STRENGTHS
Jake plays like a calculating crazed Pomeranian. He is quick and has an excellent burst to the ball. Jake is smart and a coach on the field and the type of player who makes the players around him better. He has excellent instincts and that helps him to play bigger than his size and faster. Jake is always around the ball. He’s a playmaker looking to make a tackle, rip the ball out for a fumble, or slap the ball out of the QB’s hands. He’s the type of player who anticipates the offensive center snap of the ball and that my friends is pretty hard to do without getting penalized, for offsides. Jake is solid when used in coverages. He reminds me a lot of the Buffalo Bills Matt Milano.
CONCERNS
Injuries have cut into Jake’s ability to work out and teams are forgetting how good a player he is. I don’t think the scouts are forgetting, and when Jake gets healthy he most likely will be an impact starting defensive player for the team that was smart enough to select him. Jake will be considered by most teams as “position-specific” and that will affect his draft status also.
BOTTOM LINE: 2.50
If Jake can not work out before the draft because of his knee injury he will mostly become a priority-free agent signing or late round selection. That being said, it’s hard for me to include injuries in my evaluations because I have no clue how bad they will be to a player’s career status. All I can do is tell you what I see in the film and then inform you of the injury. I think Jake is an impact and talented defensive player who forces turnovers and makes plays. I do agree that he is “position-specific” and he mostly will fit a certain style of defense and with that information, I would look at selecting Jake in and around the 2nd round. Now we get into Jake’s value. Because of his injury, I can look at Rob’s board and evaluate what round Jake most likely will be selected in and plan off that information. That’s how the 2-board system works. It gives you a chance to realize that there is talent in every round of the draft if you manage the draft correctly, and do not fall in love with just one player. Jake’s injury does not change his talent but it does change his value and where that talent could be selected. Matt Milano was injured when he came out in 2017. He was selected in the 5th round. He’s been one of the Bill’s starting LB’s since halfway through his 1st year in the league. He just signed an extension for $44 million dollars for the next 4 years. Good luck Jake.
