NFL Draft Prospect Breakdown: Dwayne Haskins

Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State

Strengths:

Haskins has a rocket for an arm that can rifle the ball into tight windows to beat good coverage. He has one of the strongest arms in this draft and can make any throw. He works best in the short to intermediate range with excellent arm strength and good ball placement.

Haskins has also shown the ability to put air underneath the ball and throw touch passes. He has the perfect size for a quarterback in today’s NFL. Haskins has shown the awareness to climb the pocket when the pass rush starts getting in. He is mobile enough to get outside the pocket when facing pressure to extend plays.

Weaknesses:

His ball placement raises some questions at times, especially on vertical deep throws. He is not the most accurate quarterback which is obviously a big concern for NFL teams. While Haskins has touch and velocity on his throws, he doesn’t always know when to use it. His footwork can get thrown off when he’s faced with pressure in the pocket and he will become flustered. Haskins has trouble making his reads on longer developing plays. At times when his target suddenly becomes unavailable, Haskins will freeze up. He is not much of a running threat which will limit him to staying inside the pocket or quickly making a throw if forced to scramble.

Draft Projection:

First Round Pick

Haskins is a pocket passer with a very strong arm and usually good accuracy on shorter routes. His long ball gets away from him and he can get flustered when a play breaks down. Haskins’ ball placement can be very worrisome at times and he must control that to have a chance to really improve. While he is ranked as a round two player, someone will take a chance on him late in the first round and he has the potential to develop into a franchise quarterback.