STRENGTHS
Jarrad is a leader with the athletic talent to play inside linebacker in your 4/3 defense. He is smart and always seems to be in the right place to make plays. He has an excellent burst to the ball and the agility and foot speed to cover down the field. He’s a head up, wrap up squeeze and drive tackler and you all know by now how important tackling is to me when profiling players. Jarrad has the football intelligence and understands how to time his blitz into the back field not rushing too quickly and identifying were the ball is and making the tackle. He can be a meet and greet linebacker blowing up offensive line man to allow other teammates to make tackles. He can shed blocks and make tackles in the whole but he is more impacting in a 4/3 defensive front that allows him to be free to the play taking the angles that allow him to make tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Jarrad is the type of player you can build your 4/3 defense around.

CONCERNS
In a 3/4 system as an inside linebacker Jarrad will be dealing with big offensive lineman coming out to the second level to block him. This will limit his impact because of his overall size and bulk and it will wear him down. He will be better in a 4/3 defense being free to run to the play without dealing with blocking humongous offensive lineman. The key is in the right defense Jarrad has a chance to stay healthy and impact.

BOTTOM LINE
Teams that run a 3/4 defense will most likely not rate Jarrad as high as those that run a 4/3 defense and this might affect his draft status. He can play inside or outside in either style defense but there is no doubt he is a better fit inside in a 4/3 defense like he was in college. It’s not unusual for a player like Jarrad to fall to a round or two than I have him rated. It’s also possible if he fits a need a team could select him earlier than I have rated. But no matter what round he is selected in it will not affect his ability to be the player his talents suggest he should become. Jarrad does everything right on the field and is a leader through his play on the field and like I said before, the type of player you can build your defense around. That to me is what the draft is all about. Adding players you can build your team around. Although I feel Jarrad is a systems linebacker that should not take away from the fact that he should be a good linebacker, a core player and fan favorite.

Drew Boylhart  FEB.2017