Blue
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- Mar 19, 2019
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For Chinn — a Central Indiana native and 2016 graduate of Fishers High School — he possesses a rare, elite blend of size and athleticism.
Measuring in at 6'3", 221, with above-average arm length (31-2/8") and hand size (9-5/8"), and a wingspan of almost 6'6", he blew the Scouting Combine away here in Indianapolis back in February.
Chinn led all safeties with a broad jump of 138", tied for second with a 41" vertical, tied for third with a 4.45-second 40-yard dash and tied for fourth with 20 bench press reps.
People will naturally have some concerns about Chinn coming from a lower level of competition with the Salukis in the FCS. However, he did want you want to see those players do, and he played far above the competition.
In a potential switch to cornerback, he's already shown that he can play in man coverage. Dropping down from his safety spot, he can come down and cover guys from the slot. He flips his hips fluidly, runs with his man easily and isn't afraid to put hands on them to throw them off of their rhythm. His size, plus athleticism and ability to change direction could be a big asset as an outside corner.
Chinn has pretty good speed, and it shows on tape as he tracks receivers downfield from deep in the secondary. He has loads of burst and closing speed, and goes from 0 to 60 in an instant.
If you're looking for ball skills like you'd hope to have in a cornerback, Chinn's got you covered there as well. He had 31 pass breakups and 13 interceptions in his collegiate career, the latter of which he had at least three in each season. He also had six forced fumbles, two fumbles recovered and a kick block, showing that he can make plays in a multitude of ways.
"Getting the ball is definitely something I pride myself on in the back end and just taking the ball away," Chinn said about creating turnovers. "When I see the ball in the air, I'm a receiver at that point. I was a running back in high school, so I miss touching the ball. Any way I can touch it, I'm going to get it."
Regardless of if it's from the secondary or closer up into the box, Chinn shows pretty good instincts and sniffs out screens and flare routes and such. He had 5.5 tackles for loss as a result.
While he's not an overly aggressive hitter, he will lay the hard hit if it's there to be made. However, with his size, speed and striking ability, you'd love to see him come downhill and be more of a thumper on a more consistent basis.
Chinn is also a weapon as a pass rusher and was often able to get pressure when called on, although he only got home for the sack one time; it doesn't matter if he doesn't start blitzing until he's at least 10 yards away from the quarterback either, apparently.
The cornerback position isn't a foreign concept to Chinn, either, as he played it before in high school and also did it occasionally at Southern Illinois.
"I played in high school at corner. So when I got to SIU, I was a corner initially. Over the summer of my freshman year, they moved me over to safety," Chinn told reporters at the Combine. "I still have the corner mentality in a way, the corner footwork. The transition was not necessarily too difficult for me. Going up to safety, I had the size to play it. And then coming into my junior year, I was asked to go back to corner for a little bit. When I got back to corner, it was natural."
Now, just because Chinn could potentially be at his best as a corner in the NFL doesn't mean he has to be pigeon-holed into it. You use a guy like that as a weapon, wherever you see fit on a week-to-week basis. It could be his home position, but he could also be moved around in certain packages or matchups, which is actually something he admires in other players.
"There's a lot of guys I try to take some things from. Tyrann Mathieu, Derwin James, Jamal Adams. Those are all versatile guys. I model my game after those three," Chinn said before delving further into what he likes about Mathieu.
"His play-making, one. His versatility. You see him all around the field. You see him up high. You see him covering the slot. You see him outside at corner. At college, I did a lot of those things as well. He just has a natural play-making ability," Chinn continued about Mathieu. "You see him all over the field, playing safety, playing slot corner, playing outside corner. Linebacker at times. He blitzes. My past years, I did a lot of those things as well as far as blitzing, playing down in the box, playing up high, guarding the slot. And also just his play-making ability, his natural instincts. I feel like I have that as well."
But what have teams generally told Chinn about his potential role in the NFL? For the most part, it's been sticking at safety, although the more galaxy-brained teams will certainly look for a multitude of ways to use him.
"Talking to scouts here, they see me as a high safety, a box safety, all over the place," Chinn said.
In the end, Chinn just wants to show the NFL that he can dominate at whatever position he plays.
"With the direction the game is going, there's no really set position anymore, especially the secondary. Me being able to play up high, play close to the box, and play outside corner, it only helps," he said. "I just want to show that I can play anywhere on the defense. I can play up high safety, I can play box safety, I can play outside corner. Just anyway I can show that I stand out. I'm a football player."