After some flashes in a covid shortened freshman season, many thought Rakim Jarrett would have a massive breakout in 2021. He had a much more productive season but still did not show the consistency many would have hoped. Jarrett is draft-eligible in 2023, and with a big junior season, he still could push his way into the top-five WR discussion. Let’s take a closer look at the Maryland receiver.
Career at Maryland
Jarrett was a top 30 recruit in 2020 and ranked as the nation’s fourth WR. He initially committed to LSU before choosing the hometown Maryland Terrapins. In his freshman year, Jarrett only played four games but had a massive performance against Penn State. He would go for 144 yards and two touchdowns.
Many believed Jarrett would be the number one receiver in 2021 and the go-to target. But early on, the main target was Dontay Demus. He averaged over 101 yards per game over the first five games before being injured. Now would be the time for Jarrett to step up. Instead, in the last eight games, Jarrett only averaged 69 yards a game. While 829 yards and five TDs are not a bad year, it was not what many imagined for Jarrett.
Scouting Report
Jarrett has shown the ability to be moved all over the field and can win at all levels of the field but needs to be consistent week to week. Let’s look at the scouting report for him through two years.
Strengths
- Hands – Good hands to snatch the ball and make tough catches, especially on poorly thrown balls within his radius.
- Route Running– Smooth route runner. Especially good in and out of out-breaking routes. Crisp at the change of direction and set up defenders.
- Speed/Yards after Catch – Very good with the ball in his hands. Can make defenders miss and have the speed to take it the distance.
Needs Improvement
- Separation – As listed in strengths, he gets good separation on outbreaking routes, but on other deeper routes, he needs to work on helping the QB out more with more room for error.
- Release – Needs to improve technique to beat tough man-to-man coverage more consistently. If he improves this aspect, there should be more separation down the field.
- Physicality/Contested Catch – In two years, Jarrett has only brought in three out of fifteen contested catch opportunities. He needs to work on being stronger at the catch point to become a bigger focal point on the offense week in and week out.
2022 and Devy Outlook
Taulia Tagovailoa returns as quarterback for Maryland, and he can have the very highs but also very bad lows. That inconsistency is some of why Jarrett hasn’t exploded. But Demus was having a great stretch last year and is back. It will be interesting to see if Jarrett can assume more of a dominant role in the offense in 2022.
In the Dynasty Nerds Devy Rankings, Jarrett is the tenth-ranked WR, but I have him as WR14. I think he is very talented, but it seems to be feast or famine. Jarrett has five games with over 100 yards receiving out of a total of 17 games played. If you take that yardage, it accounts for over 44% of his total yardage in two years. He could move up my ranks very well, but I would instead go after talented younger players like Marvin Harrison Jr, Luther Burden, or Evan Stewart.
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