KSR NFL Draft Profile: Carrington Valentine

The 2023 NFL Draft is less than one week away. Professional football organizations are hosting final visits and making the final adjustments to their big board rankings. Personnel departments are focusing on the last weekend in April for the three-day mega-event in Kansas City that will include 259 picks over seven rounds.

For the Kentucky football program, the Wildcats might not have much action in the middle of the draft, but the program will get a ton of attention in the opening round. There are a handful of players that could end up being draft selections this month. KSR is here to get you ready after being there every step of the way — combine, pro day — during the pre-draft process.

Before KSR’s yearly draft guide publishes on draft week, we’ll be dropping profiles on all of the expected Kentucky draft picks in preparation for the event. Next up is a three-and-done defensive back from the class of 2020.

KSR NFL Draft Profile: Will Levis

KSR NFL Draft Profile: Chris Rodriguez Jr.

Player: Carrington Valentine

• Height: 5115
• Weight: 193
• Age: 21.6
• Arm: 32 1/4 inches
• Wingspan: 6-foot-3
• Hand: 9 1/4 inches
• 40-Yard Dash: 4.44
• 10-Yard Split: 1.52
• Short Shuttle: 4.15
• Vertical: 39 inches
• Broad Jump: 10-8
• Bench: 9 reps

Per Relative Athletic Score, Carrington Valentine checks off some big trait boxes at the cornerback position. The junior has adequate size, but long arms help make up for that. Valentine is explosive with outstanding vertical and broad jump numbers along with strong times in multiple speed splits (10, 20, and 40 yards). The ability to change direction is probably the weakest athleticism area, but even the short shuttle was not a bad score.

The testing data tells us that there is real upside with this cornerback prospect who won’t turn 22 years old until Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season.

Production

• 2020: 10 games, 1 start, 142 snaps, 10 tackles, 1 pass defended (1 PBU), 1 forced fumble, 59.7 PFF grade, 61.5% catch rate on 13 targets, 10.3 yards per reception allowed
• 2021: 13 games, 12 starts, 777 snaps, 61 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 5 passes defended (5 PBU), 56.2 PFF grade, 66.2% catch rate on 74 targets, 11.2 yards per reception allowed
• 2022: 12 games, 12 starts, 726 snaps, 48 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 11 passes defended (10 PBU, 1 INT), 66.0 PFF grade, 55.4% catch rate on 65 targets, 13.9 yards per reception allowed
• Career: 35 games, 25 starts, 1,645 snaps, 119 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 17 passes defended (1 INT), 1 forced fumble

Background

Carrington Valentine was the second-lowest ranked recruit in Kentucky’s top-25 recruiting class during the 2020 recruiting cycle. The Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller prospect was a mid three-star recruit who did not begin playing defensive back until his senior year of high school. However, that did not stop Power Five programs from recruiting him.

Valentine took official visits to Boston College, Kentucky, and Pittsburgh. Cincinnati and multiple Big Ten schools also showed interest in the cornerback who was a standout basketball player in high school. Vince Marrow was able to lock up a commitment in July before Valentine’s senior year at Moeller.

COMMITTED!!!! pic.twitter.com/d4Ahpm57ux

— Carrington Valentine (@run_carri7) July 24, 2019

Valentine would make his way onto the Dean’s List at the University of Kentucky while playing in 10 games during the COVID-19 2020 season that featured only SEC opponents. In the Gator Bowl win over ranked NC State, Valentine earned his first start playing 58 snaps and finishing the contest with six tackles and one forced fumble.

Valentine would turn into a player that Kentucky rarely took off the field.

As a sophomore, Valentine became Kentucky’s starter at boundary cornerback and had an up-and-down campaign without much ball production. Opposing offenses attacked Kentucky’s cornerbacks in the passing game leading to brutal team defense performances against Georgia, Mississippi State, and Tennessee in the middle of the 2021 season.

However, development occurred in the offseason. Valentine responded in 2022 by putting together his best season in college that provided him some more man coverage snaps. The junior had some bright moments playing press coverage coming up with big plays against Florida and Louisville in the fourth quarter. Quarterbacks continued to attack Valentine, but the efficiency took a big hit as Valentine played with more physicality at the top of routes and won his fair share of battles.

Shortly after the regular season ended, Carrington Valentine surprisingly opted out of the Music City Bowl and entered the 2023 NFL Draft despite having two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Scouting Report

Carrington Valentine was a two-year starter at boundary quarterback in Kentucky’s zone-heavy scheme. The Wildcats play a heavy dose of Cover 3 asking their cornerbacks to cover a deep third and be force players into the flat depending on coverage structure. There are not a ton of man reps on tape.

When evaluating Valentine for the next level, it seems clear that the Kentucky product will likely be a press-man corner in professional football. That makes this evaluation somewhat tricky.

Valentine owns good speed, explosive athleticism, and length at the cornerback position. Those traits allow him to recover quickly and make plays on the football in isolation situations. There is refinement needed in ball skills shown by the lack of interceptions and play strength must be improved. However, the traits are worth betting on.

The Kentucky product is still just scratching the surface as a player, but his man coverage potential and zone coverage experience along with high-end athleticism should make him attractive to NFL organizations.

Kentucky CB Carrington Valentine came up big on this play! pic.twitter.com/ghDzwh05Ax

— Robert Cardona (@CARDONAFAM29) September 12, 2022

Draft Window

• Dane Brugler (The Athletic): No. 28 cornerback (6th round grade)
• ESPN: No. 222 overall (No. 29 cornerback)

Carrington Valentine has some intriguing athletic traits at cornerback with only one truly good season of tape. Even in the 2022 season, there were some rough moments (Tennessee and Vanderbilt) when the corner gave up some explosive completions and the lack of ball skills could be an evaluation red flag for some teams. However, this is a young player with clear upside.

These are the kinds of prospects drafted late on day three.

Valentine is still relatively new to the cornerback position and showed some year-to-year growth in college football. If that continues the next couple of seasons in his early 20s, the Kentucky product can find his way into a secondary rotation in the NFL.

Carrington Valentine might find it difficult to carve out a role as a rookie in 2023 and could be headed for some time spent on the practice squad, but some front office will bet on his traits. With continued development, the likely late round pick could find a nice home in the NFL.