Profile
- Name: Rakim Jarrett
- School: University of Maryland
- Year: Junior
- Position: Wide Receiver
- Size: 6’0″, 192 lbs.
- Hands: 9 ⅜
- Arms: 31 ⅜
Background
Jarrett is the next in a line of quality receivers to come out of the University of Maryland. He arrived at College Park from St. John’s High School in Washington, D.C. He was a five-star recruit, according to 247sports. The talented pass catcher chose Maryland over many more heralded programs, including Alabama, Ohio State, and Tennessee. His senior highlight film below shows why so many high-end programs were recruiting Jarrett.
Despite arriving at College Park with immense expectations, Jarrett left school as somewhat of a disappointment. Just like former Terp Stefon Diggs, he never had a single 1,000-yard campaign despite being the clear top choice. While he never put together a complete campaign, Jarrett nonetheless flashed his immense talent. It is that talent that led him to declare for the NFL draft. Before the draft, he put on an excellent showing of his speed at the combine in Indianapolis. You can see his scores below.
Now that we have a good idea of the type of player Jarrett is from a height, weight, and speed perspective, it’s time we take a look at his film. Here, we will best see the potential that NFL teams will attempt to unlock at the next level.
Film Breakdown Pros
When you break down the film on Jarrett, the first positive trait that immediately jumps off the screen is his speed. He ran a 4.44 40-yard dash at the combine, and that speed shines through on tape. You can see a couple of examples below.
Speed is definitely not a question with Jarrett.
He does have some toughness to his game as well. He is not just a finesse player that cannot go over the middle and make the catch in traffic. You can find examples of his toughness in traffic below.
Jarrett will make the tough catch over the middle and not lose the ball with a big impact.
Jarrett possesses a decent football IQ as well. You can see on the play below how he found the soft spot in the zone and sat down, presenting a safe target for his QB.
Jarrett’s athletic ability allow him to make plays in the open field. In the play below, you can see him take a simple screen, forcing the first defender to miss and turning a negative play into a positive gain for the offense.
Film Breakdown Cons
As with most college receivers, Jarrett could work on his blocking technique. He was certainly a willing blocker, but on certain plays, like the one below, you can see him get sloppy and allow his defender to shuck him off relatively quickly.
On a couple of incidents, I also noticed that Jarrett allowed the ball to get into his body instead of reaching out and making a hands catch. He still secured the ball, but you always prefer to see the receiver be aggressive and attack the ball as opposed to allowing the ball to get into his body.
Jarrett’s biggest issue when transitioning to the next level is his lack of overall technique. Sometimes when you watch Jarrett, you can see him getting by with his raw physical gifts. He will need to expand his route tree, which largely consists of slants and outs into the flats. He will also need to diversify his release package off the line of scrimmage. Thankfully for him, these are issues that can be taught at the next level.
The Wrap-Up
Overall I quite like Jarrett’s game. He has adequate size and speed to succeed on the NFL level. Much like his fellow UMD alum Stefon Diggs, I believe Jarrett could have a much more successful NFL career than his college one. Whether due to injuries or new offensive schemes, he never realized his full potential at College Park. Jarrett should be a late second-day or a third-day pick in the coming draft. If he finds his way onto a team that is thin at WR, like Carolina, Minnesota, or Green Bay, he could quickly carve out a role. Jarrett is a fine late-round receiver who I will happily target in the later rounds of my upcoming drafts.
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