Carolina Panthers 2023 NFL Draft scouting report: Julius Brents
By Ricky Raines
Julius Brents scouting report
- Height: 6-foot-3
- Weight: 198 pounds
- Arms: 33.75 inches | Wingspan: 82.875 inches
- 40-yard dash: 4.53 seconds
- 2023 Combine CB rank: 12th
- 2022 PFF grade: 74.9
The first thing that stands out when watching Julius Brents play football is his size. Standing 6-foot-3 and nearly 200 pounds, he has elite size for the position. When you add in his ridiculously long arms and wingspan, it’s impossible not to see the physical appeal of the player right off the bat.
Brents began his collegiate career at the University of Iowa before transferring to Kansas State, where he played over 1,400 defensive snaps in his two seasons. In 2022, the cornerback allowed a passer rating of 57.7 and gave up a 46.2 percent completion rate to opponents while surrendering three touchdowns.
While Brents may not have the upper-echelon straight speed that many scouts and teams covet from a defensive back, he’s more than capable of staying with receivers and using his frame and physical advantages to disrupt routes and put himself in position to make plays on the ball.
He accumulated four interceptions and four passes defended in his first-team all-conference 2022 campaign, while only being targeted 52 times.
Brents has the benefit of a very long stride, along with disciplined balance and reaction burst, to compensate even more for the lack of straight-line speed. He’s probably best suited for success right away in zone coverages where he’s not necessarily tasked with shadowing a single receiver, but he has shown the athleticism and ability to become consistently effective in man coverage as well.
He’ll need to improve on his processing and identifying of plays at the next level. Double moves and misdirection seemed to give him a bit of trouble in games, and at times he would lose the ball when tracking down-field passes.
Those are coachable deficiencies that one would hope an NFL staff can hone in on and improve rather quickly. Especially considering the elite coaches that the Carolina Panthers managed to acquire this offseason.