Darrin Simmons and Lou Anarumo are both going to like this kid
Daijahn Anthony was a bit of a tourist during his college career. He spent time at D2 Shepherd and Liberty before moving on to Ole Miss.
In just one season in Oxford, Anthony showed enough for the Bengals to make in a seventh-round NFL Draft pick.
Let’s take a look at what they saw.
Meet Daijahn Anthony pic.twitter.com/Y6Ktk3Y6By
— Matt (@CoachMinich) May 29, 2024
Anthony is perhaps best known for eating Jayden Daniels’ soul in the clip above.
Notice how Anthony rolls his hips through on content, allowing him to throw the much larger Daniels back and separate him from the ball.
Cue the Leonardo DiCaprio Django Unchained meme because, after this hit, he had my attention.
Them: “We can hit the seam in Cover 2”
Daijahn Anthony: pic.twitter.com/N0ztP1hy1m
— Matt (@CoachMinich) May 29, 2024
A common way of bearing covering two is to have vertical routes on the outside to threaten the safeties, then bend a route from the slot receiver or tight end into the middle of the field.
That’s what the offense does here, but both Anthony and his fellow safety read and react quickly, closing in on the receiver like a vice. Anthony comes in from the bottom side of the screen and not only knocks the ball away but delivers such a powerful hit that both the would-be-ball-catcher and his own teammate are sent flying backward.
Daijahn Anthony GL breakup pic.twitter.com/oeJ6WLT9IN
— Matt (@CoachMinich) May 29, 2024
Anthony is number 3, the second player in blue from the top of the screen.
In this clip, Anthony lines up in the slot but ends up covering the slant from the outside receiver. Anthony matches up with the route quickly, getting right on the receiver’s hip and reaching in front of the receiver with his outside hand to swat the ball away.
This is an excellent technique and well executed in a clutch situation, preventing the touchdown.
The WRs gesture at the end says it all lol
Great play by Daijahn Anthony pic.twitter.com/ZhqkebzfPF
— Matt (@CoachMinich) May 29, 2024
Perhaps the most underrated aspect of the passing game is the mental warfare between defensive backs and receivers.
This clip shows Anthony’s tenacity and ability to get under his opponent’s skin. He is all over this route and fights to get his hand on the ball and slap it away. The receiver looks defeated as he walks back.
Anthony is a physical, versatile defensive back who will push for a role on the Bengals special teams this fall and could develop into a key contributor on defense later on.