2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: O’Donnell Fortune, South Carolina

Evaluating college cornerbacks can be a difficult task.

Varying schemes require unique skillsets and intangibles to best fit within an NFL defensive system.

South Carolina cornerback ODonnell Fortune will be among the hopefuls in the 2025 NFL Draft looking to align their skillsets with NFL defenses.

The redshirt senior is an under-the-radar player in the current prospect landscape.

How NFL teams value his skillset will make for interesting discussions.

Fortunes talents paint a unique 2025 NFL Draft Profile .

Overview, Film Analysis, And 2025 Scouting Report Of South Carolina Cornerback ODonnell Fortune Measurables Height: 60 Weight: 188 lbs Player Background ODonnell Fortune is a native of South Carolina.

Growing up in the city of Sumter, Fortune attended Sumter High School.

There, he starred as a football player and ran track as well .

Fortune managed to gain enough attention as a cornerback prospect to be lauded as a consensus three-star recruit .

Among six full scholarship offers, Fortune opted to stay close to home and join the South Carolina Gamecocks in 2020.

Fortunes first two years as a Gamecock were uneventful.

After these first two, including a redshirt year, he had recorded very few overall statistics.

This changed in 2022 when Fortune logged his first two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown .

He would go on to start in 2023 and 2024.

An honorable mention All-SEC designation from the college football nation in 2024 should have been the punctuation on his career.

Instead, several questions emerged.

Namely, a suspension against Kentucky in 2023 , and what appeared to be a half-game benching against Ole Miss in 2024.

Teams will need to weigh some of the factors in addition to the film study of ODonnell Fortune.

Strengths When evaluating ODonnell Fortunes tape, there are certainly some appealing qualities.

Fortune has admirable height and length for a cornerback that will allow him to keep up with NFL receivers.

This length is especially impressive in tandem with the suddenness of his cuts.

Fortune has a great ability to recover from a good release by receivers due to his suddenness and ability to flip his hips.

This combination of length and twitchiness will be an appealing combination for teams.

In addition to these physical gifts, Fortune has a bit of a unique nose for the ball.

This is a two-pronged characteristic of his game.

The first is in his ability to knock the football loose.

Fortune has an excellent timing to his punch, akin to Peanut Tillman (although not quite as nuanced of course).

This applies to ball carriers, and receivers completing the process of the catch and transitioning to becoming a ball carrier.

Despite some questions about his tackling ability, this demonstrates his willingness to aggressively pursue ball carriers.

The other facet of his ball skills comes in very structured zone responsibilities.

His twitchiness and reactivity make him a major asset in palms and other baiting zone coverages.

This is certainly something teams who are fans of Fortunes game will look to incorporate into his role.

Weaknesses The most glaring weakness in ODonnell Fortunes game is his play strength and run support.

Fortunes play strength is below average, and he struggles to get off of blocks quickly.

This is also evident at times at the top of routes.

As a tackler, there is very little that Fortune brings to the table.

He is often far too high in his approach, and ball carriers can shrug him off.

There are also times when his body language can suffer from failed tackle attempts on subsequent plays.

While this did not appear to be a major issue, it popped up near the goal line.

This makes sense, as South Carolina ran a good amount of man coverage in this area of the field.

As a coverage man, Fortune lacks some discipline.

There were several times when he looked to jump routes, only to get burned on double moves.

This was especially prevalent against Ole Miss in 2024, and appeared to result in a benching, as he was used much more sparingly after the second instance.

Slower developing releases from wide receivers also appeared to give Fortune some issues, as he could get caught flat-footed.

Teams will also need to get some clarity on his suspension for the Gamecocks game against Kentucky in 2023.

Discussions about this benching appeared to suggest it was not the first time that Fortune had broken team rules.

To be clear, this does not automatically attribute character concerns to Fortune, but it will be a question mark during the pre-draft process.

Potential Team Fits Buffalo Bills Carolina Panthers Dallas Cowboys NFL Projection Watching ODonnell Fortunes tape, there are virtually no instances of him playing press-man coverage.

This sums up what to expect from Fortune at the next level.

Some appealing physical gifts cannot be ignored.

His length, and suddenness as a mover are certainly appealing characteristics.

However, play strength deficiencies, along with a lack of discipline against double moves and sophisticated routes, make for a lack of confidence when deploying Fortune.

He should best fit in heavy zone schemes at the next level with some off-man coverage sprinkled in against smaller receivers.

Currently, the projections for Fortune range from day three of the NFL Draft, to undrafted free agent .

This is appropriate given what is shown on the tape throughout 2023 and 2024.

If teams can scheme to allow for Fortunes natural gifts to shine, he could create some big turnovers in a depth role.

Coaching will be especially important for Fortune compared to other 2025 NFL Draft prospects.

If it works out, teams could see the upside of the shrine bowl MVP become realized.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission..

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