STRENGTHS - Cyprien has very good height, length and bulk for the safety position. He demonstrates excellent playing speed in space, and uses his natural agility and explosiveness to effectively close on plays in front and to the boundary. He demonstrates excellent lateral quickness and can transition into chase mode effectively in pass coverage. He is extremely aggressive from off coverage, and does a nice job of consistently breaking in front of routes to gain inside positioning. He plays the ball in the air as if it were intended for him, showing the ability to pluck the ball at its highest point for interceptions. He does an excellent job of breaking down in space to consistently finish tackles in the open field.
WEAKNESSES - While Cyprien displays very good instincts in man coverage and when playing the run, the same cannot be said about his play in zone coverage or against play-action fakes. When asked to play cover three in games I graded he struggled to quickly identify deep routes in his area and was consequently at times a beat late moving toward the ball. When lined up in the box, he tended to freeze up when faced with PA, and too often allowed his man to get behind him. He also needs to stay low in his pedal, as he tends to get high and choppy, which can limit COD.
SUMMARY - Jonathan Cyprien was an exciting player to evaluate, as he has the size, athleticism and physicality to be a force on the back end at the next level. He is an aggressive player in the box that shows the ability to consistently wrap up and finish tackles as well as use his physicality to cover bigger TEs effectively. From off coverage he displays outstanding instincts, as he consistently diagnoses routes quickly and cuts off routes before his receiver can get out of his break. When the ball is in the air he attacks it like a receiver, and shows solid hands on balls outside of his frame. He needs to improve his feel for zone coverage from a deep alignment and do a better job of recovering against play-action passes, but he is a well-rounded player ready to make a big impact in the NFL. He will surely hear his name called and day one, and could be gone within the first 20 picks.