2019 NFL Draft Prospect – Dwayne Haskins, QB Ohio State

Our NFL rookie profile series continues with this analysis of 2019 NFL Draft Prospect Dwayne Haskins, QB of Ohio State. You can also check out all of our NFL Draft Prospect articles here. We will continue to provide you with these in-depth rookie profiles and a ton of other fantasy football rookie analysis right up through the NFL Draft. Stay tuned, and stay ahead of your league!

Kyler Murray landing in Arizona seems like a forgone conclusion at this point, right? Well, Dwayne Haskins‘ landing spot is not quite as clear.

Will the New York Giants trade for Josh Rosen (or someone else) and pass on Haskins? Will the Washington Redskins trade up to get him? Will the Miami Dolphins or Cincinnati Bengals move up from pick 10 or 13 to get their new QB of the future? Is there a chance he falls out of the top ten? There is much uncertainty involving Haskins’ future, but one thing that we cannot question is how great he was in 2018.

While Murray may have a higher ceiling due to his athleticism and rushing ability, Haskins is the safer bet. He thrived in a pro-style offense and has all the tools you look for in a franchise quarterback.

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THE STATS

Haskins was mentored as a youth by former and current NFL players, including Mohamed Sanu. He has been a highly-touted prospect throughout his entire football career. The 2014-2015 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year as a high school senior, he was named one of the top five pro-style quarterbacks in the country.

Haskins was going to stay in state to play football and initially committed to play at Maryland. When the Terrapins’ head coach was fired following that season, he decided to play for Urban Meyer at Ohio State instead. Probably a smart choice.

Statistics from sports-reference.com.

He redshirted as a freshman in 2016, and backed up JT Barrett in 2017.

As you can tell from his profile, Haskins started only one full season – in which he put up monstrous numbers. Once Haskins was named the starting quarterback for the Buckeyes, he was thrust into the national spotlight. He was the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and lead the Buckeyes to a Big Ten title with a huge performance at Lucas Oil Stadium where he threw for almost 500 yards and five touchdowns in a 45-24 win over Northwestern.

He also finished as an All-American and finished third in voting for the Heisman Trophy. He lead the nation with 4,831 passing yards and 50 touchdowns in 14 starts, all while completing 70% of his pass attempts.

There may be some growing pains since he is a relatively new starting quarterback with only one full season under his belt. Mitchell Trubisky comes to mind as a quarterback who was drafted as a high pick in round one of the NFL after only starting one college season. He struggled as a rookie, but took a big leap forward in year two. Haskins is more polished than Trubisky coming out of North Carolina, so I would expect a cleaner transition to the NFL for him.

THE FILM

When watching the tape of Dwayne Haskins… there isn't much to dislike.

– Rolls to his right
– Good footwork
– Effortlessly tosses a 50 yard bomb on the money

Haskins has a lot of skills that translate at the next level. @DLFootball @MyFantasyLeague #NFLDraft #dynasty pic.twitter.com/k8tvquGc57

— Levi Chappell (@LeviChappell) April 8, 2019

After watching quite a bit of tape, I like him even more than I did before. No prospect is ever going to be perfect, but if I was the general manager for teams like the Giants, Redskins, Dolphins or Bengals, I would seriously consider him with my first round pick.

Some traits naturally jump off the screen. His arm talent is something to see. He effortlessly drops 50-60 yard bombs right into the basket. A lot of strong-arm quarterbacks lack finesse and accuracy at times (ahem, Josh Allen), but not Haskins. He has a very repeatable throwing motion which allows him to be accurate, while also being able to throw from different angles when necessary.

He has good footwork and has a natural feeling in the pocket of when to stay and when to move around. He can also throw one of the better deep balls in this class, with the right amount of arc so that it falls right into the lap of the receiver.

Haskins does have some traits that will need to be corrected once he is drafted. He stares down his primary receiver too often, and he doesn’t always show caution when trying to fit the ball into tight spots – two important things that will be addressed at the next level.

THE MEASURABLES

Another not-so-great trait is Haskins’ lack of athleticism (a nice way of putting it). He is not exactly fleet of foot. He doesn’t have a ton of pep in his step. He looks like his cleats are covered in cement. You get my point.

His athletic profile matches up closely to guys like Tim Couch and Philip Rivers. I wouldn’t expect him to be winning any schoolyard races anytime soon (unless it’s against Rich Eisen). On the flip side, head coach Urban Meyer and Ohio State did a really nice job of building up the protection around him and using the pocket effectively. I would expect the NFL team that drafts him to do something similar.

When you look at Haskins’ spider chart courtesy of Mock Draftable, you see a player with the physical makeup to be durable and stand in the pocket and make plays. At 6’3”, 230 lbs., his body type reminds me a bit of Jameis Winston or Matthew Stafford. Haskins also has very long arms and a long wingspan which allows him to make some of those unorthodox throws.

Obviously, athleticism is not nearly as big of a concern for quarterbacks as other positions. I am more concerned about moving in the pocket and keeping plays alive than I am about a quarterback’s 40-yard dash time or how well he can scramble for yards. On tape, Haskins seemed to do a good enough job creating time in the pocket and keeping plays alive.

DYNASTY VALUE

According to DLF’s April 2019 Rookie Dynasty ADP, Haskins is being taken as the 27th rookie overall (QB2). He is being drafted as an early to mid-third rounder in standard format, which seems like pretty good value for the QB2 in the class. Kyler Murray is being selected anywhere from a late first to a mid-second round pick in standard formats.

While I think Murray has a higher ceiling, Haskins is a much safer pick and a better value at this point in my opinion.

Haskins has gone as early as pick 22, and as late as pick 33. I would be very surprised to see him in the back end of the third round (unless landing spot is less than ideal) in a rookie draft. I would be comfortable selecting him as early as a mid-second rounder. He is a player I would expect to have an immediate impact, if he lands on a quarterback-needy team.

CONCLUSION

As we all know, value has as much or more to do with landing spot and draft capital than it does the actual profile of the player (e.g., John Ross as the ninth pick in the NFL draft shot him up rookie drafts). There are a couple of teams that I would like to see Haskins playing for next year.

I think the New York Giants are an obvious and overall good fit for him. The Giants need a new franchise leader under center. Surrounding Haskins with a stud running back (Saquon Barkley), a talented tight end (Evan Engram), and a veteran receiver like Golden Tate could help him. I am not sold on Pat Shurmur as a coach and the offensive line still needs some help (there is a reason they are picking sixth), but all in all, I like that landing spot.

If Haskins ends up sliding out of the top ten (while Murray, Drew Lock, and possibly even Daniel Jones are drafted), I could see the Bengals swooping in. While quarterback is not the biggest need for Cincinnati, they know that Andy Dalton is not the long-term solution and the Bengals would be hard-pressed to pass on a new franchise quarterback at pick 11. Cincinnati and their fan base could use a “new look,” and Haskins could be the answer.

Follow me on Twitter @LeviChappell.

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