NFL Draft Diamonds Scouting Report: Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State University
QB Prospect: Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State University by Steve Hamner
Breakdown: According to many NFL scouts and people in the media, Haskins is the best quarterback in this year’s draft. If you look at his numbers and take some time to watch the film, it is easy to see why people think so highly of him. Out of the 14 games Haskins played in this year, he only had five games where he had less than 300 yards passing. Out of the 9 games that he had over 300 yards passing, five of those he ended up with over 400 yards through the air. Ohio State had two very good running backs as well so it wasn’t like they were throwing the rock every play.
One of the biggest takeaways when watching Haskins on film is his accuracy and ability to put the ball where he wants it when he has a clean pocket and time to throw. He also does a very good job with his eyes when he has time to throw. See the video below how he keeps the Safety in the middle of the field just long enough to deliver a perfect ball on the corner route.
Similar to the above video, Haskins has time to throw here on this video and a clean pocket. The deep out from the opposite hash is one of the toughest throws in football and he does it with ease. He shows good rhythm on this throw as his back-foot hits and he takes a small hitch and delivers a strike.
The last video shows Haskins doing a good job moving in the pocket against the blitz, taking a hit, and delivering a perfect ball to convert on third down. At times, Haskins struggled against the blitz. He had a tendency to throw off his back foot, which led to some inaccurate throws and mistakes. However, later on in the year he improved against the blitz and did a better job when five plus people were rushing. With more experience and playing time, the better against the blitz Haskins will become and the better he will get with his pre-snap decisions. With that said, this video shows the potential that Haskins has.
Haskins has the ability and potential to develop into a good NFL quarterback. While I think he still needs to develop, the tools are all there and he showed improvement through-out the season. It is hard to knock on someone who completed 70% of his passes with over 4,800 yards passing and 50 touchdown passes, but every quarterback has something they can improve on. What I like most about Haskins is his ability to distribute the football, put his guys in position to make plays, and staying calm even when losing in the second half. Penn State, TCU, Maryland, and Nebraska were all ahead at half time, but Ohio State came back against all of those teams to win, largely due to Haskins being able to distribute the ball.
Pros:
- Throws a crisp ball, quick release
- When has time and a clean pocket, he can make every throw
- Comfortable throwing in middle of the field
- Sets his receivers and running backs up for yards after the catch
- Distributor
Cons:
- At times, struggled against the blitz and on 3rd downs.
- Tendency to throw off back foot at times against the blitz
- Not as accurate on balls outsides compared to inside throws
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