Zy Alexander, LSU: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Alexander was a two-star recruit from Loreauville High School in Loreauville, La. in the class of 2020

LSU cornerback Zy Alexander offers strong measurables and good processing and instincts in zone coverages. He flashed impressive reps in press coverage while with the Tigers, but some physical limitations prevent him from projecting to a man-heavy scheme. He’s a Day 3 prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft.

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Zy Alexander, CB LSU: 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Fifth-year senior cornerback from Loreauville, La.

Background: Alexander was a two-star recruit from Loreauville High School in Loreauville, La. in the class of 2020. He was an unranked two-star recruit for Rivals. Alexander didn’t receive a star rating or grade out of 100 from 247Sports, On3, or ESPN. He transferred from Southeastern Louisiana to LSU for the 2023 season. Alexander played free safety, quarterback, and wide receiver in high school. He was the lead off hitter on the baseball team and helped the squad secure the Class 2A State Title as a sophomore.

Injuries & Off-Field: Torn ACL in 2023 vs. Army led to missing 2024 spring practices and 2024 game vs. USC, exited the 2024 South Carolina game early, concussed vs. UCLA (2024) and missed the South Alabama game the following week

Awards: 2021 First Team All-Southland Conference, 2021 First Team All-Louisiana, 2021 First Team FCS Freshman All-American (Phil Steele), 2021 Second Team FCS All-American (Stats Perform), 2021 Third Team FCS All-American (Associated Press), 2022 First Team All-Southland Conference

Pros: Rarely penalized, arm length checks the box, length and size to two-hand jam receivers at LOS, hands re-route receivers in press when they make contact, patient footwork at LOS in press, seamless transitions vs. switch releases, quick backpedal, sudden and easy transition from backpedal to forward drive, quick click and close from off-man coverage, crowds receiver at the top of the stem, mid-route contact to disrupt route timing, doesn’t fall for stutter-goes, vision and instincts in zone to drop and assist against deep routes, uses leverage to drive receiving threats into help coverage, impressive vision and awareness to transition between routes in zone, reads quarterback’s eyes to cheat in zones, good recovery speed to eliminate separation late in vertical routes, area of influence at the catch point, length shows up at the catch point, ball tracking, rakes the receiver’s hands, willing to step down and set the edge in the run game, screen recognition and trigger, comes to balance as a tackler, clean wrap-up tackler who rarely misses

Cons: Limited special teams versatility, age, past torn ACL, inaccurate punches in press whiff often, delayed transition when wide receiver crosses his face, occasional tightness in hips, not a twitchy athlete, struggles to mirror and match twitchy route runners, falls behind in middle portion of vertical routes, late to accelerate on some vertical routes, lacks top-end speed to match burners, dusted by Ryan Williams (2024) on would-be TD, beaten deep twice vs. Alabama (2024), deceleration on comebacks and curls allows for minor separation, excessive cushion in off-man gives up chunk plays, bites on action in the backfield and fake screens, failure to locate the ball makes him vulnerable to back shoulder fades, some reps of poor effort in run defense, slow to fit the run, inconsistent ability to shed blocks

Overview: Alexander's 31 3/8" arms are right around the 50th percentile for a cornerback going back to 1999, but he maximizes them well. His length and size help him unleash some powerful jams that re-route receivers. He needs to work on his accuracy in press since his jams often whiff and leave him at a significant disadvantage. Alexander is patient in press with a quick backpedal that he easily transitions out of when short routes break in front of his face. He quickly closes from off-man to limit yards after the catch. The Louisiana native processes and adjusts to switch releases well while in man coverage. There’s a noticeable delay and some stiffness in Alexander’s transition when a receiver works across his face. He struggles to mirror twitchy route runners and isn’t a natural pattern matcher in man coverage. The former Southeastern Louisiana transfer uses mid-route contact to disrupt the receiver’s timing and crowds the intended target at the catch point. He doesn’t fall for stutter-goes but bites on some eye candy in the backfield and fake screens. Alexander can be stacked in the ten to 20-yard range on vertical routes but recovers to close throwing windows on deeper developing plays. This recovery speed frequently bails him out because he’s late to accelerate and match downfield threats. He lacks the top end speed to match true speedsters. Alexander’s tightness shows up when he takes extra steps to decelerate and allows separation on comebacks and curls. He surrenders too much cushion in off-man, leading to chunk plays for the offense. Alexander’s best fit at the next level is in a zone-heavy scheme that lets his vision and instincts take over. He uses leverage well to maximize help coverage and pinch throwing lanes. His timing transitioning between routes leaves the quarterback little room to test him. The fifth-year senior reads the quarterback’s eyes to shade or jump routes. His length shows up at the catch point. Alexander tracks the ball well when he spots it, but there are plays when he fails to get his head around and gives up chunk gains. He quickly triggers to attack screens and willingly steps down to set the edge against the run. Alexander comes to balance on tackle attempts and wraps up the ball carrier. His motor in run defense sometimes fades, and he lacks the technique to shed blocks at a high level.

Overall, Alexander battles some physical limitations that make him a scheme-dependent prospect early in his NFL career. His vision and instincts make him a potential rotational contributor as a rookie. Alexander’s profile is filled out well around the edges with his work against the run and at the catch point, but a lack of diverse special teams experience and injury history raise some questions.

Role & Scheme Fit: Cornerback in a Cover 3 scheme with press-man opportunities

Round Grade: Late Fourth Round

Size: 6'1", 192 lbs. (Shrine Bowl)

Submitted: 11-28-24

Updated: 02-04-25