A star at Central Catholic High in Portland, Kitan Oladapo stayed close to home with Oregon State. He took a redshirt freshman year in 2018 after helping his high school team win a state championship in 2017, started to put things together as a redshirt sophomore, and started to make a real impact in 2021, when he allowed 21 catches on 36 targets for 172 yards, 99 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, one interception, seven pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 86.8.
Last season, his fifth on the field with the Beavers, Oladapo again allowed 21 catches on 36 targets for 212 yards, 58 yards after the catch, one touchdown, two interceptions, seven pass breakups, and a career-best opponent passer rating of 61.3.
The timeline projects Oladapo as a player who had his best season at the right time, and the upside is quite interesting on tape.
PLUSES
— Oladapo has true positional versatility; he’s effective everywhere from the box to the slot to free to outside corner.
— Outstanding pass defender in tight man coverage, especially in the red zone.
— Short-area closing speed is excellent and consistent.
— Excellent man/match skills throughout the route; Oladapo can easily and consistently carry receivers from the snap to the whistle.
— Has the wherewithal to come down and blow up screens and run plays… from time to time.
MINUSES
— As good as he is at matching routes, Oladapo can be hesitant in diagnosis at times, and that’ll leave him a step late.
–Transitions are better in press/bail than backpedal and turn. NFL receivers could tie him in knots for a while. — Recovery speed is good, not great; he needs to stay on point to avoid getting burned upfield.
— Oladapo struggles to work through progressions in zone coverage and can be caught in the middle more often than you’d like.
— A repeated theme in the safeties I’ve watched so far this year… at times, he squares up and tackles like a cat trying to run on a freshly waxed kitchen floor.
2023 was Oladapo’s breakout season to a point, so it makes sense that he’s still putting a few things together transitionally. Over time, he could be a top-tier multi-position pass defender. Short term, he’ll be an asset in any man/press-heavy defense.
