NFL Draft
3/31/25
5 min read
Mello Dotson 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Kansas Jayhawks CB
Height: 5117 (verified)
Weight: 190lbs (verified)
Year: Redshirt Senior
Pro Comparison: Zack Sanchez
Scouting Overview
Kansas Jayhawks cornerback Mello Dotson is a challenging evaluation because he clearly has a knack for zone coverage and hawking the football. Dotson’s instincts in coverage seem to constantly put him in the right place at the right time, and he shows soft hands to convert opportunities when he gets his hands on the football.
That said, he appears to be a limited athlete who won’t translate attractively to man coverage, and his play in the secondary and ancillary elements of the position, such as run support and tackling consistency, will require added investment if he’s going to earn playing time.
2025 NFL Combine Results
| Position | Name | School | 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Split | Broad Jump | Vertical Jump | 3-Cone Drill | 20-Yard Shuttle | Bench Press |
| CB | Mello Dotson | Kansas | 4.59 | 1.53 | 123 | 34.5 |
Positives
- Has a tremendous track record of ball production
- Has good peripheral vision and a feel for keying quarterbacks and route breaks
- Bit by the big-play bug and seems to have a sense of jumping on opportunities
Negatives
- Does not have inspiring recovery or long speed to protect vertically
- Tackle challenges lack authority to cut down ball carriers without added yardage
- Dynamic bounce and change of direction skills from off coverage are modest
Background
Dotson is from Daytona Beach, FL, and played high school football for Mainland HS. There, he was a 3-star recruit (247 Sports) who collected interest from programs like Charlotte, Central Michigan, and Georgia State before ultimately committing to Kansas as a member of their 2020 recruiting class.
Dotson played in nine games during the Jayhawks 2020 season but retained his four years of college eligibility on account of the NCAA’s policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dotson stepped into the starting lineup the following year, logging eight starts in 12 contests for Kansas. He’s been a starter since, posting Honorable Mention All-Big 12 honors in 2023 before a breakout fifth-year campaign that saw him post five interceptions and achieve First Team All-Big 12 and Third Team All-American honors.
Dotson accepted an invitation to the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl to culminate his college career.
Tale Of The Tape
Dotson is an instinctive player with a knack for creating big plays in the passing game. His exit angles at the top of routes, his ability to pick up ball flight patterns, and his concentration at the catch point all stand out as winning qualities as a zone coverage corner. However, he does not possess an attractive skill set for more aggressive and isolated coverages.
The man coverage profile lacks the long speed to feel confident about leaving him on an island and charging him with playing turn-and-run coverage vertically down the hill. Dotson is much more impactful playing overtop in soft zones, using his well-developed eye and peripheral vision to leverage routes effectively and then take efficient angles to the catch point.
Dotson’s ball skills are complemented with requisite arm length. He has 31.5-inch arms and shows the ability to rake the hands of receivers at the catch point if he’s unable to undercut throws. That said, Dotson has undercut several and taken them back for house calls on the perimeter.
As a tackler, Dotson leaves a significant amount to be desired. He lacks striking power and wrap strength to secure ball carriers and receivers at first contact, often choosing to wrap up high and falling off or allowing ball carriers to twist and contort out of his grasp. For his career, he boasts nearly a 20 percent missed tackle rate — a number far too high for him to boost his short-term outlook with special teams ability or offer appeal as a last line of defense transition to safety.
Dotson’s help in run support will need investment as well. He’s currently too passive getting off of blocks and struggles to quickly process and step up on the perimeter to set hard edges. As a result, outside runs that have him on the front side can get gouged up the sideline.
The lack of special teams exposure will hurt Dotson’s 53-man outlook and playing time opportunities as well. He’s played less than 50 special teams snaps for his career that weren’t on field goal block, and all of those reps came exclusively on punt return.
The lack of punch power, block deconstruction ability, and poor tackling habits do not bode well.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Dotson projects as a fringe roster player in the NFL. His ball skills are obviously attractive, but his athletic profile should cause concern for living on the perimeter.
His lack of tackling violence and run support eliminate appeal for a transition to safety as well. Dotson will be best served as a project for a Cover-3-heavy zone scheme.
Grade: 68.50/100.00, Seventh Round Value
Big Board Rank: 257
Position Rank: CB29
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