Rejzohn Wright, CB Oregon State: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Wright was a three-star JUCO recruit from Laney College in Oakland, Calif. in the class of 2020

Oregon State cornerback Rejzohn Wright is the brother of current Dallas Cowboy and former top 100 selection Nahshon Wright. Rejzohn is one of the best true zone corners in the 2023 NFL Draft and offers plenty of value as a Day 3 pick.

Visit my Twitter account @Sam_Teets33 for more updates and previews of the 2023 NFL Draft Guide.

Rejzohn Wright, CB Oregon State: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Fifth year senior outside cornerback from East Palo Alto, Calif.

Background: Wright was a three-star JUCO recruit from Laney College in Oakland, Calif. in the class of 2020. He previously attended James Logan High School in Union City, Calif., where he was a two-star recruit for 247Sports upon graduating in 2018. Wright was the No. 40 JUCO recruit according to 247Sports’ JUCO Composite board, an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals, and No. 52 for On3.com. He ranked 27th on the ESPN JC50 with a 79 grade out of 100. Wright committed to Oregon State over offers from Colorado, Fresno State, Houston, UCF, UCLA, and some non-Power Five programs. Wright also played basketball in high school. As a freshman at Laney College, he amassed 23 tackles, including two for loss, five passes defensed, and two interceptions as his team went 11-2 and finished the year as state champions. The following season, he recorded 18 tackles, two passes defensed, and one interception. Wright’s cousin, Alton Julian, is a defensive back for Oregon State. Wright’s brother, Nahshon Wright, also attended Laney College before playing at Oregon State. Nahshon was selected in the third round pick (99th overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys.

Injuries & Off-Field: N/A

Awards: 2021 Honorable Mention All-Pac-12, 2022 First-Team All-Pac-12

Pros: Some exposure to the slot, positive reps versus Jordan Addison and USC (2022), offers plus size and arm length, nice sink in his backpedal, shows patience and discipline in zone, stays leveraged in zone, strong understanding and awareness of zone assignments, passes off assignments from zone to zone, route recognition when he’s allowed to survey the field, excellent inside vision on the slot receiver to know when to carry him vertical over the outside receiver, reads the quarterback’s eyes, stiff punches in press coverage, remains calm when lined up near the line of scrimmage, quick to trigger on underneath throws and screens, uses long arms to challenge wide receiver blocks

Cons: Age, limited special teams versatility, not twitchy or sudden, high-hipped with limited fluidity, long and lean legs, flipping hips can leave him unbalanced, lacks recovery speed, lacks long speed, speed is a barrier to playing man and press coverage, fear of getting beat deep opens comeback routes, questionable foot speed, gets grabby when threatened vertically, 12 penalties over the past two years, receivers with quick feet can cross his face or spin him around early in the route, lacks elite agility and change of direction skills, allows separation at the top of the route, transitions are high and half a second slower than ideal, punch accuracy in press, limited contributions against the run, doesn’t make the most of his frame as a tackler, missed tackles are a theme

Overview: Wright took official measurements at the NFL Combine. He’s 6020 and weighs 193 lbs. He has 9 5/8-inch hands and 32 4/8-inch arms. Wright had a 77 1/4-inch wingspan at the Senior Bowl. He primarily lined up along the left side of Oregon State’s defense with Alex Austin guarding the right. Wright has some exposure to the slot but projects as an outside-only corner at the next level. He posted several positive reps against Jordan Addison and USC (2022) this past season, largely containing the former All-American. Wright offers impressive size and arm length. For a player his size, he displays surprising sink and stays low in his backpedal. The fifth-year senior thrives in zone. He shows patience and discipline in zone. His understanding of zone concepts and awareness while in zone border on elite. Wright stays leveraged in zone and displays impressive route recognition to pass off threats as they move through his assignment. He plays with excellent inside vision on the slot receiver to know when to peel off his outside man and carry the slot vertically. Wright reads the quarterback’s eyes and anticipates throws when allowed to survey the field. He throws stiff punches in press and remains calm when lined up near the line of scrimmage. The All-Pac-12 defender is quick to trigger on underneath throws and screens. He uses his long arms to challenge wide receiver blocks but isn’t very active in run defense. He frequently misses tackles and fails to maximize the tackle radius provided by his frame. Wright is hesitant to come downhill against the run. He offers limited special teams experience and is an older prospect. The JUCO product isn’t a sudden or twitchy athlete. He’s high-hipped with long legs and a lean frame, which leads to hip tightness and some unbalanced transitions. Wright lacks recovery speed and the deep speed to carry burners vertically. His speed prevents him from being a viable press man corner. The California native’s fear of getting beat deep opens comeback routes. His foot speed is questionable. Wright gets grabby when threatened vertically or on comeback routes, leading to 12 committed penalties over the past two years. Receivers with quick feet can cross his face or spin him around early in the route. Wright lacks the mirror skills to handle smaller, shiftier receivers. He doesn’t have elite agility and change of direction skills. Wright allows separation at the top of the route, and his transitions are high and half a second slower than ideal. His punch accuracy in press coverage needs to improve.

Overall, Wright is a tremendous zone corner who plays with high-end awareness and route recognition. He has the size and arm length for press duties but lacks the footwork, hip fluidity, and long speed to carry a heavy workload in man coverage.

Role & Scheme Fit: Outside cornerback in a zone-dominant scheme

Round Projection: Late Fourth to Early Fifth

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 03-14-23