Reed Blankenship NFL Draft 2022: Scouting Report for Middle Tennessee S

HEIGHT: 6’0"

WEIGHT: 196

POSITIVES

— Physical player with good build and strength.

— Plays with good awareness and instincts. Reacts with quick acceleration to what he sees in front of him.

— Strong player against the run. Uses hands and takes on blocks with aggression. Best when playing underneath coverage and in the box.

NEGATIVES

— Can struggle in space at times. Slow reactionary defense. Lack of athletic ability can show up with below-average flexibility and change of direction.

— Questionable tackling, can come in out of control; diving for tackles instead up running through.

2021 STATISTICS

110 TKLS, 10 TFL, 1 INT, 3 FR, 2 FF

NOTES

— Middle Tennessee State’s All-Time Leading Tackler

— 2021 First Team All-C-USA

OVERALL

Reed Blankenship is an active player with good size and physicality. He triggers quickly to what he sees, with a high motor and good sense of awareness. He has the ability to play at multiple levels but does best in the box, closer to the line of scrimmage. He has good instincts and flows well to the ball, along with good vision in underneath coverage.

A bit heavy footed in open space, he often relies on his short-area quickness and decent footwork. Blankenship has some tightness and lacks the top-end speed to carry receivers deep. With average ball skills, he does a good job playing through the reception point breaking forward, but he can be uncomfortable playing the ball downfield.

Blankenship plays with physical hands when taking on blocks. At times he does struggle to disengage, but he plays his leverage and sets the edge.Though he has shown to run through ball carriers when playing in the box, when tackling, he can get overextended and forced to dive at better athletes, leading to missed tackles.

Ultimately, Blankenship was a successful player at Middle Tennessee State, where he left as the leading tackler in school history. A player with good movement skills, he may be tapped out with his athletic ability. He’s a consistent player who is draftable with backup potential.

GRADE: 5.7 (7th Round- Backup)

PRO COMPARISON: Donovan Wilson

Written by B/R NFL Scout Cory Giddings