NFL Draft
4/21/25
5 min read
Korie Black 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Oklahoma State Cowboys CB
Height: 5116 (verified)
Weight: 190lbs (verified)
Year: Redshirt Senior
Scouting Overview
Oklahoma State Cowboys cornerback Korie Black projects as a developmental starter at the NFL level. Black is twitchy and physical and shows the ability to trigger and plaster against hard-angled routes.
Consistency in his technique and footwork is the key to his reaching his ceiling, but the physical ability is present, and he found the football often by being combative at the catch point in 2024. With an added layer of special teams experience to his credit, Black can be a game-day active player who develops his defensive prowess over time.
2025 NFL Combine Results
DNP
Positives
- Feisty catch point defender that uses his length to reach and separate receivers from the football
- Explosive straight line and vertical speed to play on the perimeter and stay in phase
- Has good bounce out of his transitions to cut routes in front of his face
Negatives
- Consistency in route recognition and spacing in zone coverage is a work in progress
- Press technique can lead to some easier releases through the contact window than you’d prefer
- Discipline has been steadily improving with hand usage downfield, but he has been tagged with 13 total flags in the last three seasons
Background
Black was born in Kansas City, KS,, and played high school football for Connally HS. He’s from a football family—his father played DB at Kansas State, and his brother, Kobe, plays at Texas. At Connally, Black was a two-way talent who logged over 500 receiving yards as a high school senior in addition to his work on defense. He was a 3-star recruit (247 Sports) who also lettered in basketball and track and field.
Black committed to Oklahoma State over nearly two dozen schools as a member of the program’s 2020 recruiting class.
He played in 10 games as a true freshman in 2020 but retained his four years of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Black again served as a rotational defender in 2021 before assuming a full-time starting role with the Cowboys in 2022. He started all 13 games that season for Oklahoma State and then started another 13 in 2023, missing the bowl game due to injury.
Black saved his best for last, as he posted big-time ball production for the Cowboys in 2024 while playing nearly 700 snaps on defense.
Tale Of The Tape
Black is an impressive athlete with the natural ability to become a more economical mover on the outside. There’s a natural burst, transitional quickness, and a combative demeanor that all serve as encouraging markers of a potential starter at the NFL level.
Oklahoma State charged him with playing a bunch of man coverage, and Black illustrated the ability to mirror routes and meet the ball at defenders. His ball production came in large part by reaching and extending to rake the hands of receivers after the break on intermediate throws. He’s less consistent when charged with feeling targets on deeper downfield targets.
There’s room for him to improve his transitional burst and quickness, and Black’s footwork both at the line of scrimmage and at the top of routes can be a catalyst for more sticky coverage. Black, when not properly balanced or mirroring at the line of scrimmage, can get grabby or overextend, which further compounds his negative reps. More patience and faith in his feet is his major area of focus when he’s charged with playing in the face of receivers.
Black has sufficient twitch and trigger to play in zone coverage as well. He doesn’t necessarily anticipate route combinations at a level that allows him to hawk the catch point and bait quarterbacks into throws. If he grows here, he does have the necessary burst to undercut throws and generate more turnovers.
The structure of the offenses Black often faced did not yield many opportunities to get involved with fitting the run, but his heavy man-coverage focus often ran him out of the picture and prompted him to identify fun action slower due to his back being turned. He has sufficient tackling ability and wrap-up skills to help corral the runner and avoid conceding significant yardage after contact.
Further bolstering Black’s profile as a potential productive player is his special teams experience. He, as a second-year freshman, was a core special teamer who repped the punt coverage unit a lot — he posted 6 tackles that season on kick coverage players, and he has the juice and tackling ability to do the same for a pro team.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Black projects as a developmental starter for a press-man scheme at the NFL level. He has the transitional ability to play deeper zones but can shine with his aggressiveness and speed on the perimeter to disrupt timing and plaster with inside leverage down the field.
Grade: 71.50/100.00, Fifth Round Value
Big Board Rank: 155
Position Rank: CB20
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