D.j.
Ivey.
D.j.
Ivey.
Miami (FL)· 6'0"· 192 lb· 4.46s 40
"Five years of ACC starts, a blocked-kick touchdown against Clemson and a 39-inch vertical: Ivey was the kind of seventh-round corner who was always going to survive on special teams."Pre-draft read
Ivey is a press-man corner who plays with his hands. He is just over 6-0 with 32 and five-eighths inch arms, and his best reps come when he can jam a receiver at the line and ride him down the sideline rather than open and run from depth. He is physical in the run game on the perimeter and has genuine special teams value, which he proved at Miami with a blocked-kick return touchdown against Clemson.
The limitations show up off the line. His hips are tight in off coverage and he needs an extra step to change direction, so quick separators beat him inside. The ball tracking is inconsistent too: he plays the receiver's hands well but locates the throw late, which turns some breakups into penalties and some interceptions into incompletions.
Press-heavy man scheme that keeps him at the line of scrimmage and uses him on all four coverage units
Year 1: fifth corner and special teams core; ceiling: rotational outside corner in a press scheme
Off-zone system that asks him to backpedal, read the quarterback and drive on short throws
Cincinnati has used him exactly this way for four seasons.
DJ Ivey Miami Hurricanes Corner 2020 - 21 Highlights
Two-season cut of Ivey's press coverage and run support at Miami.
DJ Ivey highlights! Bengals 7th round corner from Miami
Draft-day breakdown of Ivey's Miami tape after Cincinnati took him 246th overall.
DJ Ivey Highlights!
Individual college reel covering coverage reps and special teams plays.
Very few Day 3 corners arrive with this much experience. Ivey played 58 games across five seasons at Miami, starting nearly all of them, and his production stayed steady rather than spiking: 25 tackles with three interceptions in 2019, 36 tackles with four breakups and a blocked-kick touchdown in 2020, 25 in 2021, then a senior year with 38 tackles, two interceptions, five breakups and two forced fumbles.
The testing backed the tape up. He ran 4.46, jumped 39 inches and 10-6, and finished with a 7.87 Relative Athletic Score, above average for the position without being special. His length is a legitimate NFL trait and the special teams résumé was already written.
What kept him in the last round was everything that happens after the jam. Evaluators flagged the hip stiffness, the recovery speed against real vertical threats, and the inconsistent eyes at the catch point. He projected as a fifth or sixth corner who has to win a roster spot with coverage units, and Cincinnati took him 246th overall on exactly that basis.
- 01
Press-man length
Just over 6-0 with 32 and five-eighths inch arms, which lets him disrupt a release and stay attached down the boundary.
- 02
Special teams production
A blocked-kick return touchdown against Clemson in 2020 and consistent coverage-unit value throughout his career.
- 03
Five-year starting experience
Fifty-eight games at Miami against ACC receivers, so nothing about NFL preparation was going to overwhelm him.
- 04
Explosive leaping ability
A 39-inch vertical and 10-6 broad jump give him contested-catch range against taller receivers.
- 05
Ball-disruption instincts near the line
Six career interceptions and two forced fumbles as a senior show he attacks the football in phase.
- 01
Tight hips in off coverage
Needs an extra step to change direction, which quick separators exploit on option and out-breaking routes.
- 02
Late eyes at the catch point
Plays the receiver's hands rather than locating the throw, producing penalties instead of breakups.
- 03
Recovery speed limits
Real vertical threats can stack him once they clear the jam, and 4.46 is not enough to make it back.
- 04
Light frame
At 192 pounds he can be moved by bigger receivers on the boundary and in the run fit.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.46sp50
- Vertical
- 39inp50
- Broad jump
- 126inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Miami | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Miami | 13 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 | Miami | 11 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 2021 | Miami | 12 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | Miami | 12 | 38 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| Career | — | 59 | 127 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 0 |
Season lines from cfbstats and Miami official records. Pass breakup totals for 2018 and 2019 are not verified and are omitted rather than zero-filled.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Honors
- Five-year Miami defensive back with 58 career games
- Blocked-kick return touchdown vs. Clemson (2020)
Depth corner whose roster value comes almost entirely from special teams.
Long Day 3 corner who works his way into a real rotational defensive role.
Press athlete whose knee issues erase him before a defensive role develops.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Ivey played depth corner and special teams as a rookie until a knee injury against Minnesota on December 18, 2023 put him on injured reserve. He opened 2024 on reserve/PUP and was activated on October 19. He appeared in all 17 games in 2025 with 12 tackles and three passes defended, and Cincinnati named him to its initial 53-man roster on August 30, 2026.
The role arrived immediately and so did the injuries. Ivey played depth corner and special teams as a rookie until a knee injury against Minnesota on December 18, 2023 put him on injured reserve, and the same knee kept him on the reserve/PUP list to open 2024. Cincinnati activated him on October 19 of that season, more than a year after the original injury.
Then he settled in. He appeared in all 17 games in 2025 as a rotational defensive back and special teamer, recording 12 tackles and three passes defended, and the Bengals named him to their initial 53-man roster on August 30, 2026 after a strong camp. He was active and wearing number 38 in September 2026. Nobody drafts a corner at 246 expecting starts, and he has not given them any. What he has given them is four years of roster value from a pick that usually produces none. The knee cost him what should have been his developmental years, and the hip stiffness scouts flagged in 2023 still keeps him off the field on obvious passing downs, but four years of NFL paychecks from the 246th pick is a win for everyone involved.