Syracuse Football: Andre Cisco is slotted No. 3 safety by NFL Draft analyst

Syracuse football safety Andre Cisco, with a stellar 2020 campaign, could warrant serious NFL Draft first-round consideration.

Syracuse football junior safety Andre Cisco is the current Football Bowl Subdivision leader with 12 career interceptions, and if he adds considerably to that total during the 2020 term, it won’t come as a surprise if he lands possible NFL Draft first-round chatter.

Michael Renner, lead draft analyst for Pro Football Focus, has published his early positional rankings as far as the 2021 NFL Draft is concerned.

Even Renner acknowledges that the next NFL Draft is quite some time down the road, however, it’s always fun to delve into these sorts of lists.

Cisco, the 6-foot, 206-pound safety who was a member of the 2018 Associated Press All-American third team as a true freshman, is placed at No. 3 overall by Renner at his position.

The top five at safety, per Renner, are TCU’s Ar’Darius Washington, Oregon’s Jevon Holland, Cisco, Florida State’s Hamsah Nasirildeen, and TCU’s Trevon Moehrig. Renner had this to say about Cisco in his piece.

"“Cisco’s click-and-close ability on routes is second to none at the safety position. When he keys something, he gets there in a blink of an eye. It’s why he’s collected 12 picks and 13 pass breakups already in his two-year college career. He’s still a bit too boom or bust, with six touchdowns allowed in his coverage last year (although some of that can be attributed to an overly aggressive Syracuse defense), but the natural talent is all there.”"

Syracuse football junior safety Andre Cisco could contend for a bunch of awards this year.

Recently, Cisco received inclusion on the watch list for the 2020 Lott IMPACT Trophy, a national defensive player of the year award that recognizes athletic performance and personal character.

He is also on Street & Smith’s pre-season All-American first squad, although Cisco did get snubbed by the Walter Camp pre-season All-American first and second groups.

New Orange defensive coordinator Tony White is installing his 3-3-5 system at the ‘Cuse, and it will prove interesting to see how Cisco and the rest of the Syracuse defense fares in the 2020 stanza.