Jerome Ford NFL Draft Overview
Position: Running Back
Height: 5′-10″
Weight: 210 pounds
School: Cincinnati
Jerome Ford 2022 NFL Draft Profile
After spending the past four seasons at Alabama and Cincinnati, running back Jerome Ford decided to skip his final year of eligibility and declare for the 2022 NFL Draft. Ford is coming off what is easily the best season of his young career. Earning a full workload for the first time, the running back finished the year with 1,315 carries and 20 touchdowns on 215 carries to go along with 220 receiving yards on 21 receptions.
Ford began his collegiate career with Alabama. However, after failing to climb a depth chart with big names like Josh Jacobs, Damien Harris, and Najee Harris, the running back decided to transfer to Cincinnati following the 2019 season. During his first year with the Bearcats, Ford recorded 483 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 73 attempts.
Strengths
- Good red zone back with 30 touchdowns on 318 career rushes;
- Impressive straight-line speed – faster than any linebacker in a race;
- Quick out of his cuts with fast acceleration;
- Didn’t drop a single pass in college;
- Looks far more athletic on tape than his testing numbers suggest.
Weaknesses
- Very, very raw player – needs to learn a lot about the position;
- Took a long time to earn a noteworthy workload;
- Ball security issues highlighted by six fumbles over the past three seasons;
- Doesn’t have the build to handle a full three-down workload;
- Did not test well athletically – hopefully it was just a bad day at the office;
- Doesn’t read his blocks well – slows down when rushing lanes aren’t wide open.
NFL Comparison: Jonas Gray
Teams With Need at Position: Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles
Projection: Rounds 6-7
Bottom Line on Jerome Ford
Jerome Ford is a nice project running back that will need some time before he’s ready to be a regular part of any backfield. The raw traits are abundantly evident, as Ford has the straight-line speed to blow past linebackers and some safeties once he makes it to the open field. Additionally, he can already be a good red zone back, as 30 of his 319 collegiate carries resulted in a score. Also, while he didn’t catch many passes in college, Ford has soft hands and looked good with the ball on his rare pass-catching opportunities.
Ford’s traits are the reason he should hear his name called during the NFL Draft, but his raw play style is why it probably won’t be until late on Day 3. Ford is slow to attack his rushing lanes and will only plow through the line if said lane is wide open. If something goes awry, he’s too quick to slow down, panic, and ultimately lose his forward momentum. Additionally, he’ll need to get better at holding on to the football – ball security is massively important, and six fumbles in limited touches is not a good look.
And then there’s the analytic side of things. It’s a huge red flag that Ford only has one season where he handled a full workload, and that said season came during his age-22 season. Additionally, he did not test nearly as well as most thought he would. Athleticism is a massive component to running back success, and if Ford really is as athletically pedestrian as his numbers suggest, then it’s hard to see him ever turning into a regular part of a running back rotation.
Ultimately, Ford is worth a shot in the dark as a late-round pick. However, he’ll probably spend most of his NFL time on special teams with only the occasional carry in the backfield.
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