| The Franchise |
05-09-2022 09:30 AM |
UDFAs:
Jerrion Ealy, RB, Ole Miss
#23 rated RB
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BACKGROUND: Jerrion (Jair-E-un) Ealy grew up in Leake County in central Mississippi and started playing sports at age 5. He gravitated toward baseball and football as his go-to sports, and that would continue through high school and college. Ealy attended Jackson Preparatory School in the state’s capital, where he helped the program to four consecutive state titles during his prep career. After rushing for 896 yards as a freshman and 971 yards as a sophomore, he had his most productive season as a junior with 180 carries for 1,743 yards and 32 touchdowns, adding 578 receiving yards and eight touchdown grabs in 2017. Ealy was named an Under Armour All-American as a senior with 1,526 rushing yards on 167 carries and 24 touchdowns. He finished his prep career with 5,136 rushing yards and 105 total touchdowns. Ealy was a standout baseball player at Jackson Prep, batting .373 with six home runs and 24 RBI as a senior. He also lettered in track and finished first at the 2018 state championship in the 100 meters (10.61) and 200 meters (21.98) and second in the long jump (21’9.75).[35]
A five-star recruit out of high school, Ealy was the No. 3 running back in the 2019 recruiting class (No. 29 overall) and the No. 3 recruit in the state of Mississippi (behind LB Nakobe Dean and OT Charles Cross). He originally committed to Ole Miss after his junior season, but after his senior year he decided to re-open his recruitment just weeks before signing day. Ealy visited and considered Alabama, Clemson and Mississippi State before re-committing to Ole Miss as the top-ranked player in the Rebels’ 2019 class. Out of high school, Ealy was drafted in the 31st round (No. 932 overall) of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks but did not sign. Ealy played in 13 games as a freshman center fielder at Ole Miss and posted a .321 on-base percentage before the season was cut short because of the pandemic. He didn’t play baseball as a sophomore after offseason shoulder surgery. He elected to skip his senior season at Ole Miss and enter the 2022 NFL Draft.
STRENGTHS: Two-sport athlete in college (football and baseball) and state champion sprinter in high school … shows plant-and-burst skills to stick his foot in the ground and get upfield … runs with energetic feet and balance to pick his way through traffic and come out the other side … lowers his pads and finishes strong at the sticks … catches the ball cleanly, and finished second on the team in catches in 2021 … only two career fumbles, and both came his freshman season … productive return man, averaging 25.4 yards per kick return with two touchdowns … averaged at least 5.1 yards per carry each season … finished his career as only the sixth player in school history to reach 2,200 rushing yards.
WEAKNESSES: Lacks desired size and strength for inside work in the NFL … plays fast, but his speed won’t be the trump card that it was in college … inconsistent timing with his reads and decisions … tends to dance too much in the backfield … can improve his open-field moves (I expected more splash plays on his tape) …below average in pass protection, and with his size, blocking will likely never be a strength to his game … his lack of size leads to durability concerns; missed the 2020 bowl game due to a right shoulder injury that required off-season surgery (and sidelined him for the 2021 baseball season); missed one game as a junior because of concussion symptoms (October 2021).
SUMMARY: A three-year starter at Ole Miss, Ealy was the main attraction of the Rebels’ running back committee in head coach Lane Kiffin’s RPO-based scheme. Even without a grueling workload (averaged 13.7 offensive touches per game in his career), he became just the fifth player in school history to reach 2,000 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns in his career. Although he is more quick than explosive, Ealy has athletic feet and competitive run style to give defenders the slip and create extra yards for himself. However, I expected better tempo and more chunk plays for a player of his talent (only five runs of 30-plus yards in his final 300 carries in college). Overall, Ealy has his limitations, which makes him more of a hybrid back, but his athletic versatility as a rusher, receiver and returner can be an asset in the right situation. He projects best in a Nyheim Hines-type of role.
GRADE: 7th Round
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Justyn Ross, WR, Clemson
#19 rated WR
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BACKGROUND: Justyn Ross was born and raised in Phenix City, Ala., (near the Alabama-Georgia border) by his single mother (and by his grandmother while his mother was deployed). He attended Central High, where he lettered in basketball and football, becoming the first freshman in head coach Jamey DuBose’s 25-year stint to earn a spot on varsity. Ross finished his junior season with 38 catches for 663 yards and eight touchdowns. As a senior, he led Central to a 12-1 record with 37 receptions for 730 yards and 13 touchdowns, adding a pair of punt-return touchdowns. Ross received First Team All-State honors in 2017 and was a finalist for Alabama’s Mr. Football.
A four-star recruit out of high school, Ross was the No. 7 wide receiver in the 2018 recruiting class (No. 45 overall) and the No. 1 recruit in the state of Alabama. He started receiving SEC scholarship offers as a freshman in high school and eventually narrowed down his final list to Alabama, Auburn and Clemson. Ross forged a close bond with head coach Dabo Swinney and signed with the Tigers, which marked the first time the highest-ranked recruit from the state of Alabama signed with a school other than Alabama or Auburn since 2003. His mother (Charay Franklin) had him when she was 16 and spent two tours in the Navy (2001-05) before joining the Alabama National Guard, where she has been deployed to Afghanistan (twice) and Kuwait. After back-to-back seasons affected by injury, Ross elected to skip his senior season and enter the 2022 NFL Draft.
STRENGTHS: Tall, limber athlete with a remarkable catch radius ... above-average high-pointer, and uses his arms to deftly fend off competition ... above-average hand-eye coordination to make midair adjustments with ease ... moves like a smaller athlete ... can control his gears to shake a defender after the catch or force overpursuit ... fluid strider to pace his routes and keep cornerbacks off balance ... shows sink at the top of his routes ... has the footwork to work the sideline ...above-average compete skills any time he steps on the field, and some of his best tape came vs. the top opponents on the schedule ... led the team in receptions or receiving yards each of his three seasons on the field.[60]
WEAKNESSES: Lean features, and has room to continue getting stronger ... not a sudden mover, and his speed is more build-up than instant ... needs to add more branches to his route tree ... benefited from a high volume of isolation routes designed to create mismatches in coverage ... might face early struggles vs. physical press-man corners ... almost all of his impressive YAC plays are from his freshman tape ... receiving and scoring production declined each season ... uncertain medicals are a red flag: missed the 2020 season because of a bulging disc and congenital fusion condition in his neck and spine (discovered when he felt a tingling sensation after taking a hit during spring practice in March 2020), requiring surgery in June 2020; missed the final three games of his junior season because of a stress fracture in his left foot that required surgery (November 2021).
SUMMARY: A two-year starter at Clemson, Ross was an inside and outside receiver in former offensive coordinator Tony Elliott’s scheme. He looked like a future firstround pick after his freshman season, including a remarkable performance in the Tigers’ 2018 national title run with a combined 12 catches for 301 yards and three touchdowns in the two playoff wins (vs. Notre Dame and Alabama). However, Ross’ career trajectory took a detour the past two seasons because of concerning injuries (spinal surgery in 2020 and foot surgery in 2021). He isn’t an elite speed or burst player on tape, and his testing numbers confirmed that. But he can vary his route speed to keep defenders on his hip and displays the length, body control and focus to snare outside his frame. Overall, Ross’ NFL evaluation hinges on his medicals, but he is a long, limber athlete with maybe the largest catch radius of any receiver in the draft class. He is a risky prospect and tough projection because there is no guarantee he returns to pre-injury form.
GRADE: 4th-5th Round
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