School: Kentucky
Year: Jr
Position: CB

Physical Attributes

• Height: 6-1
• Weight: 190
• RAS: 9.68
• 40 Time: 4.29

Rankings

• Joe’s Ranking: 6.4
• Consensus Position Rank: 8
• My Position Ranking: 6
• Difference in Ranking: 2
• Tier: 4
• Projected Round: 3

Games Watched

• Missouri ’23
• Tennessee ’23
• Georgia ’24

Ryan’s Notes

Positives

• The headliner for Hairston is his athleticism, he is as quick as a hiccup and his explosive movement skills show it’s not all speed.
• He’s going to thrive in a pro quarters system where he can utilise his processing skills and quickness to fire downhill and bait QBs into mistakes.
• Maxwell’s positioning is so good it acts as a deterrent in itself, this will never appear on the stat sheet in any format but this is what a defensive back’s coach will be pounding the table for.
• I think he has a solid understanding of offensive architecture and he stays both over the top of the deepest route but has his eyes downhill ready to fly on the release or pattern shift. This looks natural for him too, he’s not constantly turning his head, he’s doing this by feel.
• His backpedal is smooth as silk and as much as this is an old school trait for evaluators it applies to the modern game as he is able to put himself in position to adjust to any route break.
• Hariston’s mirror reaction times are excellent and he uses this to adjust to routes in phase with ease.
• Whilst he isn’t the physical presence required to make it a strength, he is always in the right position to stop the run and is never shy of making contact and that in itself is enough for some teams.
• I like the way he plays contain from his quarters perch, he is never afraid to fire downhill at full speed which he does at the last second thanks to his elite acceleration

Negatives

• His size is an outlier and there are certain situations in which it inevitably gets exposed such as in the redzone where space is condensed. He was beaten handedly by bigger receivers in the endzone. He will need to find a way to play through size disadvantages if he wants to be on the field when the ball is in these critical situations.
• I do worry about his open field tackling as it’s not convincing at all with some really bad film coming when he is asked to take down backs on his own from a standing start.
• At his size and with his speed he could be a nice nickel but he lacks the physicality or tackling aptitude to live this close to the line

Ryan’s Summary

Despite his slender, shorter frame Maxwell is a player I want on my team. If the Kentucky man was an inch taller or had arms that could make up the difference to NFL sized receivers he would be considered a first round prospect, that’s how good his coverage skills are. He reads offenses like an open book and uses his explosive athleticism to capitalise on the mistakes he bait quarterbacks into using his elite positioning and leverage control. However one thing no amount of training can change is his length and he will struggle to play outside in any scheme that uses man coverage. This weakness is amplified on 3rd down where you’d have to hide him on the trips side or in the redzone where the field dimensions extend a few more yards than he can handle. Despite his stature limitations I think Hairston is going to make a fantastic Quarters corner, he’ll just need a coach who understands how to use him to the best of his ability. Additional Note: there is a concerning report of a sexual assault allegation against Hairston which should remove him from the Chargers’ board