STRENGTHS
Jerome has the athleticism and the size that teams are looking for in that new hybrid safety/ linebacker position. He has an excellent burst to the ball and those long arms that make it easy for him to trail a receiver and still knock down and defend passes because of his large defending radius. He has the cover skills to flip his hips and stay with any slot size slot receiver. He shows the foot speed and gear changing ability to run and chase down players all over the field. Jerome has the quickness to play more than one position in your defensive back field also. Jerome has the talent and ability to become an impact defensive player at the next level.

CONCERNS
The big question is, if Jerome has all this talent and agility and football IQ, how come he isn’t being considered on most team’s boards as 1st round talent. The answer is…lack of effort to be the first player to the play. Also Jerome is not a secure tackler. He comes into his man with straight legs and standing upright. The cause him to lose leverage and allows his opponent to step out of his arms when he wraps up. He has the long arms to keep blockers away from his body but his lack of effort causes him to be inconsistent and once again allowing players he has the chance to tackle to go right by him. I’m not convinced that Jerome ‘s best position is being close to the line of scrimmage, I think it’s best if he is used more in coverage and more as a safety than linebacker.

BOTTOM LINE
Is it an attitude problem that Jerome does not give the effort to impact as his athleticism suggests? I don’t have the answer to that; all I can do is tried to communicate to you what I see on film. What I see on film is a kid not playing up to his talents. It’s that simple. Maybe he was hurt or maybe he didn’t want to get hurt and was trying to protect himself. Maybe he is not football smart and lacks the quick thinking you need to have at the linebacker position. Maybe he did study his offensive opponent and doesn’t understand how to read the offensive line blocking scheme to get his keys. Maybe he didn’t like his coaches or respect them or maybe he has a learning impediment that he has been hiding all these years or doesn’t realize he even has an impediment. All I can tell you is Jerome could be a more impacting player at the NFL level than he was at the college level the last year he played if some team can unlock that athleticism and match it up with quicker thinking and decision making. Jerome is the type of player who if he discovers a sense of urgency in his play could become one of the most impact players from this draft class but someone has to figure out why he isn’t being considered as a possible 1st round pick in this draft before that can happen. Jerome could be the Defensive Rookie of the year…if only.

Drew Boylhart   APR.2018