Sebastian Castro, SAF, Iowa
Size:
Height: 5112
Weight: 203
Arm: 30 ¾”
Hand: 10 ½”
Accomplishments:
All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (2023)
“Sebastian Castro is a highly skilled hybrid defensive back prospect with coverage matchup versatility. He plays with physicality and fluid movements to be an impactful three-down defender.”
Strengths:
Man coverage upside
Turnover creator
Physical collision player, plus-one run defender
Quick play recognition
Explosive downhill trigger in coverage and run game from depth
Concerns:
Lack of elite recovery speed
Overaggressiveness as a tackler
Shedding stalk blocks consistently
Older prospect
Film Analysis:
Sebastian Castro is a versatile defender who has aligned in both safety positions, nickel, and outside linebacker. He plays with an attitude and level of physicality that will inject energy into any defense. Castro is a knowledgeable and instinctive football player. His ability to align in multiple positions shows his football IQ and capability to retain knowledgeable information.
His instincts show up against the run routinely. Castro diagnoses run plays with great quickness and an explosive trigger downhill. He is a physical collision player who looks to inflict punishment as a tackler. He delivers jarring hits to ball-carriers and sets the tone for the defense. Castro can be described as a “heat-seeking” missile defending the run. He fits the run well from depth, leveraging the ball inside with outside contain. Castro’s closing burst is strong and paired with his physical tackling, he can knock the ball loose and force fumbles.
Castro is a matchup-versatile man-coverage defender. He will defend multiple positions effectively, like tight end, slot receiver, and running backs out of the backfield. He plays soft-press coverage using quick jamming to throw off the WR’s route timing. In off-coverage, Castro plays with good pre-snap leverage, shows patience to stay square, and breaks with anticipation to remain in the hip pocket of his opponent. Castro has soft hands to pair with his ball tracking and fluid movement to make plays on the football. He has ball-hawk abilities and upside as a prospect.
Castro is a reliable zone coverage defender who hinges on routes well. He knows how to play the halfway line between Hi-Lo passing concepts in his area. He drops to his zones with urgency and keeps his head on a swivel to locate threatening route concepts nearby. Castro has a quick click-and-close to trigger on underneath routes. He passes off routes to teammates well and displays the skill set to be a high-interception player by getting into throwing lanes.
Castro’s area for concern is his athleticism, as the testing numbers and film say it is good but not great. He lacks that next gear of recovery speed to catch up to explosive vertical slot receivers. As a result, he will need safety help over the top. Castro’s off-coverage technique placed him in compromising situations. He side-saddles while reading the WR, putting his blind spot in vulnerable positions. Receivers can attack his blind spot and force zone turns to get him out of phase. Due to the concerns about Castro's top-end speed, he may be a secondary player who is viewed as more of a zone-dependent player where he has help and can pass off receivers in the deeper portions of the field.
Castro projects as a starting hybrid nickel/safety where he can primarily play on the second level of a defense. Castro plays with a high motor that is infectious across the defense and also has natural instincts for the position. Castor will be an effective player in the NFL and has the opportunity to be one of the best defenders on a NFL defense and a very important piece to a scheme making a consistent impact.
Prospect Projection: Day 2 — Adequate Starter
Exposures: Ohio State (2024), Washington (2024), UCLA (2024), Michigan (2023), Utah State (2023), Michigan State (2023), Wisconsin (2023)
