In the spirit of April Fool’s Day, let’s examine some of the 2019 NFL Draft’s biggest fools gold. Take a look for NFL evaluators are way too high on.
To commemorate April Fool’s, a day to celebrate tricksters and acts of deception, it is time to evaluate several 2019 NFL Draft prospects who have managed to hoodwink and bamboozle NFL evaluators and draft gurus with less than a month left in draft season.
The evaluation process serves as a seperator every year. It separates the good athletes from the average, the positive influences from the troublemakers, the adaptable from the placid, and the real from the fake.
In this separator, I will be my absolute best to ride the average observer with the most egregious 2019 NFL Draft falsities with less than thirty days until the day everyone has been waiting for.
Dwayne Haskins, Quarterback, Ohio State
Since midseason, Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins has been touted as one of the premier quarterback prospects of the 2019 NFL Draft class, widely considered a sure fire top-10 selection. It is understandable of course coming from a big time program, with prototypical size (6-3, 231 pounds), and outstanding production (4,831 yards, 50 touchdown passes, 70 percent completion rate). When turning to the film, however, a long list of concerns enter the equation.
When drafting a quarterback in the first round, a team is looking for a franchise building block that can provide a focal point for future success. That type of player requires something special. Whether that is a physical profile, mental processing or leadership, special is required. That cliché “It factor” is missing from Haskins’ film.
He boasts a solid enough arm, that is talented enough to convince some NFL evaluators that his best football is ahead of him. He is also a very accurate, short-stroke passer who has shown the ability to threaten defenses at both the short and intermediate areas of the field, and even does some of his best work amongst chaos in the pocket.
The further Haskins moves down the field, though, the more questions arise. When attempting to throw with touch down the field, Haskins has a tendency to float the ball to an outreached depth, seeming to not understand the concept of trajectory. He also struggles to drive the football down the field with any type of consistent accuracy, routinely placing the ball outside of his receivers frames, hoping for great adjustments, which they did more often than not.
Haskins was afforded one of the better supporting casts in the entire country, including fellow 2019 NFL Draft prospects Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon, Terry McLaurin and Mike Weber, which helped conceal some of Haskins’ flaws in ball placement.
Well at least he’s a special athlete to make up for his inability to threaten all levels of the field right? Oh wait, that’s just what Stephen A. Smith wants you to think. The combine provided continues proof that Haskins does not provide much of a threat in the run game. It’s hard to get super excited for a short to intermediate thrower who fails to threaten defenses in the deep area of the field or on the ground.
Haskins as a second round quarterback, I can get on board with. Haskins as a franchise top 10-15 pick? Nope, just can’t do it. I have to see a special trait, and I still have not found one with Dwayne Haskins.