Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
Hairston was a three-star recruit from West Bloomfield High School in West Bloomfield, Mich. in the class of 2021
Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston’s blazing speed turned heads at the NFL Combine. He needs to improve his play strength but possesses the ball skills, instincts, and overall athletic profile to lock down a top 50 selection in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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Maxwell Hairston, CB Kentucky: 2025 NFL Draft Profile
Classification: Redshirt junior cornerback from West Bloomfield, Mich.
Background: Hairston was a three-star recruit from West Bloomfield High School in West Bloomfield, Mich. in the class of 2021. He was the No. 953 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 920 for On3.com. Hairston was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 74 grade out of 100. He was a two-way player in high school who took snaps at cornerback and wide receiver. In 2020, he was named a team captain and amassed 23 tackles, 16 passes defensed, three interceptions, and three forced fumbles on defense to complement 500 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on offense. Hairston led West Bloomfield to a 2020 DI State Championship. He earned First Team All-State honors from the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News and made the All-Oakland Athletic Association Team. Hairston also lettered in track and field. His cousin, Jaylin Bannerman, played football at Kentucky for two seasons. Hairston is also cousins with former 13-year NFL veteran running back Taiwan Jones and former Michigan State and Detroit Pistons forward Lindsay Hairston. Hairston was born on Aug. 6, 2003.
Injuries & Off-Field: Missed five games with a shoulder injury in 2024
Awards: 2023 Second Team All-SEC, 2023 Honorable Mention All-American (CFN, Phil Steele)
Pros: Special teams experience on the kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, good hips, top and long speed, makes getting in phase in press look easy, good speed in half-turn, quick deceleration out of half-turn, quick adjustment to get in phase on slants and establish leverage, good recovery speed, impressive use of leverage to close throwing lanes, examples of elite stickiness at the top of the stem in man, patiently waits and absorbs route at stem’s peak, suffocates intermediate routes at the top of the stem, doesn’t bite on stutter-goes, terrific click and close speed, quick recognition and trigger from off-man, quick to crowd the receiver at the top of the stem, mostly instant transitions from backpedal to forward drive, flashes of impressive anticipation, reads the quarterback’s eyes to jump routes, zone discipline, good vision and processing of route combinations in zone to see through window dressing, willing to step downhill to pressure runs and screens
Cons: Missed most of 2024, limited starting experience, slim build, hands lack pop in press, inconsistent power behind jams, whiffs with two-handed jam make him easier to stack, occasionally turned around by the receiver mid-route, occasional slight delay from backpedal into forward drive, caught with eyes in the backfield limiting awareness, inconsistent locating the ball, struggles to discard stalk blockers, sloppy tackler who takes questionable angles, limited tackling power, inconsistent tackle finisher, shies away from contact as a tackler at times, not a reliable one-on-one tackler in space
Overview: Hairston only has one season in college with more than 300 defensive snaps. He’s accustomed to Cover 2 and Cover 3 and has the athletic profile to play press-man in Cover 1. Hairston is a slim, slightly undersized corner who reaches his top speed quickly, and his 4.28 40-yard dash shows up in a big way. His smooth hips and quick footwork make it easy to get in phase at the line of scrimmage and keep throwing lanes closed throughout the play. Hairston makes some twitchy adjustments to get attached to slants and establish leverage underneath or over the top, eliminating the receiver as a viable option. The redshirt junior’s jams lack the consistent power to stall receivers at the line of scrimmage, and he puts himself in trail position by whiffing on two-handed jams. Fortunately, he has the recovery speed to close the gap and make a play on the ball at the catch point even after being initially stacked. He moves well in his half-turn and decelerates quickly to stay attached at the top of the stem. Hairston uses leverage well to pinch throwing lanes and dare quarterbacks to test his closing speed. He patiently waits in off coverage or zone to absorb routes at the top of the stem. This makes him especially effective at suffocating intermediate level routes. The Michigan native quickly recognizes receivers preparing to snap their routes off and triggers from off coverage. He quickly attaches himself to the receiver at the top of the stem. Hairston battles a slight delay when transitioning from his backpedal into forward drive. His flashes of anticipation suggest he’ll continue generating high level ball production in the NFL. Hairston reads the quarterback’s eyes to jump routes, but keeping his eyes in the backfield sometimes leads to lapses in awareness. He excels in zone coverages and displays excellent processing speed and IQ when diagnosing and sifting through route combinations. Hairston is a willing run defender, but he’s not consistent or reliable. He struggles against stalk blocks and is a sloppy tackler who takes bad angles and lacks the play strength to strike through ball carriers.
Overall, Hairston is a speedy, slim cornerback with the fluidity and recovery burst to play press coverage, but he’s at his best when allowed to survey the field and trigger from zones. Hairston’s on-field play will suffer from variance early in his career as he gains experience and rounds out his coverage profile.
Role & Scheme Fit: Outside corner in a Cover 2 scheme
Round Grade: Mid Second to Early Third Round
Size: 5'11 1/4", 183 lbs. (NFL Combine)
Submitted: 01-23-25