Duane Brugler, from the Athletic, rated him #5 safety in draft. Projected him at about #49, so it wasnt a reach for him. Brugler's take:
BACKGROUND: A three-star athlete recruit out of high school, Juan Thornhill is one of the best athletes to ever come out of Altavista, leading the high school to five state championships in three seasons (three in basketball, two in football). He played quarterback on offense and posted 1,299 passing yards and 1,562 rushing yards as a senior, adding five interceptions as a safety on defense. On the basketball court, Thornhill recorded over 1,000 career points and made SportsCenter with his high-flying dunks. He received scholarship offers to play collegiate basketball, but he chose football. Ranked as an “athlete” recruit, he was the No. 22 player in the state and committed to Virginia (his first offer) as a safety prior to his junior season, subsequently shutting down his recruitment. He played both cornerback and safety over his collegiate career. Thornhill accepted his invitation to the 2019 Senior Bowl.
STRENGTHS: Long, rangy size...smooth shuffle and clean redirection in space...comfortable in man-to-man, using physicality and contact balance to attach and ride patterns...recognizes route concepts and has the diagnosis abilities of a former quarterback...flashes the reaction quickness to drive and undercut routes...above- average tracking, judgement and ball skills (his 13 career interceptions rank sixth-best in school history)...averaged 13.6 yards per interception return (13/177/0)...doesn’t lack for toughness as a tackler and takes proper pursuit angles...graduated with his bachelor’s degree (December 2018)...versatile experience with 36 starts spread between cornerback (22) and safety (14).
WEAKNESSES: Lanky and lacks a prototypical build for an NFL safety...lacks twitchy turn-and-run skills...not a burner...inconsistent take-on skills downhill...doesn’t back down as a tackler, but arrives hot and needs to improve his strike zone...overly patient with his reads and would like to see him take more chances...grabby downfield, attracting holding calls.
SUMMARY: A three-year starter at Virginia, Thornhill arrived in Charlottesville as a safety before moving outside to corner his sophomore and junior seasons. He moved to the “Sabre” strong safety position as a senior and led the team in tackles (98) and interceptions (6), playing everywhere from nickel to single-high to linebacker (showed he can just as easily press as he can play from deep positioning). Thornhill, who wears No. 21 for Sean Taylor, doesn’t play as fast as he timed, but he has a smooth lower body and doesn’t get off-balance in his movements. He has plus anticipation and ball skills, but will take the worst of hits when his tackling technique isn’t perfect. Overall, Thornhill is more smooth than sudden, which causes him to be a beat late at times, but his instincts, field range and roster versatility are strong selling points, projecting as a high alignment safety who can walk down and cover slot receivers.
I took out his stats because it was really hard to transfer the format.
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