Alex
Austin.
Alex
Austin.
Oregon St.· 6'1"· 195 lb· 4.55s 40
"An Oregon State corner taken at the end of round seven, Austin washed out in Buffalo but caught on in Houston — a fringe-NFL survivor story, which is more than most final-pick candidates ever get."Pre-draft read
Austin is a press corner who plays with his hands and his frame. At 6-1 and 195 pounds he can jam a receiver at the line, stay physical through the route stem and compete at the catch point, and he does it consistently: 17 pass breakups and four interceptions over his last two seasons at Oregon State came from a player who wanted the football, not one who avoided contact.
The transitions are where it breaks down. He ran 4.55, which sits in the 26th percentile for the position, and his hips stiffen when he has to flip and run. Speed receivers stack him on vertical routes and he does not have the gear to recover, so he has to win the release or he does not win at all.
Press-man scheme on the boundary or a Cover 3 defense that lets him play with a cushion and keep everything in front
Year 1: special teams and fifth corner; ceiling: rotational outside corner who wins with length in press
Off-man assignments requiring him to mirror quick separators from depth
New England found the most in him by keeping him at the line of scrimmage.
Alex Austin Top CB in College Football ᴴᴰ
Oregon State career reel showing his press technique and ball production on the boundary.
Alex Austin Highlights (Miami Dolphins) | 2026 NFL Free Agency
NFL defensive snaps from his New England tenure compiled ahead of 2026 free agency.
The Oregon State career built steadily. Three games as a freshman, 29 tackles in a shortened 2020, then two full seasons as a starter: 47 tackles with seven breakups and two interceptions in 2021, and 57 tackles, 10 breakups, two interceptions and a defensive touchdown as a junior in 2022. He finished with 139 tackles, 17 breakups and four picks in 35 games.
The measurements told both sides of the story. Nearly 6-1 with 79th-percentile height, but 31 and seven-eighths inch arms and eight and a half inch hands that are small for a press corner, plus that 4.55 forty and a 33-inch vertical. He tested like a good athlete rather than an NFL corner.
So he was a seventh-round-to-undrafted evaluation. Real physicality, real ball production, real length, and no answer for speed. Buffalo took him with the 252nd pick expecting a developmental press corner who could survive on special teams while the technique caught up.
- 01
Press physicality
Jams cleanly at the line and stays attached through the stem, which is the foundation of his entire game.
- 02
Boundary height
Just under 6-2 puts him in the 79th percentile and gives him a real contest window on back-shoulder throws.
- 03
Ball production
Seventeen pass breakups and four interceptions over his final two Oregon State seasons, plus a defensive touchdown.
- 04
Willing run defender
Sets an edge on the perimeter and tackles without hesitation, which is not a given for a Day 3 corner.
- 05
Three-year starting experience
Thirty-five games in the Pac-12 against a schedule full of NFL receivers.
- 01
Below-average speed
A 4.55 forty in the 26th percentile means vertical routes are a permanent problem at the NFL level.
- 02
Stiff hip transitions
Slow to flip and run, so double moves and comeback routes create separation he cannot recover.
- 03
Small hands
Eight and a half inch hands undercut his ability to finish the contested catches his length creates.
- 04
Overreliance on the jam
When the release beats him at the line he has no fallback plan down the field.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.55sp50
- Vertical
- 33inp50
- Broad jump
- 122inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- 4.33sp50
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Oregon State | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | Oregon State | 7 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | Oregon State | 13 | 47 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| 2022 | Oregon State | 12 | 57 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
| Career | — | 35 | 139 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 0 |
Season lines verified against cfbstats. Pass breakup totals for 2019 and 2020 are recorded as zero in the source data and are omitted here rather than presented as verified production.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Honors
- Two-year Oregon State starting cornerback
- 17 pass breakups over final two seasons
- Defensive touchdown in 2022
Length-and-technique corner who logs real snaps for a few seasons without locking down a job.
Physical, ball-productive corner who develops into a multi-year NFL starter.
Speed limits get exposed and he cycles through rosters without earning defensive reps.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Buffalo waived Austin on August 29, 2023 before the season. Houston claimed him the next day, waived him October 14, added him to the practice squad October 18 and released him November 1. New England signed him on November 2, 2023 and he intercepted Josh Allen against Buffalo on December 31. He played for the Patriots through 2024 and 2025, ending that season on injured reserve before being activated on January 17, 2026. Miami signed him on March 12, 2026 and released him on August 29; he worked out for Tennessee on September 3, 2026.
Buffalo did not even keep him. The Bills waived Austin on August 29, 2023, before he played a regular-season snap; Houston claimed him the next day, waived him on October 14, signed him to the practice squad on October 18 and released him on November 1. Three transactions in six weeks is the standard opening chapter for a last-round corner.
New England changed it. The Patriots signed him on November 2, 2023, and on December 31 he intercepted Josh Allen against the team that had drafted him eight months earlier. He stayed in New England through 2024 and 2025, finishing that last season on injured reserve before being activated on January 17, 2026, and he earned real defensive snaps rather than pure coverage-unit work. Miami signed him as an unrestricted free agent on March 12, 2026 and released him during final cuts on August 29; he worked out for Tennessee on September 3. He is a free agent with three NFL seasons and a Josh Allen interception on his ledger, which is more than pick 252 usually returns.