Isaiah Oliver

Cornerback | Colorado | Junior

Height: 6-foot-1 | Weight: 190 pounds

College Stats

2017: Started all 10 games played for the Buffaloes; 26 tackles (19 solo); two interceptions returned for 41 yards; 13 pass breakups; one forced fumble; also returned five punts for 16 yards; named to First-Team All-Pac 12 team by *Associated Press *and the league coaches; earned Second-Team All-Pac 12 honors from SB Nation; opened the season with four pass breakups against Colorado State

Career: Started 16 of 32 games played at Colorado; tallied 82 tackles (60 solo); three interceptions returned for 41 yards; 26 pass breakups; one forced fumble; 20 punts returned for 174 yards, including one for a touchdown; as a sophomore, earned the team's Bill McCartney Award that honors a player for special teams achievement; ninth player in CU history to declare for NFL Draft after his junior season; played with four defensive backs who made NFL rosters: Chidobe Awuzie (Cowboys), Ken Crawley (Saints), Tedric Thompson (Seahawks) and Ahkello Witherspoon (49ers)

Combine Results

40-yard dash: 4.50 seconds
Oliver did not participate in any other testing drills at the NFL Combine.

Profile

Summary:Oliver was a two-sport athlete in high school, earning praise on the football field and in track and field, where he was a state champ in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles and in the 4x400-meter relay. He made an impact for Colorado as a true freshman, playing in all 13 games and starting three. It's **noted in his NFL.com draft profile** that his sophomore campaign was a highly respectable one, despite making only two starts behind Witherspoon, a 2017 NFL Draft pick.

Oliver's opportunity came in 2017, and he capitalized on it, receiving First-Team All-Pac 12 honors in response to his performance.

According to his draft profile, Oliver has a coveted combination of speed and length and has the typical "look" of an NFL cornerback. He is described as having "tools and trigger to stalk and challenge routes underneath from off-man" and is "aggressive to claw and rake hands and arms through catch attempt."

NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein projected Oliver to go in the first or second round.

"There are coverage holes in Oliver's game, and he needs to play with increased toughness, but he's just scratching the surface of what his talent could allow him to do on the next level with more experience and technique work," Zierlein said. "Oliver has a high ceiling as a bump-and-run, lockdown corner, but might benefit from a limited role his rookie season."

Stacking up: NFL Media analysts **Mike Mayock** and **Bucky Brooks** both tabbed Oliver as the fourth-best cornerback in this year's class in their pre-combine rankings. Following the combine, Mayock **bumped Oliver down to No. 5** among corners.

Runs in the family:Oliver's father, Muhammad, also played cornerback and was a standout at Oregon in addition to earning NCAA All-American honors in track and field. His uncle, Damon Mays, garnered attention as a wide receiver at Missouri and spent two seasons in the NFL (1992-93) with the Houston Oilers.