroring complex releases or twitchy receivers difficult. Monroe has inconsistent short-area explosiveness and lacks ideal speed to carry receivers vertically. His speed testing during the pre-draft process will play a significant role in impacting how he’s viewed. Monroe takes some false steps in soft-shoe press and lacks the recovery speed to catch receivers who accelerate past him at the line when he doesn’t jam them. Tulane didn’t give him enough reps in true press coverage. The All-AAC cornerback gets spun around by receivers because he occasionally declares his hips too early. He allows some separation at the top of the stem when working out of press coverage. Monroe allows separation on crossing routes. He gets grabby when he takes his eyes off the receiver or when he is threatened vertically. Monroe doesn’t get his head around for the ball consistently when carrying a receiver vertically in man coverage. Playing in more zone concepts will help prevent these issues. He faced inconsistent competition in college and had a few early losses against Ole Miss (2023) and USC (2022), the best teams he faced over the past two years. Monroe should improve the angles he takes in run defense and improve his hand usage when working to shed blocks. He has the size to play safety. A transition shouldn’t be out of the question, but it will require Monroe to prove he has the range and open-field athleticism for the role.

Overall, Monroe’s size at cornerback stands out and is complemented by his ball skills and physicality, but his physical limitations will drop him down draft boards and could lead to a shift to safety in the NFL. Defensive backs with Monroe’s size and achievements rarely get past the middle of day three. His instincts and intelligence will shine in zone assignments.

Role & Scheme Fit: Outside cornerback in a zone scheme, possible safety convert

Round Projection: Fifth Round

Size: 6005, 204 lbs. (Shrine Bowl)

Submitted: 01-09-23