NFL Draft
1/13/25
6 min read
Kevin Winston Jr. 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Penn State Nittany Lions SAF
Height: 6020 (unofficial)
Weight: 210lbs (unofficial)
Year: Junior
Pro Comparison: Lewis Cine
Scouting Overview
Penn State Nittany Lions safety Kevin Winston Jr. is a long, explosive safety with an impressive resume as an underneath defender. He lacks appeal as a high-post player and will struggle if charged with covering significant areas of grass.
Still, his ability to fit the run, run the alley, and trigger on underneath targets in the passing game affords him the opportunity to be an impactful player in an NFL defense. Winston Jr. does have explosive speed and notable range as a rally defender, but his high-cut frame and high hips will pose challenges for transitions both playing center field and while covering eligibles in man-to-man coverage.
He’s coming off of a partially torn ACL in September of 2024, and medicals will loom as a notable piece of his valuation in April.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Explosive trigger ability allows him to close large distances in a flash
- Striking hitter who is a tone-setter at the catch point or when running the alley against the run
- Top-tier length and reach help maximize both his tackle radius and recovery ability in coverage
Negatives
- Eye discipline and coverage spacing can be honed to create more consistent leverage on the back end
- Can be too wild entering the tackle area at times, putting himself at risk of colliding but not finishing challenges
- Minimal ball production and appears to be a better trigger and pursuit coverage player than an anticipator
Background
Winston Jr. is from Columbia, MD, and played for DeMatha Catholic HS. There, he was twice named Team MVP while also partaking in track & field as a multi-sport athlete. Winston Jr. is a second-generation college football athlete — his father played at James Madison University.
As a recruit, Winston Jr. earned a 4-star recruiting ranking (247 Sports) and generated interest from programs like Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Pitt, Colorado, Louisville, and others. He ultimately committed to Penn State and found the field in 12 games as a true freshman in 2022. Winston Jr. claimed a starting safety role in 2023 as a true sophomore, playing in and starting all 13 games while leading the team in tackles. He was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten for his efforts.
Winston Jr. entered 2024 as a highly regarded safety prospect but suffered a partially-torn ACL in September and made his final appearance of the season in Penn State’s second contest of the year against Bowling Green. He attempted to play through the injury but left the game early and did not return for the remainder of the season. He declared at the end of the 2024 season, leaving potentially two years of eligibility on the table when including a medical redshirt in 2024.
Tale Of The Tape
Winston Jr. is an aggressive player who is at his best rolling down into the box to serve as an intermediate zone defender and inserting against the run. He’s a fluid player when playing forward and boasts a tremendous amount of hitting power as a strike defender and as a wrap-up form tackler in head-to-head collisions.
Winston Jr. is a confident player in these opportunities and illustrates high-end burst and speed to the football, quickly closing ground and helping to mitigate added yardage and run-after-catch opportunities.
The pace to the ball and violence as a striker is only matched by his tackle radius and body control at first contact. Winston Jr. has elite length and the ability to lean through lateral challenges. He can occasionally be too ambitious with his initial angle from depth. However, because he has good length and lean, he can push those angles and widen while still leveraging ball carriers to the perimeter and pin them in before finishing the play. His reactive quickness is where his explosiveness pops the most, as he’s eager to get in on the action against quick game and run action.
That aggressiveness can be used against him at times. He can be overeager to fit and take false steps that cost him leverage in coverage against play action. Winston Jr. showcases recovery speed and burst here, plus the length to contest the catch point when playing from the hip in turn & run opportunities.
However, his recovery efforts are more rooted in working back into the receivers' body, and he lacks the consistency of using his eyes to locate the football and contest the ball. He also lacks reactiveness to receivers' hands at the catch point and has taken some questionable angles when not playing on the body, which has yielded added catches on tight-window throws.
His coverage profile could have used the reps that Penn State afforded with its 2024 schedule. Winston Jr. is a bit more of a leap of faith and projection due to missing nearly all of this past season, which included a run to the College Football Playoff semi-finals.
A young player who is effectively a one-year starter and one year removed from playing requires a lot of faith in his eye for the game — but the developmental ceiling and upside with this pick is enormous. Winston Jr. is a fast, physical talent with tone-setting ability, so long as you don’t relegate him to playing high in the post.
His pedal lacks fluidity, and his transitions are labored in space, thanks in large part to his high hips. Flipping to attack throws outside the numbers can be a chore, and he appears clunky when playing on the back end when not playing forward. Plan accordingly.
All things considered, Winston Jr.’s draft ceiling will be determined by his interviews and medicals. With a more sturdy resume and more proof of development, this is a player who would have a different narrative. He should be considered among the most physically gifted safeties in the class — but there’s risk.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Winston Jr. projects best as a developmental starter as the rotation player in a Cover-3 heavy zone system. His ability to fit the run and his tackling prowess would be a valued asset in the intermediate areas. Still, his reliability and coverage instincts as a deep defender will need significant development in order for him to play reliably at the NFL level.
He may be a sub-package player and special teams contributor early on, but if he can become a more consistent coverage player, he should be an NFL starter thanks to his physical gifts, aggressiveness, and tackling prowess.
Grade: 74.50/100.00, Third Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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