Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas
Size:
Height: 5106
Weight: 194
Arm: 29 ⅝”
Hand: 9 ½”
Accomplishments:
Jim Thorpe Award winner (2024) • First-Team All-America (2024) • First-Team All-SEC (2024) • Second-Team All-Big 12 (2023) • Jim Thorpe Award Semifinalist (2023) • All-Big 12 Honorable Mention (2022)
“Jahdae Barron is a highly instinctual defensive back who makes plays all over the field with great effort and explosive movements.”
Strengths:
Click-and-close
Versatility
Football IQ
Effort
Football magnet
Concerns:
Tackling
Deep recovery speed
Eagerness
Film Analysis:
Playing his grade school football at Pflugerville Connally High School in Austin, Texas, Barron earned a four-star ranking and was among the best defensive backs in Texas. As a senior at Connally, he played wide receiver, defensive back, and punt returner. He had 41 receptions for 673 yards and six touchdowns. He recorded 43 tackles, four pass breakups, and three interceptions on defense. He also returned one punt for a touchdown. He committed to Texas in 2020 and played a five-year career as a Longhorn, appearing in 57 games, starting in 38. He compiled 226 tackles (136 solo), 21 tackles for loss, two sacks, eight interceptions, and 24 passes defensed throughout his college career.
Barron is a ball of energy whenever he steps on the field for Texas. He played the ‘STAR’ defensive role (a defensive back/ linebacker hybrid) for Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense in 2023 but played the 2024 season predominantly as an outside corner. As the ultimate chess piece, Barron covers receivers, tight ends, and running backs, whatever the situation calls for. He does his best work off coverage, getting eyes on route concepts and the quarterback, putting his football IQ to work. Physical press-man defense won’t be his calling card, but he has the hip fluidity and short-area burst to play in a soft press and react to the receiver's movements.
With his versatility, Barron can play safety, nickel, and linebacker, and he has the mental capacity to know his responsibilities in any situation. Unafraid to trigger downhill against the run or boundary screens, Barron’s click-and-close is incredibly sudden. He can get underneath blocks with accessible hip sink and ankle flexion to get after ball carriers; he is also willing to fight through blocks. He has an excellent feel for zone coverage and watching what the quarterback is doing to make plays on the football. In everything Barron does, he gives it top effort and offers special teams flexibility.
Barron will drop his head too often and attack the feet/ankles of ball carriers, which creates missed tackles and extra yards for the offense. His eagerness to make plays also leaves him open to manipulation from receivers who can sell or play with speed. Adding a little patience to his game will help a great deal. In man coverage, Barron will grab receivers at the top of the route to prevent them from pulling away due to his lack of recovery speed. Keeping his feet moving and mirroring to stay on top of receivers can prevent the tendency to grab.
Barron impacts the defense every time he’s on the field through his effort, play style, and leadership. This is a guy a defense wants on the field at all times, and I think he projects best as a starting outside Cover 2/4 corner on early downs who can kick inside to nickel when the defense flexes out of base. His ability to find the football is unmatched in this class.
Prospect Projection: Day 1 — Pro Bowl Caliber
Written By: Daniel Harms
Exposures: Ohio State (2025), Clemson (2024), Texas A&M (2024), Michigan (2024), Arkansas (2024), Wyoming (2023), Alabama (2023), Houston (2023), Oklahoma State (2023)
