Chris
Wilcox.
Chris
Wilcox.
BYU· 6'2"· 195 lb
"A 6-foot-2, 195-pound BYU defensive back with length, press traits, and safety flex — a late Day-3 developmental boundary cornerback / big-nickel projection dependent on special-teams contribution."Pre-draft read
This defensive back aligns primarily in off-press at the top of the numbers, utilizing his length to reroute initial receiver releases rather than relying on technical footwork. He wins short-area engagements by extending his long arms into the receiver's chest, maintaining connection through the route stem, and playing the top-shoulder on vertical concepts.
Hips are heavy, and he exhibits a late plant-and-drive on comebacks and out-cuts, making him vulnerable to quicker slot separators. While ball skills are functional for throws he can see, production on the ball in traffic is limited. As a run defender, he tackles willingly on the perimeter, wrapping up rather than launching, and can fit alley runs from a two-high shell.
Best in a Cover-3 match scheme that prioritizes long, press-man boundary corners capable of rerouting receivers and leveraging the sideline.
Year 1 special teams ace and developmental press-man boundary corner with a ceiling as a situational big nickel or Cover-3 outside corner.
Pure zone or off-man systems that demand high-level transition quickness and recovery speed, as his heavy hips and lack of burst would be consistently exploited.
Wilcox is a length-and-traits developmental project whose immediate value is on special teams, with a specific, niche role as a press-man defender in a Cover-3 match scheme.
2017 BYU football: Chris Wilcox pass breakup during fall scrimmage
Game film cut-up of Chris Wilcox's BYU tape.
BYU Football | North Alabama
Game film cut-up of Chris Wilcox's BYU tape.
Chris Wilcox - 2016 BYU Football Signing Day
Game film cut-up of Chris Wilcox's BYU tape.
Wilcox was evaluated as a developmental defensive back, possessing the frame and arm length to press outside receivers and the athletic ability to project as a hybrid safety. His primary value was seen in his physical dimensions and ability to disrupt at the line of scrimmage, with a pathway to a roster spot via special teams. His pro-day agility numbers were considered pedestrian, impacting his overall draft stock among a deep cornerback class.
At BYU, Wilcox was a full-time starter, demonstrating steady but not splashy production. He consistently started without accumulating high interception or pass-breakup counts, which evaluators noted. Despite his usage, concerns centered on heavy transitions in coverage and inconsistent ball production at the catch point, rather than a specific scheme fit or competition level.
Consensus projected him as a Day 3 selection, viewed as a developmental flier based on his size and length. There was an acknowledged trade-off between his physical tools and his recovery quickness or coverage instincts. Ultimately, he was drafted at pick 251, a selection that aligned with his low-cost frame bet and a defined role ceiling.
- 01
Plays the top-shoulder
Utilizes his length to maintain connection through the route stem on vertical concepts.
- 02
Disrupts releases
Uses length over technical footwork to reroute initial receiver releases in off-press.
- 03
Perimeter run defense
Tackles willingly on the perimeter, wrapping up rather than launching into ball carriers.
- 04
Fits alley runs
Can effectively fit alley runs from a two-high shell, demonstrating versatility in run support.
- 05
Immediate special teams value
His size, length, and willingness make him an immediate candidate for gunner and jammer roles.
- 01
Heavy hips
Exhibits a late plant-and-drive on comebacks and out-cuts, making him vulnerable to quick slot separators.
- 02
Limited ball production
Ball skills are functional for throws he can see, but production in traffic is notably limited.
- 03
Pedestrian agility numbers
His pro-day agility numbers were considered pedestrian, impacting his overall draft stock significantly.
- 04
Inconsistent ball production
Consistently started without accumulating high interception or pass-breakup counts at BYU.
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | BYU | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | BYU | 10 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2018 | BYU | 7 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | BYU | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | BYU | 10 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | — | 37 | 87 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Late-round size/length corner whose NFL career lived on practice squads and special-teams reps rather than meaningful defensive snaps — the honest projected outcome.
Long-framed developmental Day-3 boundary corner whose length allowed a couple of meaningful spot-start seasons before role settled as depth and special-teams contributor.
Round-4 corner with athletic red flags who never carved out a defensive role and washed out of the league quickly — the downside outcome if the size bet does not translate.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Pre-draft context. Wilcox came out of BYU as a long-framed developmental defensive back, roughly 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, with the arm length and press profile that draft rooms have always valued at a late-Day-3 discount. He did not attend a full combine in the COVID-disrupted 2021 cycle, and pro-day agility numbers were pedestrian, which capped board placement. Production at BYU was steady but not splashy — full-time starter reps without a signature ball-production season — and the evaluation was clean: length and press traits on the plus side, heavy transitions and limited ball production on the flag side.
NFL fit — Buccaneers. Tampa Bay selected him at 251 as a developmental size/length flier behind a Super Bowl secondary that included Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean, and Sean Murphy-Bunting, with the immediate path to a roster spot running through special teams. He spent time on the active roster and practice squad in Tampa without cracking a meaningful defensive rotation, and moved through practice squads and camps elsewhere in the years that followed.
Retrospective. Wilcox has not established a sustained NFL role, which is a fair honest outcome for a late-seventh-round developmental size bet in a deep 2021 cornerback class. The evaluation flagged exactly what happened — length and press traits without the transition quickness or ball production to break onto a defensive rotation — and the career has landed as a bottom-of-roster / practice-squad churn rather than a rotational contributor.