Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State

Height: 6’3″
Weight: 231 pounds
40-yard dash: 5.04 seconds
Hand Size: 9.6 inches

There’s always going to be a debate atop prospect quarterback rankings, but this year it seems to come down to which type of quarterback you want leading your team. Do you want a mobile quarterback who’s a bit small or do you want a pocket passer who isn’t going to offer anything on the ground? Haskins is the latter, as he’s a big guy who’s tough to bring to the ground, but he’s got a big arm that can throw from multiple platforms.

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The biggest knock on Haskins is that he’s got one year of production at Ohio State (which is odd, because Kyler Murray also has just one year of production). If you recall, Mitch Trubisky had the exact same concerns after starting just 13 games since high school. Of the pass attempts Haskins did make at Ohio State, he made them count, completing 413-of-590 attempts (70.0 percent completion rate) for 5,396 yards (9.1 yards per attempt), while throwing 54 touchdowns and just nine interceptions. He rushed for four touchdowns, but he’s nothing more than a short-yardage guy who can plunge it in from the one-yard line due to his big frame.

Arm Strength/Throwing Mechanics: 3.0 out of 5 stars
While moving to his sides on plays by design (roll-outs), he squares his shoulders and is able to throw the ball without losing much velocity. His throwing motion is very smooth when he properly sets his feet, but falters when pressure comes. He played out of the shotgun a lot, so his footwork might take some time to adjust if he’s brought into a traditional offense, though he didn’t look too bad with his dropbacks at the Combine. He also has a very quick release when he needs to and he flashed it quite a bit on some quick screen passes with Ohio State, but it’s inconsistent as he doesn’t deliver the ball the same on every throw. All in all, he’s a work in progress, but the tools are there.

Accuracy: 3.0 out of 5 stars
He completed a very-high 70 percent of his passes in 2018, but after watching a lot of his film, he should’ve had an even higher mark. His receivers dropped quite a few passes throughout the year, including a few that bounced out of their hands and turned out to be interceptions. It does need to be noted that he completed a lot of screen passes, which will boost his overall numbers, but in the end, his accuracy up to 20 yards down the field is solid. He has the arm to get the ball down the field but did see him underthrow a few easy ones. He seems to just over/underestimate the strength of his arm down the field, as that part of his game needs quite a bit of work. It could also be attributed to him having a lack of time developing chemistry with his receivers being a one-year starter, but I see inconsistency in that part of his game. If this score was based solely on intermediate throws, he’d be near 4.0 out of 5 stars, as it’s a strength of his game. Fortunately, 90 percent of the throws he’ll make in the NFL are under 20 yards.

Mobility: 1.5 out of 5 stars
He’s not going to be running any time soon, as it’s just not the player he is. He’s a pocket-passer through and through. He is a bigger quarterback, though, so he’s not going to be tackled by his shoelace. He’s willing to take the ball on an option if it’ll help the team, but it should be reserved for short-yardage situations only.

Pocket Awareness: 2.0 out of 5 stars
He senses pressure well, but it has him force throws and his mechanics tend to go south in those moments. A lot of the time, you’ll see him stand in the face of pressure, but throw the ball off his back foot while getting him below his waist. Those are the throws he needs to eliminate, as it severely impacts his velocity and accuracy. He needs to side-step to create a throwing window in those times or learn to take a sack.

Vision/Decision-Making: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Can see him stare down his targets a bit too much. He doesn’t scan through his progressions as much or as fast as you’d like for a high first-round pick, though he does at times (when he had time, something that didn’t happen too often). He did seem to get better as the year went on, though. When a play broke down and the defense correctly had it mapped out, Haskins made the correct decisions by throwing the ball away on multiple occasions. Oddly enough, the biggest chances he takes are on deep balls, as his accuracy on them is what can usually get him in trouble. He must stop throwing the ball throwing off one side of his body or his back foot, as you saw him do this too much. The pressure allowed by the offensive line was pretty quick at times, which led to him throwing off dozens of different levels. It’s good to know he has the ability to throw off-platform, but it shouldn’t happen this often. He does see things well and has the accuracy to do what he wants most of the time, but like most things in his game, there’s some inconsistencies.

Anticipation: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Understands zone coverage and sees the windows, though he can sometimes wait a bit too long for them to open. Watched him throw a lot of easier routes like screens and slants, but he did flash the ability to throw at the moment of the receiver’s break and lead them correctly on other routes. Trusts his ability to throw to a spot where he knows a receiver’s route will take them and he does it well.

Potential Landing Spot
After watching Haskins a bit more in-depth for this profile, there’s some growing pains that an NFL team is going to have to live with and the only way he gets there is experience. You continually saw him get better in many areas as the season (his experience) went on, so there’s going to be a team who takes him high in the first round. I believe that team is the Giants, who are picking at No. 6. They have Eli Manning starting the season, but it’s very likely he won’t be at year’s end. The other potential landing spots include the Broncos, Dolphins, and Redskins, though it’d likely take a trade-up for the Dolphins or Redskins to have a possibility.

NFL Comparison
When searching for a comparison for Haskins, you obviously want to find a pocket passer, which is getting tougher and tougher, as the NFL wants athletes at the position. A player I’m reminded of when watching Haskins is Ben Roethlisberger. Neither of them offer anything on the ground but they also aren’t the easiest guys to bring down. Roethlisberger is two inches taller and nine pounds heavier (listed), but their play styles are similar. Most don’t realize it but Roethlisberger completed just 35.6 percent of his deep balls in 2018, which ranked outside the top-20 at the position. That number was an even lower 31.8 percent in 2017, while only Eli Manning and Andy Dalton were worse. Haskins needs to work on his deep ball accuracy, as it would make his game a lot more well-rounded. As noted throughout this profile, Haskins isn’t really elite an anything, but is solid at most things. He’d be lucky to have a career as good as Roethlisberger’s, but I do believe he can be a long-time starter in this league if he keeps improving.

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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.