NFL Analysis
10/28/24
5 min read
Benjamin Morrison 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Notre Dame Fighting Irish CB
Height: 6000 (unofficial)
Weight: 190 (unofficial)
Year: Junior
Pro Comparison: Kyle Fuller
Scouting Overview
Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Benjamin Morrison is a ball-hawking defender who excels with vision zones and attacking the football in coverage. Morrison isn’t the biggest, fastest, or strongest.
However, he has good coverage instincts and is particularly impactful on the perimeter when playing with eyes to the quarterback. Teams that want to play zone-match and split-field coverages should feel good about Morrison’s ability to be a quality starter at the NFL level. Morrison is coming off of a season-ending hip injury midway through his 2024 season, so medical clearances will be a vital piece of his predraft process and his actual draft stock in April.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Refined technician at cornerback that showcases good leverage discipline
- Strong ball skills that have produced nine career interceptions across two and a half seasons
- Offers good route combination awareness and has produced a number of big plays falling off of an initial assignment
Negatives
- Struggles with the physicality of true press on the perimeter
- Does not have an encouraging resume as a tackler — his missed tackle rate exceeds 16 percent for his Notre Dame career
- Does not appear to have a functional second gear with his long speed; leaving some concern for recovery ability downfield
Background
Morrison arrived at Notre Dame by way of Phoenix, AZ, and played his high school football at Brophy College Prep. His father, Darryl, played four seasons in the NFL from 1993 to 1996 as a safety. Benjamin was a three-way player at Brophy Prep, starring as a wide receiver, cornerback, and special teams ace.
He offered game-changing plays in all three phases, including multiple blocked kicks and a robust 28 yards per kick return during his junior season. A 4-star recruit (247 Sports), Morrison participated in the Polynesian Bowl before enrolling at Notre Dame — choosing the Irish over national powerhouse programs such as Alabama, Oklahoma, LSU, and Michigan.
At Notre Dame, Morrison assumed a starting role within the first month of the season and finished in the top 10 nationally in interceptions (six). Morrison started 11 more games as a sophomore before entering his junior season as a highly regarded prospect. Morrison was named a captain for the 2024 season. Midway through the year, Morrison suffered a hip injury against Stanford that required season-ending surgery.
Tale Of THe Tape
Traditional subscribers to the value of turnovers as a primary function of cornerbacks will likely be drawn to Morrison and his impressive resume as a ball-hawking player. His track record at Notre Dame fully illustrates the NFL bloodlines that run in his family as a would-be second-generation NFL player.
He showcases a great feel for instinct in coverage when keying opposing quarterbacks. He illustrates trust in his eyes to break on routes and is willing to read back to the quarterback in turn and run coverage down the field before working up the stem to stay in phase and ensure he’s offering minimal separation.
Morrison complements his instincts with good ball skills, showcasing natural hands and the ability to extend himself at the catch point to contest the football. He’s got good timing and reacts well to the hands of receivers in the event that he is in phase and can't get his eyes back to the football — further bolstering his ball production at the catch point.
His technique keeps him productive, which is a must, as he does not appear to have the most dynamic athletic profile. There have been occasions where Morrison has honored the sticks on third down and then attempted to get back to top speed to squeeze vertical routes but struggled to close the distance, suggesting he has sufficient but not high-end long-speed for foot races down the field.
His transitions are crisp, and he uses proper technique and footwork to stay flat to the line of scrimmage and break in reaction. However, in those instances in which receivers can successfully manipulate his hips, his initial twitch to close and recover is sufficient. Morrison's success will continue to be defined by how disciplined he is with his technique.
Morrison lacks ideal physicality to play press coverage on the perimeter. His limited opportunities to play in the face and challenge bigger receivers yielded some losses at the line of scrimmage, regardless of whether or not he was targeted on the play. Morrison has sufficient length to play outside, but his play strength is not something I would consider to be a constant strength.
This permeates to his efforts in the run game as well; block deconstruction and challenging ball carriers on the perimeter offer good effort and strain but a lack of consistency cutting down defenders across his full college resume.
Tackling has been an area for growth for several seasons now. Because he isn’t the biggest or most physical corner, he will need to be selective about how he challenges ball carriers on the perimeter.
With all of that in mind, Morrison’s football instincts and capabilities in coverage do trump the limitations and allow him to project as an NFL starter. Man-coverage-heavy schemes should be more selective in playing matchups to pit Morrison against smaller body types to limit his mismatches.
Work in the nickel is unlikely unless he's playing on long and late downs, but there are plenty of ways to manipulate a cornerback room to ensure he’s put in positions where his instincts and athletic profile can generate quality reps.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Morrison projects most favorably as an outside exclusive cornerback at the next level. Teams that play vision zone and zone match will afford him the most opportunities to produce at a level similar to the level he did at Notre Dame. He should be considered an NFL starter.
Grade: 78.50/100.00, Second Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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