Name: Shaun Wade

School: Ohio State University

Year: redshirt Junior

Position: Cornerback

Measurements: 6-foot-1, 194lbs

STATS:

General Info:

Shaun Wade was a five star recruit coming out of Jacksonville, Florida. While in high school at Trinity Christian Academy, his team won four straight Florida State Championships.

Wade was heavily recruited as the second best cornerback in the country for the 2017 class. He won the USA Today High School Football Player of the Year Award following his senior season. Wade would go on to commit and attend Ohio State University.

Positional Skills:

Wade had a real roller coaster of a ride with his play on the field during his time at Ohio State. When he got to the Buckeyes, they were loaded at cornerback, leading Wade towards playing time at the slot corner position. He grew into that role with Jeff Okudah and Damon Arnette (both first round picks in 2020) both playing on the outside.

Wade had his best year by far in 2019. He was a dog in the slot, getting physical right at the line of scrimmage and forcing the issue with the opposing slot receiver. He even came off the edge on occasion, racking up a couple of sacks in the process. He looked like a natural in the slot, thriving at shifting his hips in the snap of a finger and laying down some hard hits along the way.

Against the run, Wade used his athleticism and his mental processing of diagnosing what was coming to his advantage his first two years at Ohio State. He looked so smooth on tape as if what he was doing on the field to limit the opposition came effortlessly to him at times.

When Okudah and Arnette left for the draft, many thought Wade would go too. He opted to come back for the 2020 season and with it, came a move to the outside corner position. Wade struggled.

When watching tape, especially in the games against Indiana and Penn State, Wade would constantly bite towards the sideline, allowing the wide receiver he was matched up with on the outside to play some easy pitch and catch via the slant route with the quarterback. Wade looked like a raw talent on the outside, there were little glimmers of what was seen in 2018 and 2019, but he looked uncomfortable on tape a lot of the time.

The quick shifting hips were now hesitant, the ability to forecast where he needed to be was lagging behind and he was even getting beat over the top in some instances. A lot of it seemed to stem from being uncomfortable in playing on the outside and a drained confidence.

The hard hits and his ability to play at the point of the catch were sagging, especially against Penn State and Indiana. It’s difficult to say whether some “business decisions” were being made or not, but Wade did not look the same in 2020.

It wasn’t all awful for Wade. The tape shows the athleticism, the physicality, the speed is present but it might be better suited for slot corner or perhaps even strong safety at the next level in the NFL.

Fit with the Packers:

There’s no doubting that Shaun Wade’s draft stock has slipped. What was once deemed a no doubt first round pick entering the 2020 season, now rests as a likely day two selection.

The Packers need cornerbacks. No matter how you want to slice it up, that’s the reality. Jaire Alexander is a damn king, and one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Outside of that, envision a tumbleweed blowing through the desert as a comparison for how the Packers sit at present time with the cornerback spot outside of Jaire.

Kevin King is a free agent, Josh Jackson was a healthy scratch most of the second half of the season, Chandon Sullivan is a restricted free agent.

Shaun Wade projects as a slot corner, maybe a safety after what he showed (or, didn’t show) at the outside corner spot in 2020.

Are there better options at cornerback? Absolutely. But if Green Bay doesn’t go the route of cornerback in round one, Wade could be a sneaky good pick in day two.

He’s wildly gifted, super intelligent and really just needs to get that edge and confidence back that we saw in 2018 and 2019. Sure the Packers would love to add a true outside, lockdown cornerback. However, options could be limited on day two and selecting Wade would give the Packers someone who could be plugged in right away at the slot.

Green Bay could end up being super thin at corner, depending on how free agency unravels. They won’t be in the market for taking “projects” or guys that really need time to develop at cornerback. They’ll need plug and play dudes. Shaun Wade is a guy that can have an instant impact for the Packers in the slot, they just need to bring that dog back out in him.