Jerome Ford 2022 NFL Draft Profile

The 2022 NFL Draft will be a great event for teams to start building for their future. Here is the Jerome Ford 2022 NFL Draft Profile.

Jerome Ford Background

Position: Running Back

Size: 5-foot-11, 215 pounds

Class: Junior

2021 stats: 1,319 rushing yards, 19 rushing touchdowns, 6.1 yards per carry, 21 receptions, 220 receiving yards, 1 touchdown catch

Ford spent one year as a workhorse running back with the Cincinnati Bearcats. He is now preparing to take his game to the pros.

As a four-star prospect out of high school, Ford decided to attend Alabama. He spent two seasons at the school, but was buried on the depth chart. Ford had 151 rushing yards and three touchdowns during his time with the Crimson Tide. Following the 2019 season, Ford transferred to Cincinnati. He split carries with Gerrid Doaks his first year with the Bearcats, but still totaled 483 rushing yards, 51 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. His play helped the Bearcats reach the Peach Bowl. For his final season of college football, Ford had 1,319 rushing yards, 220 receiving yards and 20 total touchdowns. He was a leader on a team that was able to make the College Football Playoff.

Following the Bearcats’ loss to Alabama in the College Football Playoff, Ford declared his intention to enter the NFL Draft. He is currently projected to be a third or fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Jerome Ford Strengths

This clip perfectly sums up Jerome Ford as a runner. Gets stopped in traffic, keeps the legs moving…then boom off to the races. pic.twitter.com/HbOUAq7iGX

— Joe DiTullio (@DiTullioJoe) January 27, 2022

Ford has a nice build for a running back at 5-foot-11 and 211 pounds. He may have even added weight to that frame for the 2021 season. Ford has solid contact balance and isn’t the easiest to tackle given his size. While he isn’t a true power back, Ford’s size and running style allow him to break tackles. He can be used as a short-yardage back.

He has some breakaway speed that was on display for the Bearcats. It doesn’t take long for Ford to get up to top speed and once he does, he is a threat to take the ball to the end zone. His acceleration and long speed make him a home-run threat.

His vision is also solid. Cincinnati didn’t have the most talented offensive line in 2021, but Ford found holes to run through. He is able to run to open space and in the open field, is able to use his speed to cut off pursuit angles by defenders. Ford takes what is available from a defense and won’t try to run east and west too much.

Jerome Ford Weaknesses

While he has good acceleration and speed, Ford could show more elusiveness. He mostly has his big plays as a result of his speed rather than his ability to make defenders miss. Ford tries to find the hole, then runs hard to hit the hole and to reach top speed. He could have more wiggle and add more moves to make defenders miss in the open-field.

Ford isn’t a natural catcher of the football and will need to prove that he can help as a pass-catcher. He had 220 receiving yards in his one season as the workhorse back, but most of those came off of dump-offs and screens. His skill set should help him develop in this area, but he needs to catch balls more cleanly and also show he can run more routes.

Not only will Ford have to show better receiving skills to get on the field on third downs at the next level, but he’ll also need to be better in pass protection as well. He has solid size and has shown the ability to square up and hold off defenders, but he needs to recognize on where pressure is coming from and execute his assignment more often.

Projected Draft Range: Third Round Pick-Fourth Round Pick

 

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