Carrington Valentine selected by Green Bay Packers in 7th round of the 2023 NFL Draft
Another former Kentucky football has been hired. With the No. 232 pick in the 7th round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers select Carrington Valentine, cornerback from Kentucky.
Valentine, a Cincinnati native, is the fifth former Kentucky defensive back drafted since 2019. The year prior Kentucky had zero NFL Draft picks. There have now been multiple Mark Stoops players selected in five straight NFL Drafts.
Carrington Valentine Kentucky Career Highlights
It was a tale of two seasons as a starter for Carrington Valentine. He switched to cornerback later in his career at Cincinnati Moeller. He was still learning the nuances of the position when Brad White made him a starter on the boundary as a true sophomore in 2021.
Valentine had his fair share of ups and downs, thanks to a heavy workload. He played a team-high 777 snaps. Often times he was picked on, particularly against Tennessee, but about halfway through the season things clicked. The young star’s confidence reignited, he was prepared for an exceptional true junior season in 2022. This fall he tallied 48 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 11 passes defended, including his first career interception while defending a former teammate, Bryce Oliver of Youngstown State.
Adam Luckett’s NFL Scouting Report
Carrington Valentine was a two-year starter at boundary quarterback in Kentucky’s zone-heavy scheme. The Wildcats play a heavy dose of Cover 3 asking their cornerbacks to cover a deep third and be force players into the flat depending on coverage structure. There are not a ton of man reps on tape.
When evaluating Valentine for the next level, it seems clear that the Kentucky product will likely be a press-man corner in professional football. That makes this evaluation somewhat tricky.
Valentine owns good speed, explosive athleticism, and length at the cornerback position. Those traits allow him to recover quickly and make plays on the football in isolation situations. There is refinement needed in ball skills shown by the lack of interceptions and play strength must be improved. However, the traits are worth betting on.
The Kentucky product is still just scratching the surface as a player, but his man coverage potential and zone coverage experience along with high-end athleticism should make him attractive to NFL organizations.
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