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Washington Football Team: Analyzing 2021 third-round pick Benjamin St-Juste

By Ian Cummings

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - NOVEMBER 09: Defensive back Jordan Howden #23 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers and teammate defensive back Benjamin St-Juste #25 react against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the fourth quarter at TCFBank Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - NOVEMBER 09: Defensive back Jordan Howden #23 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers and teammate defensive back Benjamin St-Juste #25 react against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the fourth quarter at TCFBank Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – OCTOBER 12: Antoine Winfield Jr. #11 and Benjamin St-Juste #25 of the Minnesota Gophers pose for a photo after defeating the Nebraska Cornhuskers after the game at TCF Bank Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Gophers defeated the Cornhuskers 34-7. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – OCTOBER 12: Antoine Winfield Jr. #11 and Benjamin St-Juste #25 of the Minnesota Gophers pose for a photo after defeating the Nebraska Cornhuskers after the game at TCF Bank Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Gophers defeated the Cornhuskers 34-7. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Tape Breakdown

Benjamin St-Juste has an incredibly intriguing athletic profile. His height is the first thing that stands out; St-Juste is larger than most cornerbacks, with a long 6-foot-3, 202-pound frame. He’s also a fairly solid athlete for his size.

St-Juste’s 4.55 speed is decent, considering his size, as is his 34.5-inch vertical. But his agility scores make up for his average speed and explosiveness numbers. He has a torrid 6.63 three-cone time, which is better than 97.2% of cornerbacks ever to test in that drill. He also has arms that measure near 33 inches.

Translating these numbers onto the field, St-Juste should be able to change directions very smoothly, and he should have a wide disruption window. Those assumptions more or less hold true when turning on St-Juste’s tape.

St-Juste has fluid hips and fast feet, and he uses these to change direction with ease, both at the line of scrimmage and farther back. Against double-moves in particular, he shows impressive recovery capacity. This change-of-direction skill also allows St-Juste to adjust his tackling angle on the fly as ball carriers attempt to evade. This, combined with his length, makes him a relatively sure bet at the contact point.

In coverage, St-Juste is at his best when he can play close to the line and use his length to disrupt the receiver’s route stem. Even so, while his speed and burst aren’t collectively elite, he isn’t a liability there. He has enough speed to carry most receivers downfield, and he also has the sense of timing and proactivity to make plays at the catch point.

Beyond his coverage ability, St-Juste is a very good tackler. This aspect of his game surely won over Ron Rivera and company. As mentioned above, St-Juste has the short-range burst and the frame length to maintain a strong tackling radius, and he’s very good at wrapping up ball carriers and finishing plays.

Overall, St-Juste might not have the elite twitch or explosiveness to mirror quicker receivers in off-man coverage, but he’s a long, smart defender with the fluidity and natural physicality to provide some utility. I still think this was a modest reach, in terms of draft value. But St-Juste certainly deserved consideration in Round 3, especially after a strong Senior Bowl performance.

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