The San Francisco 49ers are among the teams that have met virtually with former LSU safety Jacoby Stevens, per Justin Melo of The Draft Network. The other teams include the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, and Atlanta Falcons.
Melo calls Stevens an "intriguing defender that can play all over the field."
#LSU LB/S Jacoby Stevens has met virtually/communicated with the #Patriots (multiple times), #Bills, #49ers, #Bengals, #Vikings, #Packers, #Jets, #Cardinals and #Falcons.
An intriguing defender that can play all over the field. #NFLDraft
— Justin M (@JustinM_NFL) March 16, 2021
Stevens recorded 63 tackles, six tackles for a loss, three sacks, four passes defensed, and a forced fumble through 10 games as a senior in 2020, per Sports Reference. He registered 190 tackles, 21.5 tackles for a loss, 9.5 sacks, four interceptions, and 15 passes defensed in the last three seasons with the Tigers.
Joe Marino of The Draft Network wrote the following in his analysis of Stevens.
"JaCoby Stevens was a 5-star high school recruit that played both receiver and safety in high school. He initially played both positions in college but switched to defense on a full-time basis as a sophomore. Stevens brings terrific size to the table and he has some impressive reps playing closer to the line of scrimmage where he can function in condensed areas of the field and trigger downhill. In coverage, Stevens is physical and capable of redirecting routes with his willingness to crowd routes and be aggressive. LSU played Stevens all over the defensive formation but his below-average play speed and athleticism restricts the roles he can realistically fill in the NFL. He lacks the range and anticipatory skills to play deeper off the ball. While Stevens' best qualities are his size and physicality, he doesn't always perform to his weight class and his enthusiasm in pursuit can disappoint and there are times he is passive when it comes to playing off contact and tackling. Stevens is likely a core special teams player in the NFL that brings some situational value in subpackages as a nickel/dime linebacker or in short-yardage defense. The other factor to consider is that LSU listed him at 230 pounds but he measured at 216 pounds at the Senior Bowl. If he was in fact 230, that may have contributed to the athletic profile that was revealed on tape and if the reduction in weight increases his mobility then his ceiling could be higher—perhaps even as a developmental starter as a split zone safety."
NFL teams are allowed to conduct up to five video calls per prospect leading to the draft, and each call can last up to one hour. There is no limit to how many phone conversations NFL teams can conduct with draft-eligible players.
The 2021 NFL Draft begins on April 29.
