Jawhar Jordan scouting report: Exploring Louisville RB's strengths and weaknesses

One of the top 1,000 recruits in 2018, Jawhar Jordan was mostly a utility player through his first three years with the Louisville Cardinals, turning 66 touches into 416 yards and one touchdown.

Over the latter two seasons, he was a highly productive starter, carrying the ball 181 times for 1128 yards and catching 21 passes for 246 yards, combining for 14 TDs. That earned him first-team All-ACC honors.

Breaking down Jawhar Jordan's scouting report

NFL Combine

Strengths

• Patient but efficient decision-maker behind the line of scrimmage
• Slicing type of running style, where you don’t see change of directions until the very moment he sticks his foot in the ground
• Comfortable deeply pressing creases, with the ability to stop his feet and slip to the opposite side of blockers at the last moment
• Quick to identify cutback lanes and consistently turns his shoulders away from unblocked defenders on the backside
• Can get super skinny through the hole and slip through converging defenders as they reach out for him
• Recognizes bounce opportunities but makes sure to keep linebackers from scraping over the top, allowing his linemen to secure the block working around the edge
• Showcases mobility in the hips and ankles to react to penetration
• Gets past defenders regularly without having to put a move on them
• Accelerates his pads into contact around the line of scrimmage, forcing would-be-tacklers to bounce off him quite regularly
• Has a real knack for micro-movements to slip through crowded areas in short-yardage situations
• Consistently turns his shoulders away from nearby defenders and minimizes the surface area for them to hit
• Uses his off-arm exceptionally well to stabilize himself and/or swipe down the reach of defenders trying to hold him up
• Can go airborne and fully clear defenders on hurdles at times
• Even though size would suggest Jordan can't break or work through tackles, he does frequently pull his knees up through wraps or launches himself forward, leading to an average of 3.28 yards after contact during his three years with the Cardinals
• Could frequently hit quick bursts to move the chains for Louisville, turning 16% of his carries into 10+ yards (54 of 337)
• While he does allow the ball to get into his body at times, he doesn’t drop targets – only two on 42 career catchable targets
• Has good body control and ability to catch the ball when it arrives slightly behind him or over his head
• Frequently can give a defender closing out into the flats a little shimmy and make them miss on quick dump-offs
• Uses his linemen exceptionally well in the screen game
• Does a nice job of punching blitzers with a square chest and taking charge of them, especially considering his lack of mass

Weaknesses

• Underwhelming size and speed, showing up at the combine at 193 lbs and only running a 4.56.
• Not a “powerhorse” who will drive forward through defensive linemen standing at the line of scrimmage or move the pile
• Rarely burns angles out to the sideline
• Apart from the occasional wheel route, is primarily employed in swings and flats in the pass game

Jawhar Jordan's draft projection

Jordan presents a similar story to Oregon’s Bucky Irving, where he shines on tape but his “on-field speed” is less apparent. His size/speed profile is underwhelming.

Jordan isn’t going to run through linebackers or beat safeties to the sideline a whole lot at the NFL level. Yet, while his teammate Isaac Guerendo is basically on the opposite end of the scale when it comes to measurables and could be a productive player in a wide zone-based system, Jordan can excel in any type of rushing offense.

While he may not present an athletic trump card, his ability to set up lanes for himself by stretching the defense and making one hard cut is excellent. What is encouraging about Jordan’s projection to the next level is some of the quality pass protection he’s put on tape and how dependable he’s been catching the ball to fit a variety of schemes.

He’s probably going to be somewhere in the middle of Day 3, but considering how pro-ready he is, teams may be comfortable taking Jordan early on Saturday.

Grade: Late fourth / Early fifth round