Philadelphia Eagles scouting reports: Top 4 Big Ten cornerback prospects

This is the Philadelphia Eagles’ best option from the Big Ten at cornerback.

Unless you’re a huge Big Ten fan, you’ve probably missed a lot of Northwestern Wildcats football. That is unless you’re a native of Evanston, Illinois or you’re an alum of this fine school.

That would be a tragedy because it means you haven’t had much of an opportunity to familiarize yourselves with what Greg Newsome II has done over the course of what’s been a brilliant but brief 17-game run. Sure, that’s a very small sample size, but it’s left quite the impression.

Newsome earned First Team All-Big Ten honors in 2020. The numbers look like this. In what wound up being a shortened season, one in which this young man only played three games, this six-foot-one and 190-pound star tallied 12 total tackles, seven pass breakups, and a pick.

Again, that won’t wow too many people, but game recognizes game. When you’ve got that certain something, everyone can see it, and the talent level is clear with this young man. He has to learn not to grab as much as he has in the past. He’s been injured a lot, so there’s a possibility that will scare teams. Newsome is tough though when he’s available.

He plays hard, makes nice plays on the ball, and is someone a good defensive backs coach can mold into a steady outside corner. He’s listed as a corner, but if he doesn’t prove to have the long-distance speed that some believe he lacks, he could be someone that could be transitioned into the safety position at the pro level.