Winston Guy: 5 Biggest Strengths and Weaknesses of 2012 NFL Draft Prospect

Kentucky defender Winston Guy has done it all in his career, all but played defensive lineman at least. Guy has played corner, safety and linebacker in his career with the Wildcats with the latter two serving essentially the same roles as he was boxed near the line of scrimmage much of the time. 

This versatility comes in handy for his draft stock, which likely consists of a late-round grade due to some of his limitations. He's likely to serve as a box defender, like he did in the latter part of his college years, in the NFL and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Despite the constant use of multiple receivers from NFL offenses, the defenses haven't changed their approach a significant amount as they are still playing one-high safety shells (Cover 1 and 3) at a high rate which makes Guy a potential contributor.

Strength: Gap Discipline

One of Guy's strong points in his game is his gap discipline. Gaps are alphabetized in the areas between each blocker, starting with the A gap between the center and guards and so on. Guy was often a C and D gap defender, which lies between the tackle and tight end (C) as well as the tight end and split receiver (D). 

This is important to note against the run, where gap integrity is most crucial. Guy does a good job of locking his arms out and keeping blockers away from his chest, which enables him to stay in the play.

Weakness: Lacks Foot Speed

One of the reasons why Guy is viewed as a box defender at the next level is because of his foot speed or lack thereof.

Although he changes directions well, he does not have the straight-line speed to run with vertical threats down the field.

Guy ran a 4.70 40-yard dash on a straight groin at the NFL combine, but would later run a 4.53 at his pro day at 90% health, per agent Greg Linton. Despite this, his game speed does not appear to match it  as there are numerous instances in which he is unable to run with ball-carriers as well as receivers. He's best suited to match up with tight ends in today's game.

Strength: Good Tackler

Because of how much work Guy does in the box, it is vital that he is a quality tackler because ball-carriers will be coming his way.

Fortunately, he's done a good job in the box by cleaning up the ball-carriers that he's had to deal with.

He does a good job of taking proper angles in setting the edge and wrapping up when taking down running backs. He's also proven to be a very heady player, showing the ability to identify run plays while going through his keys.

Weakness: Tall Backpedal

Guy has sometimes been vulnerable in coverage and one of the reasons is because of how tall he plays. 

When dropping in coverage, it's important that a defensive back is balanced in his backpedal with his shoulders over his feet, but this is not the case with Guy at times.

He raises his pad level high, consequently he is erect and has less balance. When this happens, it makes it more difficult for him to change directions and generate explosion vertically when attacking the ball in the air, consequently disallowing him to make a play. 

Despite it being a flaw in his game, it is able to be fixed through coaching through several drills.

Strength: Versatility

Last but not least is Guy's versatility, which is another one of his strengths.

This is one of the things he brings to an NFL team and despite likely being utilized mainly at safety, his past experiences at cornerback and linebacker will give him the opportunity to fill in at those positions if need be.

He also has contributed on special teams during his time at Kentucky, which raises his draft stock as noted previously.