Allow me to just kick things off by saying this: I was wrong about this guy. Not entirely, 100-percent, mind-blowingly wrong; but definitely missguided. I have very publicly maintained that I did not think South Carolina’s D.J. Swearinger could play free safety at the NFL level. But now, after really digging into a good chunk of footage; I believe that Swearinger could indeed play the position in the right defensive scheme at the next level. So with that in mind, let’s take a gander at what I saw and how it changed my mind.
| Ht | Wt | Class | Ranking | Projection |
| 5'10" | 208 | Senior | 83 | Second Round |
Strengths
Versatility: Swearinger is great against the run, between the hashes as well as outside. He’s also exceptional in zone coverage, excels at blitzing and can hold his own in man coverage. South Carolina used Swearinger all over the field with great success, which has molded him into a future swiss-army knife defensive back in the NFL.
High Motor: Swearinger is always flying around the field at 100 mph. He never takes a play off or slows down, and is an explosive downhill player.
Instincts: Swearinger has a great knack for knowing where the ball is and takes good lines to the carrier on a consistent basis. He can undercut a route at the last-possible second to get an interception.
Weaknesses
Size: Swearinger is seriously powerful, but still very undersized for your prototypical safety in the NFL. At 5’10” some will consider him too small to play free safety, but at 208 lbs he is sturdy.
Over Eager/Aggressiveness: A high motor is great, but Swearinger is often too physical with receivers, continuing you push and shove after the whistle. He also talks way too much smack to not get into shoving matches at the NFL level and will be penalized a lot if he can’t tone it down.
Bottom Line
While his flat-out speed isn’t the greatest ever, nor are his man coverage skills; Swearingers’ versatility, sturdy build, strength and high-motor should be enough for him to develop into a Pro-Bowl caliber free safety in the NFL. If you don’t think it can be done, just look at the Seattle Seahawks’ Earl Thomas as an example of a small, but highly-successful free safety. Hopefully Swearinger can reign in the aggressiveness a bit to avoid being pegged as a dirty player.