James
Wiggins.
James
Wiggins.
Cincinnati· 5'11"· 209 lb· 4.40s 40
"A 5'11"/209 Cincinnati safety with elite pro-day testing (4.40, 38" vert, 9.53 RAS) but a lost 2019 ACL and thin 2020 tape — a late Day-3 developmental deep safety and core special-teamer bet."Pre-draft read
This rangy single-high safety wins with foot speed, burst on plant-and-drive actions, and clean angles from any two-high shell, particularly on switch verticals to the far hash. He diagnoses offensive intent from depth by reading the quarterback's hips and top hand, displaying closing speed evident on undercuts from the middle of the field.
He triggers downhill aggressively against the run, showing plus click-and-close ability into the alley, though sometimes leaving his feet prematurely. Slot coverage remains a projection; his hips are functional but not sudden, leading to early separation on option routes. While his ball skills flash when driving on throws, he tends to body-catch rather than attack the ball, letting interceptable passes slip through his frame.
Cover-2/Cover-4 matchup zone, with a mix of two-high and single-high shells and an aggressive front against the run.
Rotational two-high safety and core special teamer Year 1, with a ceiling as an every-down free safety in a zone-heavy scheme.
Man-heavy schemes that force him into frequent slot coverage and isolate him in one-on-one matchups against quick twitch receivers.
Wiggins's elite athletic traits and impressive range make him a strong fit for a defense that values deep safety play and run support from the secondary, though his recovery from an ACL injury and limited slot coverage experience temper expectations.
Cincinnati Safety James Wiggins Highlights ⬛️🟥 ᴴᴰ
Game film cut-up of James Wiggins's Cincinnati tape.
James Wiggins Cincinnati S Career Highlights
Game film cut-up of James Wiggins's Cincinnati tape.
James Wiggins
Game film cut-up of James Wiggins's Cincinnati tape.
This player projects as a rotational two-high free safety and gunner, providing depth and special teams value. His profile is built on elite athletic testing numbers that suggest high-end physical traits, despite a more limited on-field sample size. Teams would acquire a player with significant straight-line speed and explosive lower-body power.
His college career was marked by a breakout 2018 season, where he recorded four interceptions and earned all-conference honors from a deep safety role. However, a torn ACL in August 2019 led to him missing the entire junior season, and upon his return in 2020, he saw a reduced role as a rotational player rather than reclaiming an every-down starting spot. This created an evaluation challenge, as exceptional pro-day testing did not fully align with the limited high-major reps.
Evaluators noted the real range and testing prowess but flagged a significant medical concern and questions regarding his coverage abilities in the slot. Consensus among scouts placed him in the priority undrafted free agent to seventh-round range, reflecting the trade-off between his athletic upside and inherent risk. He was ultimately selected as the 243rd pick in the draft.
- 01
Straight-line range
His top-end speed on late crossers and post-corner combinations from a two-high shell allows him to flip and run without panicking.
- 02
Angles from depth
Consistently takes clean pursuit tracks from the middle of the field, maintaining outside leverage on runs and squeezing the ball back to help.
- 03
Physical downhill demeanor
A willing striker in run support who fills the alley, attacks pulling guards, and plays with pop more than his frame suggests.
- 04
Ball production when the arrow points forward
Four interceptions in 2018 came on driven throws where he read the quarterback's eyes and undercut in-breakers.
- 05
Special-teams profile
Elite testing and willingness to absorb contact translates to roles like gunner and Two-3 alignments, offering a clear roster path.
- 01
Torn ACL in August 2019
This injury cost him his junior season and led to a reduced role upon return, resulting in an uneven sample against top competition.
- 02
Slot coverage projection
His hips are functional rather than sudden, and he plays tall in press mirror, conceding early separation on option routes.
- 03
Tackling technique in space
He frequently leaves his feet and shoulder-tackles without wrapping, leading to broken tackles against agile ball-carriers.
- 04
Limited high-major reps
With only two seasons of meaningful starting tape, his projection relies heavily on athletic traits rather than proven performance.
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
- 4.40sp50
- Vertical
- 38inp50
- Broad jump
- 127inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- 22repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Cincinnati | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Cincinnati | 13 | 51 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 2020 | Cincinnati | 9 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Career | — | 33 | 84 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Career special-teamer and rotational safety whose value came almost entirely on gunner and cover units — the realistic outcome for a late-seventh testing profile.
Undersized, testing-plus AAC safety who carved out a starting downhill role — the ceiling if the coverage sticks and the tackling cleans up.
Testing-driven late-round DB whose lack of consistent coverage reps stalled him in the practice-squad shuffle before he washed out of the league.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Pre-draft context. James Wiggins entered the 2021 process as one of the more interesting testing-versus-tape puzzles in the safety class. His 2018 season at Cincinnati — four interceptions, all-conference honors, constant activity around the ball in Luke Fickell's two-high defense — had positioned him as a potential riser, before a torn ACL suffered in August 2019 cost him the entire junior year. He returned in 2020 as a rotational deep safety on the AAC-champion Bearcats rather than reclaiming the every-down centerfielder role, and pro-day testing (5'11", 209, 4.40 forty, 38-inch vertical, 127-inch broad, 22 bench, 9.53 RAS) reframed the file as an elite athlete with real medical and sample-size flags.
NFL fit — Arizona Cardinals. Arizona spent pick #243 on the traits and the special-teams profile, adding a testing-plus deep safety behind Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson without any expectation of early defensive snaps. The Cardinals waived him at final cuts and signed him back to the practice squad, where he spent stretches of the 2021 and 2022 seasons before bouncing to other practice-squad opportunities. He never carved out a regular game-day role on defense and appeared only sparingly on special teams during elevations.
Retrospective. The evaluation aged as a testing-only Day-3 miss: the athleticism was real, but the medical and the limited high-major coverage reps foreshadowed the practice-squad ceiling that followed. In a class where several late safeties (Talanoa Hufanga, Divine Deablo) found rotational defensive roles, Wiggins's path stalled at the roster margins, and he is remembered as a classic "traits over tape" seventh-round bet that never got the runway to prove otherwise.