BJ Adams Backing Up Talk With Great Senior Bowl Play

The final day of practice leading into the Senior Bowl game means red zone work for the players. During normal one-on-ones, there’s more space for wide receivers to operate, and it puts some of the bigger, more physical corners at more of a disadvantage than these already are. However, in the red zone, that all changes. 

University of Central Florida cornerback BJ Adams took full advantage of the red zone work and capped off a good week with a great practice. At 6-foot-1 and 186 pounds with 32-inch arms, Adams is a physical presence on the outside and wants to use his length to get after receivers and make plays on the football at the catch point. He got his wish on day three of practice.

Adams lines up with inside leverage shade and is patient during Jalen Royals’ release, waiting for the stem. As Royals jabs inside to release outside, Adams jabs with his inside hand, playing with his length and slowing down the stem. With his arm extended, Adams flips his hips and stays on top of Royals through his stem and breakpoint, getting physical with Royals throughout his route. When the breakpoint comes around, Adams has run the route for Royals, putting him in a great position to make an interception. Adams turns his head as Royals locates the football and makes the play. All Royals can do is try and break it up, but Adams ends up out of bounds anyway.

Adams had another pass breakup to end the practice in the “compete” portion against Florida WR Chimere Dike. The coaches pitted Florida rival school players against each other, and Adams came out on top. After the rep, Adams talked at Dike for a good, long minute. He has the mentality of one of the best defenders every time he steps on the field. The clip above was an interception against Arkansas WR Isaac TeSlaa, where he put himself in a great position down the field with speed and route recognition and made the play. He talked to anyone who would listen after he made the catch.

Adams put a bow on an impressive week of practice by showcasing his strengths as a red zone defender with physicality and route recognition against wide receivers. Still, his size and length would also match up well against tight ends in the NFL. One thing is certain: Adams won’t back down from any challenge he lines up across from, and he’ll let everyone know it, too. This week showed that he’ll make the plays to back it up.