Caden
Sterns.
Caden
Sterns.
Texas· 5'11"· 202 lb· 4.41s 40
"A 5-11⅜, 202-pound Texas safety with elite testing (4.41, 42" vert, 6.96 3-cone, 9.65 RAS) and 2018 freshman ball production — a Round-4 rangy free safety projection with medical and consistency flags."Pre-draft read
Sterns projects as a rangy single-high free safety. His separator is straight-line range, covering the deep middle with easy speed and a smooth backpedal-to-turn transition. He reads the quarterback's shoulder to break on posts, digs, and seams before the throw. In two-high shells, he takes clean angles to the deep half, showing plus ball skills at the catch point. Underneath he is functional in zone with sound pattern reads, but tighter windows expose average recovery quickness when opening his hips early.
As a run defender, he is willing; he arrives, wraps, and finishes on ballcarriers his size. However, his frame limits him against pulling guards and larger backs, and his tackling form gets high when cutting rather than squaring up. In the box or slot, he is a coverage-first piece, not a matchup enforcer.
This prospect best fits a Cover-2 or Cover-3 read-and-react defensive scheme that values a rangy single-high safety and plays with four defensive linemen to reduce opportunities for run fits in the box.
Year 1 role as a developmental deep third and special teamer, with the ceiling of a starting single-high free safety with plus ball skills in his second or third year.
He would be a poor fit in a two-high quarters scheme that asks its safeties to fill run gaps aggressively; his frame is not built to hold up in an NFC North run game.
Sterns is a rangy, high-IQ free safety with elite athletic traits who must improve his tackling form and hold up physically to reach his ceiling as a deep-half playmaker.
Texas S Caden Sterns College Highlights | 2021 NFL Draft
Team-produced college highlight reel covering his three years at Texas.
Caden Sterns 2018 Freshman Highlights
Freshman All-American season at Texas featuring the four-interception breakout.
Caden Sterns pick-six on Thursday Night Football
Rookie-season interception return showing deep range and ball skills.
Sterns projects as a rangy, twitchy, high-IQ free safety who can cover the deep middle. His ability to read quarterbacks and break on routes from a single-high or two-high shell makes him a valuable asset for teams prioritizing deep coverage and ball skills, supported by a 4.41 forty-yard dash. A team drafting him is buying a deep safety who can roam the secondary and impact passing lanes.
He arrived at Texas as a five-star recruit in 2018, starting as a true freshman and posting four interceptions and eight pass breakups. While his production did not match his debut in subsequent seasons, his usage included alignments as a free safety, split-half safety, and dime nickel, demonstrating coverage versatility. He did have a knee scope in 2020 which limited some game reps, impacting his junior season.
The main concerns revolved around inconsistent tackling angles, the medical file that included a 2020 knee scope, and a slighter frame that limited his effectiveness against stronger opponents in the run game. Despite these flags, his athletic upside and deep coverage ability made him a worthwhile selection. Evaluators projected him as a Day-3 free-safety-only prospect, and he was drafted by Denver at pick 152.
- 01
Deep range
His 4.41 forty time translates to the tape, allowing him to cover the deep middle and rotate into single-high shells without losing routes.
- 02
Ball skills
Nine career interceptions and 12 pass breakups complement a 42-inch vertical, giving him legitimate high-point ability at the catch.
- 03
Football IQ
As a multi-year starter, he consistently sorted out post-snap route distributions and communicated adjustments within the Big 12 defense.
- 04
Athletic testing
A Pro Day with a 4.41 forty, 42-inch vertical, and 9.65 RAS provided a top-tier safety workout that anchors his projection.
- 05
Coverage versatility
He aligned at free safety, split-half safety, and dime nickel, demonstrating range and processing for Cover-3 and Cover-4 rotations.
- 01
Production regression
He did not repeat his freshman spike of 4 INT and 8 PBU; junior tape showed fewer splash plays and inconsistent trigger on shorter routes.
- 02
Tackling form
He is a willing but high-cut tackler, missing through contact when leaving his feet; his 202-pound frame limits his contact balance.
- 03
Medical file
A knee scope during the 2020 season cost him game reps, required medical rechecks, and presented a long-term durability concern for evaluators.
- 04
Man-coverage ceiling
He is adequate but not sticky when covering tight ends or slot receivers, often opening his hips early and leaning on the sideline.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.41sp50
- Vertical
- 42inp50
- Broad jump
- 128inp50
- Three-cone
- 6.96sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.13sp50
- Bench
- 14repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Texas | 13 | 62 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 2019 | Texas | 9 | 57 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | Texas | 7 | 52 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Career | — | 29 | 171 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Twitchy, deep-third, ball-hawk free safety with tackling questions — a match for Sterns' range plus play-strength limitations.
In-house dream: rangy centerfielder with elite ball skills who reads the QB and lives on interceptions. Testing profile is in the neighborhood.
Rotational sub-package deep safety and special-teams contributor if the tackling issues never clean up and durability turns.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Solid role hit. Rotational safety across four seasons in Denver, 3 INTs in 2022. Blood-clot / cardiac issues cut his career in 2023-24. Retired at 26 in 2025.
Pre-draft context. Sterns entered Texas as a five-star centerpiece of the 2018 class, started as a true freshman, and posted four interceptions and eight pass breakups in a Freshman All-American season. The trajectory flattened after that: production dipped as a sophomore, a 2020 knee scope cost him time, and evaluators wanted more consistency as a downhill tackler. He recentered his stock at Texas' Pro Day with a full workout — 5-11⅝, 202 pounds, 4.41 forty, 42-inch vertical, 128-inch broad, 6.96 three-cone, 4.13 short shuttle, 14 bench reps — good for a 9.65 RAS at safety and locking in a Day-3 grade.
NFL fit — Denver Broncos. The organization selected him at 152 as a developmental deep safety behind Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson, playing within a Fangio-style two-high defensive scheme. He carved out a rotational role as a rookie with 3 interceptions across 15 games, including a pick-six on Thursday Night Football, and looked like a hit on the Day-3 board. Injuries then rewrote the story: a hip injury in 2022, a torn patellar tendon and pectoral in 2023, and repeated setbacks kept him off the field.
Retrospective. Sterns announced his retirement in the summer of 2024 at 24 years old, citing the cumulative injury toll, and closed out his career with 62 tackles, 4 interceptions, and 8 pass breakups in 29 games. In retrospect the Round-5 pick was a real value hit for a single season — an above-slot rookie contributor — before the medical file evaluators had flagged came due. As a scouting outcome it reads as a fair Day-3 gamble whose reward window closed early.