With their eighth pick in the 2022 NFL Draft (Round 6, pick 221), the San Francisco 49ers chose to add more help to their secondary by selecting Tariq Castro-Fields, who played his college ball at Penn State.
What will Castro-Fields bring to the 49ers? An intriguing mix of size, speed, athleticism, and versatility that could result in him being used a number of ways. Here's a look at what to know as Castro-Fields begins his 49ers career.
Talented high school prospect
Castro-Fields was a four-star prospect at Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland and had an impressive list of scholarship offers that included Alabama, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Maryland in addition to Penn State. He was a safety earlier in his career and was influenced by former NFL standout Sean Taylor.
Castro-Fields was also a fine performer on the track, where he was a three-year letterman and was part of the fastest indoor 4x400 squad in Maryland as a sophomore.
A productive career, with one notable injury detour
Castro-Fields played in 51 games at Penn State and totaled 138 tackles with ten tackles for loss, three interceptions, and 28 passes defensed. He played in at least 11 games for four of his five seasons but missed all but three games in 2020 as he dealt with stingers. He was a three-time All-Big Ten honorable mention performer.
Solid testing times
At the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine, Castro-Fields was clocked at 4.38 in the 40-yard dash. He was listed as a Round 4 prospect by NFL.com.
At Penn State's Pro Day in March, Castro-Fields weighed in at 6-feet, 7/8 inches and 195 pounds and posted a vertical jump of 37 inches, a broad jump of 10 feet, 11 inches, a 20-yard shuttle of 4.06 inches, and a 3-cone drill of 7.05 seconds. He chose to sit on his 4.38 40 time from the Scouting Combine.
Influenced in part by Richard Sherman
When asked by 49ers reporters if he had any players he modeled his game after, he ran off a list of noteworthy names that included a former 49er.
"I wouldn't say modeled but definitely watched," Castro-Fields said. "I mean, guys like Richard Sherman, just how smart he is. Guys like Jalen Ramsey, Kyle Fuller, Tre'Davious White. A lot of those guys are good at the fundamentals and they're a dog. When you add those two things, you're kind of unstoppable."
Happy to be a 49er
Castro-Fields said he was watching the draft with high school and college teammates when he got the call from the 49ers, after which he went from being nervous to being ready to play.
"It was a super emotional day," Castro-Fields said. "Waiting for your name to be called was the hardest part, but when the 49ers called me, my whole mood changed and I'm just ready to go to work. No matter what, I'm just ready to go to work and put my best foot forward and show the world what I can do."
What his role winds up being remains to be seen, but he feels he'll be ready for whatever the 49ers decide to do.
"I feel like I came from a system where I did a whole lot -- ran Cover 3, man, 2 -- you name it, we did it. I feel like I'm well-versed in all coverages," Castro-Fields said.