STRENGTHS
Jabrill could be an impact, playmaking player no matter what side of the field you use him on. He has good speed and explosion and although he is a long striding athlete he shows good change of direction skills to play running back or receiver on offense and to play S/OLB/CB on defense. Jabrill also shows excellent leadership skills when playing on the defensive side of the ball. He does a good job on special teams and in general can play on any unit at multiple positions and impact at any time during a game. He is exciting to watch on offense and special teams and is an impact/ play making player on the defense because of his athletic talent. I call him Jabrill (The Thrill) Peppers.

CONCERNS
The biggest problem for the next level is that Jabrill hasn’t truly mastered one position at the college level. On offense Jabrill has Reggie Bush type talent running mostly outside the tackles. On defense at OLB Jabrill has potential similar to Cowboys LB Sean Lee and Dolphins LB Kiko Alonzo. In the Defensive back field he could be as good as Chiefs Eric Berry or Seahawks Earl Thomas. The problem is Jabrill hasn’t played LB or Safety long enough to develop at either position for the NFL level but the talent is there. Jabrill’s cover skills are limited to mostly covering slower players and his pass cover techniques are rudimentary and need developing. He also has to become a better tackler on defense or injuries will occur, he doesn’t wrap up consistently. Throwing his shoulder into a player without wrapping up is a recipe for injuries and needs to be corrected quickly.

BOTTOM LINE
For me personally Jabrill belongs on the defensive side of the ball because that’s the side he uses all of his talents mentally and physically. He is a playmaker no matter what side you use him on but you can always find playmakers for the offense but finding playmakers for the defense is a lot harder. He is intelligent and a quick learner and as long as he is on one side of the ball for the first few years he should become a hell of a player. Jabrill has intelligence and athletic talent on par with some of the best players ever to come out into the draft and although it might take him a while to impact as a starter at just one position, it will not take much time for him to impact on special teams. So throw caution to the side and don’t be afraid to draft an athletic, intelligent player who could become a star in the NFL. For once, don’t over think the process… draft the obvious. After you do, it’s all up to Jabrill to reach the player his talents suggest that he can be.

Drew Boylhart  JAN.2017