2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: John Saunders Jr, S, Ole Miss

Player Data

Name, Jersey #	John Saunders Jr., #5
School (Code)	University of Mississippi (MSUN)
DOB, Class Yr	10/24/2001, rSr
Height, Weight	6020, 210
40 Yd Dash	4.55e
Position/Depth	FS, Starter
Honors/Captainship	2023 All-SEC 2nd Team
Season Viewed (yr)	2023
Games Watched	ARUN, @ALAU, TXAM, @GAUN
Scout Name / Date	David Howard, 8/30/2024

Per Year Stats (Most Recent First)

2023	65 TKL, 2 TFL, 3 INT, 5 PBU
2022	52 TKL, .5 TFL, 2 INT, 10 PBU, 1 FF (Played at OHMI)
2021	13 TKL, .5 TFL, 3 INT (1TD), 4 PBU (Played at OHMI)
2020	2 TKL, 1 PBU (Played at OHMI)

Player Summary:

True SR who started all 13 games in 2023. He transferred from Miami (OH) where he played for 3 years appearing in 23 games. In 2023, the Ole Miss defensive scheme he played in was primarily a 3-3-5. He has elite height and very good weight with a lean athletic build and appears to have good arm length. He has good overall athletic ability including very good hip fluidity, agility, and COD; good speed, balance, and leaping ability; solid acceleration, lateral quickness, and explosiveness. Good overall pass coverage with an understanding of zone assignments, knowing where to be and who his assignment is during pre-snap diagnosis.  Solid jam in soft/off cover that doesn’t overpower, but does have an ability to move WR off stem. Good at mirroring receivers throughout routes, using good speed and very good agility to change directions and keep up with most receivers, providing good range and ball tracking ability. Good use of hands and body at the top of routes to move receivers off their desired path and not cause penalties. Very good catching ability to make INTs when he is in a position to make a play on the ball. Occasionally gets turned around with his back to the QB to lose sight of play development, and also can overpursue at times and be out of position to make a play on the ball. Almost always in a position to tackle the receiver when a catch is made to limit YAC, with good tackling ability and solid one-on-one strength to take down bigger players. Despite the lopsided score, he had a solid overall performance against Georgia, displaying good man coverage ability against 2nd round pick Ladd McConkey. Good overall run support as he shows discipline to fill running lanes and hold the edge when outside to force runners back inside, but does sometimes overpursue to leave him out of position. He displays solid overall RPO diagnoses and good anticipation on timing the snap to get into the backfield and make a play. Good block shedding ability against most run-blockers including OL, and solid burst to close in on runners. Very good use of angles and sidelines in pursuit and has good tackling technique, with adequate aggression and physicality in his tackling. Solid burst and good speed when pass rushing and very good ability to keep his eyes on the QB and time his jump to bat passes down. 

Scheme Fit:

Scheme flexible

Power Statement:

John Saunders Jr. has good overall pass coverage skills in zone and man as he is commonly asked to cover receivers in the slot and does so with routine success. He is good overall in run support from the Free Safety spot and has solid ability to fill in at Strong Safety if needed. Due to his range and cover skills should be viewed as a Free Safety at the next level. After receiving 2nd Team All-SEC honors in his Junior season, he should be receiving interest from NFL scouts to be drafted in 2025 with another year of experience and development.