Scouting report
Information for this report was obtained from NFL scouts.
Duke Shelley, 5-foot-9, 176 pounds, is in his first season in Minnesota. The Vikings signed him to the practice squad in September after he was part of the Bears’ cuts to reach the 53-man roster. Originally a A sixth-round pick by the Bears in 2019 from out of Kansas State, Shelley appeared in 30 games with six starts over three seasons for them.
Shelley has played in 10 games for the Vikings Minnesota, making four starts and fitting into a defensive scheme run by coordinator Ed Donatell that is similar to what the Bears did with zone coverages. He’s got has 27 tackles and seven breakups and has been playing regularly on the outside with injuries at the position.
“Based on his limited size and skill set, he’s a best fit as a nickel,” the scout said. “He’s got really good lower-body agility, excellent change of direction, feisty in coverage and good short-area speed. Where he’s lacking is vertical speed downfield or recovery speed, plus size at the point of attack. What you see with the Vikings is very split-safety-heavy coverages, quarters, Cover-2 Two, Cover-6. Six, i It’s a good fit for him when he’s a rolled up cover in Cover-2 Two or he’s playing off in quarters where he can play off and stay on top of the route.
“Minnesota has been much more man-heavy. I don’t know why. Maybe Ed is trying to get something going because they have been poor on defense. They are trusting Duke outside. He’s competitive but he has limitations. You can attack him over the top, and Green Bay tried that last week with Christian Watson a couple times. Shelley made a great play down the field on him. He’s at his best when the ball is in front of him, though. I would worry teams would isolate him. I would pick on him. But he’s landed in a good spot and he’s done well for himself. Credit to him.”