Dwayne Haskins NFL Draft Prospect Report

 

Dwayne Haskins is number two on the quarterback countdown, you know what that means for number one, but for now let’s focus on Haskins from Ohio State.

Introduction

Haskins measured in at 6’3”, 231 pounds. He ran the 40 in 5.03 seconds. Haskins didn’t run the shuttle or the 3 cone drill. He threw for an eye popping 4831 yards, 50 touchdowns against eight interceptions with  70 percent of his throws complete. Haskins is only a redshirt sophomore, this was his first and only year starting.

Positives

Watching film of Haskins I was very impressed by his arm strength, accuracy and touch. He really seems to be able to make every throw, and those throws look good. I’m gushing here, but he really has elite arm talent. It’s extremely strong and he’s very accurate. He is very good at hitting receivers in stride to help with run after catch yardage. Haskins is also good at delivering the ball under pressure. This is a very important skill to have in the NFL. Besides having a great arm and being very accurate, Haskins also has a great feel for putting touch on the ball. He knows when to put air under the ball and when to throw a frozen rope.

Negatives

Haskins is very talented, but there are a couple of things to worry about. Almost all of his plays seem to have a designed target for the ball. This means he doesn’t seem to read defenses that much besides seeing if his primary target is open. I would like to see more plays where he goes through his progression beyond his first or second option. In the NFL, your first option isn’t always going to be available. This also makes him dump it off a lot. Now this is good because he’s taking care of the ball, but again in the NFL, on 3rd and 10 you need to have the confidence to not dump it off 2 yards past the line of scrimmage.

Another worry I have is a lot of Haskins’ gaudy stats from this past year come from some nice RAC. However, the way he can throw the ball, I’m not overly concerned with this fact. He’s also a poor athlete, he doesn’t run well. The quickest way to tell if a site hasn’t watched any film of Haskins is if they describe him as athletic. Haskins could also work on cleaning up his footwork a bit.

Predictions

If your team is looking for a franchise quarterback, and if you’re picking early you probably will be, Haskins has all the tools to be one. I’d like to see more proof that he can go through his progression. It’s so important in the NFL to read defenses, but his touch on short, medium and long throws is incredible and not everyone has it. Put that touch together with his arm strength and his accuracy you have the potential to be special. Haskins is the safest quarterback pick in the draft. He will play his rookie year and I think he will show some serious potential.

 

Draft Dive Grade: Early 1st Round

 

Likely Landing Spots: New York Giants, Cincinnati Bengals (with trade up), Denver Broncos, Washington Redskins, Miami Dolphins.