Jake Haener 2023 NFL Draft profile: Scout report for the Fresno State QB

Jake Haener, Fresno State: 6’1”, 195 pounds; RS SR.

Once a three-star recruit in 2017 for Washington, Jake Haener only threw 13 passes as a Huskie before transferring to Fresno State in 2020.

He entered the transfer portal after putting up career-highs across the board in 2021, completing 67.1 of his passes for 4,096 yards and 33 touchdowns, compared to nine INTs, but ultimately decided to stay with the Bulldogs.

This past season was when Jake Haener improved from second- to first-team All-Mountain West in 2022, when he missed three games (ankle badly rolled up on), but improved his completion percentage (72%) and TD-to-INT ratio (20-to-3).

Jake Haener scout report: Strengths

Jake Haener #9 of the Fresno State Bulldogs passes against the UCLA Bruins

+ Jake Haener does a great job of being a rotational thrower and not limiting himself by not having his upper and lower body out of sync.

+ Is able to get his cleats in the ground and the ball out in a hurry, when the primary is open or he needs to replace the blitz.

+ Can shorten up his release for the RPO and shotgun play-action game, or drop the arm angle and wrap around defenders when necessary.

+ Beautifully feather the ball for receivers at a full sprint, to run through.

+ Has proven on several occasions that he can drive those far-hash throws on deep outs and comebacks with velocity.

+ Improved his completion percentage, passer rating, TD-to-INT ratio and PFF grade each of the three seasons he spent with the Bulldogs.

+ Earned NFL passer ratings of above 80 to every level of the field this past season and had basically double the big-time-throw rate (4.3%) than the percentage of turnover-worthy plays (2.2ae%).

+ Nifty ball-handler, who can ride the fake to his back without compromising his base, switch hands and transition from the tucking the ball to become a passer again, yet he only fumbled twice across 562 plays last season.

+ Operated a spread-based offense at Fresno State very effectively, chipping away with short completions against soft zone shells.

+ Great timing-based thrower, who routinely hits his receivers just as they come out of the break.

+ Consistently delivers the ball away from the next-closest defender, such as to the outside against a corner driving on a curl route out wide.

+ Shows a high level of anticipation and can put the ball into fairly tight windows on high-low stretches.

+ You can’t allow Haener’s receivers to freely release up the seams versus single-high coverages, because he’ll hit those in a hurry.

+ Does a great job of manipulating second-level defenders, in order to open up passing windows and regularly completes passes between those linebackers.

+ You regularly see Haener progress to his third read or work a high-to-low and check it down when nothing is there.

+ Understands when the coverage dictates that defenders are leveraged in a way, where he should dump it off quickly and let them get positive yardage. Gets to his checkdown with conviction after having his chin up and eyes downfield all the way up to that point.

+ Doesn’t shy away from ripping throws over the middle even with a hit on him being imminent.

+ I really like the way Jake Haener navigates the pocket, regularly climbing and then getting wide, in order to buy enough time for receivers to work away from the ancillary coverage.

+ Has more quickness to elude pressure than you’d expect and has a knack for taking advantage of rush angles.

+ If you leave a lane open right in front of him, Haener will quickly punish you for it with 8-10 yard gains.

+ Keeps his eyes up when he gets outside the pocket and can deliver the ball right onto moving targets with different trajectories.

+ Does a great job of squaring his shoulders and getting into a throw-ready positions whilst on the move, with no problems getting the job done when rolling to the left.

+ Jake Haener is one tough son of a gun. The way he gutted out the ’21 UCLA game and continued to rip throws and delivered a couple of touchdowns at the end to pull off the comeback, even though it looked like somebody shoot him into the ribs every single play, showed me so much.

+ Was easily the most consistent quarterback of Senior Bowl week, being right on point on multiple deep balls, never dropping his eyes with bodies around him inside the pocket, pointing at receivers to adjust their routes on the fly and delivering accurately on the run. He was also named the MVP of the actual game.

Jake Haener scout report: Weaknesses

Jake Haener #9 of the Fresno State Bulldogs celebrates a touchdown against the UCLA Bruins

– Jake Haener doesn’t have the prototype or athletic profile scouts quite covet, where he has to consistently play the position on time.

– Tends to drift a little bit towards the receiver he’s targeting and makes you question if he quite has that NFL arm strength to stay on the spot and deliver to all areas of the field, plus he needs to narrow his base a little more at times.

– You like that Jake Haener tries to put the ball away from where defenders can’t make a play on it, but he tends to overthrow his receivers on vertical routes and doesn’t give them a real chance at times, with the ball landing out of bounds.

– Sometimes gets pre-occupied with where he wants to go with the ball before taking the snap and misses opportunities for easier completions.

– With the limited speed, those plays where Haener gets outside the pocket and is able to allow his receivers to work their way open, will be shut down a lot quicker – only had one season with a pressure-to-sack conversion rate below 20% at Fresno State already.

Jake Haener scout report: Grade

Jake Haener #9 of the Fresno State Bulldogs celebrates after defeating the UCLA Bruins, 40-37,

Is Jake Haener a guy who will step out of an NFL huddle and look like he will launch the ball over the heads of defenders or just run away from them? – No.

However, Haener plays quarterback with great rhythm, anticipation and accuracy. The football IQ, situational awareness and innate feel for defenders around him are certainly pro-level.

Before the hype got out of control in the Bay Area and I just compared the two guys as a prospects, I would’ve called Jake Haener a deluxe version of 49ers signal-caller Brock Purdy – who I liked as a top-ten QB in last year’s draft.

I’m fine with Haener going anywhere on day three and think he can be an effective trigger-man in the right situation, where he has the weapons that can do damage after the catch if he delivers from within the structure, plus he can add some elusiveness to make something happen a couple of times per game.

At worst, he should be one of the best backups in the league for a long time, but if the right situation arises, he could absolutely be a starter for extended stretches.

Grade: Fourth round

You might like other 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Reports: Tyree Wilson (EDGE), Texas Tech; Will Anderson Jr. (EDGE), Alabama; Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR), Ohio; Zay Flowers (WR), Boston; Jordan Addison (WR), USC; Jordan Addison (WR), USC; Quentin Johnston (WR), TCU; Zach Charbonnet (RB), UCLA; Bijan Robinson (RB), Texas.

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