Charles
Demmings.
Charles
Demmings.
Stephen F. Austin· 6'1"· 193 lb· 4.41s 40
R5 · #163 · Minnesota Vikings"Long, twitchy FCS boundary corner whose 4.41/42-inch/11-foot Combine line and press-man tape landed him on the Vikings roster as a Day 3 CB4 with real gunner value."Pre-draft read
Boundary press-man corner who wins the top of routes with patient jam feet and long speed to carry vertical stems from either hip. He mirrors sharp breakers with quick short-area feet and flashes recovery burst when he opens late. His ball skills are a separator, demonstrating high-pointing hands, a timed rake at the catch point, and a knack for tracking the throw over his outside shoulder.
Off-coverage carriage is stiffer and his eyes drift to the quarterback, which invites double moves and delayed breaks underneath. In run support, he is willing but his trigger is late, and his tackling in space leans towards grab-and-drag rather than form finishing, especially against bigger perimeter blockers.
This prospect best fits a Cover-1/Cover-0 aggressive man defense that prioritizes athletic press corners with top-tier recovery speed and ball skills.
Immediate Year 1 special teams gunner and developmental boundary press-man CB who can grow into a starting role.
Pure zone Cover-3/Cover-4 systems where his stiffness in off-coverage and tendency to eye the quarterback rather than his man would be exposed.
A long, athletic press-man corner with elite ball skills and special teams upside, he is a natural fit for defenses that demand physical outside coverage.
Charles Demmings Highlights | Minnesota Vikings Cornerback | Stephen F. Austin | 2026 NFL Draft
Charles Demmings (DB) 🔥 | FULL Stephen F. Austin Highlights | Welcome to the Minnesota Vikings
2026 NFL Draft Prospect Highlights | Charles Demmings, CB, Stephen F. Austin
This player projects as a press-man boundary corner with immediate special teams value, offering a developmental runway to a rotational defensive back role. His collegiate production, combined with an elite athletic profile, indicates he can transition his ball skills to the NFL.
He was a four-year starter who became his program's all-time leader in passes defended, closing his career as a First-Team All-Southland corner. He received a Senior Bowl invitation, and his PFF grade of 79.6 as a senior confirmed his on-field impact against a lower level of competition. His 32-inch arms, 6-foot-1, 193-pound frame, and 4.41 forty-yard dash time supported a Day 3 evaluation.
The primary flags were the level-of-competition gap and average play strength, along with inconsistent tackle finishing, which capped his projection to a CB4 depth chart rather than an early-starter grade. The consensus placed him as a Day 3 press-man developmental prospect, and he was ultimately drafted with pick 163.
- 01
Play Speed
Long speed helps him carry vertical stems from either hip, allowing him to stay in phase on deeper routes.
- 02
Route Mirroring
He mirrors sharp breakers with quick short-area feet, staying connected through various changes of direction.
- 03
Ball Skills
Tracks the throw over his outside shoulder and demonstrates a timed rake at the catch point.
- 04
Press-Man Technique
He wins the top of routes with patient jam feet, rerouting receivers effectively at the line of scrimmage.
- 05
Recovery Burst
Possesses flashes of recovery burst when he opens late, enabling him to close ground rapidly.
- 01
Off-Coverage Carriage
Off-coverage carriage is stiffer, inviting double moves and delayed breaks underneath due to limited fluidity.
- 02
Eye Discipline
His eyes drift to the quarterback, which can be exploited by disciplined route runners in zone coverage.
- 03
Run Support Trigger
In run support, his trigger is late, impacting his ability to diagnose and attack downhill quickly.
- 04
Tackling Technique
Tackling in space leans towards grab-and-drag rather than form finishing, especially against perimeter blockers.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.41sp50
- Vertical
- 42inp50
- Broad jump
- 132inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Stephen F. Austin | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Stephen F. Austin | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Stephen F. Austin | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Stephen F. Austin | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | — | 44 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Realistic ceiling — long, athletic CB4/CB5 who lives on special teams and cycles in as the fourth boundary corner in sub packages.
Best-case press-corner outcome — a rotational outside starter whose length and ball skills eventually translate into an every-down role.
Athletic-testing outlier from a small program whose zone-processing and play-strength gaps keep him on the practice-squad carousel.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
**Pre-draft context** Charles Demmings arrived at Stephen F. Austin as a lightly recruited corner and rebuilt himself into the Lumberjacks' all-time passes-defended leader across four seasons in the Southland. Back-to-back All-Southland nods (Second Team in 2024, First Team plus FCS All-America honors in 2025) put him on the FCS-to-NFL radar, and the Senior Bowl invitation gave scouts a live look against FBS receivers. A February Combine performance that read 4.41/42-inch vertical/11-foot broad at 6-1, 193 with 32-inch arms turned a developmental grade into a rotational-DB grade — the athletic profile finally matched the ball production, and boards settled him firmly in the Day 3 mix as a press-man corner with gunner traits.
**NFL fit — Minnesota Vikings** The team drafted to a specific need: length outside behind Isaiah Rodgers and Byron Murphy, and a special-teams athlete who could contribute on Week 1 coverage units. Demmings slots as the top backup boundary corner and a plug-and-play gunner, with the developmental runway to grow into a Cover-1/Cover-3 press role in the aggressive defensive system. Year one asks are simple — win reps on special teams, translate the jam, learn zone eye discipline in-scheme. The medical file is clean and reports have praised his practice tempo through OTAs and camp.
**Retrospective** Too early for a career verdict, but the eval logic holds: an FCS corner with 32-inch arms and top-of-class Combine numbers is exactly the profile that survives the CB4 cliff. If the zone/off comfort catches up, there's a boundary rotation piece here. If it doesn't, the special-teams floor and press-man niche justify a Day 3 pick spot at 163.