Jaylan Ford scouting report: Exploring the Texas LB's strengths and weaknesses

A three-star recruit in 2020, Jaylan Ford played in all 10 games of the COVID-shortened 2020 season, but primarily on special teams, recording 16 tackles. As a sophomore, he started two of 12 contests, registering 53 total stops, with a team-leading six for loss, 2.5 sacks, two passes intercepted and three more broken up.

Being in the lineup for all but one of 27 contests between 2022 and ‘23, he racked up a combined 230 tackles, 20.5 TFLs, six picks, four PBUs, four fumbles forced and three recovered. Jaylan Ford made first-team All-Big 12 in both.

Details: 6-foot-2, 240 pounds; SR.

Breaking down Jaylan Ford's scouting report

Jaylan Ford #41 of the Texas Longhorns reacts after a sack in the second quarter against the Kansas State Wildcats

Strengths

Run defense

• Jaylan Ford is a disciplined run-defender, who doesn’t blindly turn his shoulders and chase perimeter-oriented plays, abandoning his original fit.
• Easy lateral mover tracking zone runs, being able to shuffle, open or fall back depending on the movement of the running backs.
• Yet when the O-line has their shoulders turned and don’t keep their eyes up for him on combos, Ford will take advantage of opportunities of taking the lane they keep behind them and meet the ball carrier in the backfield.
• If he does have to deal with bodies in his face, Ford is capable of punching and stepping around them or past their hip and dipping under, to not get caught up in traffic.
• Offers the short-area burst to beat linemen across their across as they’re about to pin him away from the action, scraping over from the backside.
• Has the speed to track down the ball carrier on toss or speed option plays.
• When he has a runway to build up hitting power, you see him level dudes outside the hashes.
• Earned a career-best PFF grade of 80.2 vs. the run the last season, with exactly half of his total tackles (48 of 96) resulting in “stops” for the defense (negative play based on down-and-distance).

Coverage

• Has the easy gas to carry tight ends down the seam without really straining.
• When he does run with vertical routes, he does a nice job of pinning the near-arm and impeding the progress of those.
• Shows the spatial awareness to float out towards stick and hitch routes as a hook defender.
• Texas put him on the line of scrimmage and let his ability to cover ground shine, shutting down hot routes into the flats and making the quarterback turn down throws down the middle of the field.
• Will attach to targets late in the down and not allow them to separate as they transition into secondary routes during the scrambling phase.
• Instantly opens and chases after the ball once it leaves the quarterback’s hand and is alert with the hand-eye coordination to come down with passes hanging up in the air.
• Was a turnover magnet in 2022, as his four interceptions led all FBS linebackers, along with three fumbles forced and two more recovered.

Blitzing

• Jaylan Ford times the snap well and arrives in his gap with force as a blitzer.
• Consistently first to strike with his hands against running backs in protection.
• Has flashes of showing suddenness as a rusher, leaning one direction and beating blockers the opposite way.
• Collected quality experience lining up on the edge and got to the passer with his combination of spend and bend (98 snaps on the end of the line of scrimmage last season).
• Racked up 39 QB pressures across 152 pass-rush snaps since the start of the 2022 season.
• Takes excellent angles against scrambling quarterbacks, switching to a shuffle as that guy tries to make him miss and is smart enough to not draw unnecessary flags at the sideline.

Weaknesses

• Allows eye-candy to substantially pull him off his landmarks and take him out of the run fit at times.
• Too often ends up leaving his feet and slipping off the hips of ball-carriers when it looks like he has the angle against outside runs – missed 14.5% of his attempted tackles for his career.
• Definitely more of a spot-dropper, who doesn’t affect too much what’s happening behind him or is even looking to drift underneath routes – registered a career-worst PFF coverage grade of just 50.0, being charged with just over nine yards per target.
• Needs to improve how tight he stays to targets working around his vicinity, particularly crossing behind him, in order to deny easy completions.
• Allows way more yards after the catch than he should, trying to twist down receivers instead of hitting with his chest and bringing his hips into contact to actually stop them – 9.1 YAC per completion he was charged with in 2023.

Jaylan Ford's 2024 NFL Draft projection

Unlike some of the other Longhorn linebackers we’ve seen enter the league in recent years, Jaylan Ford actually presents prototype size at 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds.

While he possesses the agility and short-area burst to evade blockers, he’s proactive with using his hands and sturdy enough to deal with contact in condensed areas.

You like his ability to get in control of routes down the seams, but unfortunately, without a direct occupation, he’s more so sitting in space as a zone-dropper and has very few legit man-coverage to evaluate him off. As a pressure player, you like the ability to time up the snap, what he can bring bending the corner and some of the ways he softens the edges of blockers for himself.

The big issue however is the tackling and his approach to it. He will need to do a better job of erasing the distance between him and the ball-carrier, before actually initiating contact in a way that allows him to get in control of the interaction. If he can clean that part of his game up, Jaylan Ford could be a solid starter for multiple years in the pros.

Jaylan Ford Grade: Top 150.

You might like other LB scout reports: Edgerrin Cooper; Tommy Eichenberg; Trevin Wallace; Nathaniel Watson.