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Fortune Teller: Jamel Dean ready to step up as No. 1 Auburn corner

Today’s Fortune Teller focuses on Jamel Dean, the corner looking to step up as Auburn’s No. 1 defender and replace Carlton Davis

Every Monday and Thursday, Plainsman sports staffers Zach Tantillo and Nathan King will analyze an Auburn football player who has a chance to make a sizable impact on the team next season.

Today’s Fortune Teller focuses on Jamel Dean, the corner looking to step up as Auburn’s No. 1 defender and replace Carlton Davis.


Carlton Davis’ decision to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft was one that hurt the Tiger faithful.

Davis’ ability to remain on an island against the best receivers game in and game out made him one of the best man-coverage corners in the country. Some of the reasons why Davis was so dominating against other teams’ best receivers was because of his combination of height, weight, length and physicality.

At 6-foot-1 with a 79.375 wingspan, Davis used his size and long arms to physically over-power almost any receiver to line up across from him – even drawing Richard Sherman comparisons. Obviously, any player that garners comparisons to one of the best corners in the NFL leaves some pretty big shoes to fill once he goes.

But, with every door closed, another one opens, and Jamel Dean’s door just flung right on open.

Formerly signed to play at Ohio State before transferring to Auburn, Dean has struggled to stay on the field since arriving on The Plains until last season.

Dean finally proved he was an impact player on the defense in 2017, being second on the team with eight pass deflections – just trailing behind Carlton Davis – and having his hand in the mix in starting 11 games at corner.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 208 pounds, Dean’s build is similar to Davis’ (6-foot-1, 206 pounds) and has the size to be the same physical presence on the outside. Dean also has the speed and route mirroring skills to provide tight coverage with elite receivers in open space.

The physical gifts that Dean possesses are blatant for everyone to see, including Pro Football Focus, which had Dean rated highest on the team with an 87.2 (ratings above 85 are considered NFL ready). To give some kind of perspective on the significance to that rating, Dean will be tied for fourth-highest rated defensive back in college football and tied for highest-rated defensive back in the SEC in 2018.

Dean does have one question mark on his resume and that is his lack of experience. He only has last season on his resume defending the No. 2 receivers but has very limited experience lining up against the top guys. His inexperience can be blamed on the transfer rule and the unfortunate knee injury that sidelined him for an entire season in 2016.

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PREDICTION

The Davis-led secondary churned out the seventh-ranked pass defense in 2017 and has steadily increased from a mockery with Davis on the field.

The time has come for Jamel Dean to step up and into the role as the lockdown corner that Davis has kept for the past three seasons. Dean’s readiness to become the lead guy in a secondary that will be a mixture of battle-tested veterans and up-and-coming future stars will be the driving force to see if Auburn can still have the same no-fly-zone mentality that it had with Davis. 


Catch up on previous installments of the Fortune Teller series:


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