Player: Lewis Cine

School: Georgia

Height and Weight: 6’2”, 199

Combine Results:

• 40: 4.37
• Bench: DNP
• Vertical Jump: 36.5”
• Broad Jump: 11’1”
• 3 Cone: DNP
• Other Notes: Cine was one of the standouts at his position at the combine. He did not compete in every test, but in what he did test he showed great athleticism. He came out and ran a 4.37 which was a huge shock for me, I expected him to be in the low 4.4’s. In the jumps, he tied for 5th best in the vert and had the best broad. You can definitely see that explosive power in his game tape.

Strengths: Physicality, man and zone coverage, versatility

Weaknesses: Tackles high, easily “baited”/impatient, looks slow at times, forgets to turn head

Projected Draft Day: Day 2

Player Comparison: Justin Simmons

Player Summary: Lewis Cine was known as one of the hardest hitting safeties in college football. When I think of hard hitting safeties, I think of box safeties like Derwin James. Interestingly enough, Cine seemed to play a majority of his snaps as either a single high or 2 high safety. That’s not to say Cine wasn’t rolled down as a box safety or used as a nickel back, but in the base package he seemed to be the primary deep safety.

As a safety known for his tackling and hard hits, Cine is also a pretty solid coverage safety. In cover 1 and cover 3 he can play the deep zone pretty comfortably. When he’s rolled down he looks super comfortable in both man and zone. Cine’s interceptions numbers are not going to wow you, but his PBU numbers might. Cine had 9 PBU’s this past season which I believe led the SEC. Cine is a big, lengthy safety who uses it to his advantage in his style of play. In man Cine doesn’t typically press at the line, but loves to get hands on and try to push you off your route. When playing in the box, Cine looks comfortable in zone, although I would argue does not have the best zone skills of the safeties in this year’s class.

My biggest issue with Cine is his tackling technique. Yes, he hits hard and pops the ball carrier, but he has a tendency to hit high way too much. It seemed like a majority of his tackles were up at the shoulder pads. This issue can obviously be fixed with some pro coaching, but if he continues to tackle that high at the pro level he could become a liability. Another thing I noticed about Cine is that he is so eager to lay a hit and make a play that he can get himself in trouble. He plays with more patience when playing as a deep safety, but when he is in the box I found a couple times in my film study where a misdirection play or a pump fake could draw Cine out of his assignment and leave a hole in the defense. It wasn’t an often occurrence, but it was worth noting. Another thing is that for a guy who ran 4.37, he looks a little slow getting to the play sometimes, and occasionally takes really bad angles. The final note I have is that much like a couple of the safeties I’ve scouted, if Cine gets beat in coverage and is playing from behind he can tend to forget to turn his head and that could result in penalty flags in the NFL. Overall, Cine could step in day one and be a starter for a team, but also has a ton of upside that could be unlocked with the right coaching and scheme.

I compared Cine to Justin Simmons because they are similar in size, but also because I feel like Cine could live up to the play of Justin Simmons. Both guys are able to do a little bit of everything, but most importantly are probably better deep safeties than you would think. Much like Simmons, I think Cine enters the league a little more on the raw side, and could develop into a great safety in the league.