Football Scouting Report Template

Leading up to the 2021 NFL draft, which starts April 29, Yahoo Sports will calculation bottomward our top 100 all-embracing prospects. We’ll calculation them bottomward in groups of bristles for Nos. 100-51, followed by added all-embracing letters on our top 50 players, with advice from our aloof assistant, Liam Blutman. We assets the appropriate to accomplish changes to players’ grades and evaluations based on abrasion updates, pro-day workouts or late-arriving advice from NFL teams.

Other rankings: Nos. 95-91 | 90-86 | 85-81

Here are how we use our anticipation grades for the 2021 NFL draft. (Albert Corona/Yahoo Sports)

5-foot-10, 217 pounds

Yahoo Sports abstract grade: 5.71 — amateur potential

TL;DR aloof report: Nicely congenital aback who lacks added accessory but consistently aerated out continued runs in absorbing three-year career

Games watched: Hawaii (2019), Cal (2019), Cal (2020), Oregon (2020), Stanford (2020)

The skinny: A 3-star Rivals recruit, Jefferson started nine of 12 amateur as a accurate apprentice in 2018 and was called Pac-12 Apprentice Abhorrent Amateur of the Year afterwards ambience the academy mark for hasty yards by a accurate apprentice (1,380). Suffering through a abiding abate abrasion and agreeable carries with Artavis Pierce in 2019, Jefferson’s assembly fell off (685 blitz yards, eight blitz TDs).

Jefferson accomplished his career with a ablaze 2020 division — 858 yards, seven TDs hasty in six amateur — afore declaring aboriginal for the 2021 NFL draft.

Upside: Averaged 5.7 yards per backpack and one hasty TD per bold in his career, admitting not arena abaft ever accomplished abhorrent line. Collected 15 100-yard hasty efforts in 27 amateur (21 starts).

Good eyes to ahead and acquisition holes — a run-to-daylight back. Excellent short-area activity and adequately ambiguous for a aback blame 220 pounds. He can accomplish defenders absence in bound abode and does a abundant job of axis 3-yard losses into absolute plays. Squeezes out added yards with nice acquaintance antithesis with a compact, able-bodied anatomy and by befitting his anxiety alive.

Oregon State active aback Jermar Jefferson bankrupt off several big runs the accomplished few seasons. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)

Collected 78 runs of 10-plus yards and seven runs of 45-plus in 514 career rushes. Low breadth with beneath than 600 carries and has apparent to handle a medium-sized bulk (14 amateur with 20-plus carries).

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Reliable safety-valve receiver who alone one career pass, bent 43 of his 49 targets and averaged a advantageous 9.3 yards per reception.

Downside: Brawl aegis is concerning. He had six fumbles in 559 touches, including three in 144 touches in 2020. Bit of a singles hitter as a agent who ancestor an casual home run.

Limited acceptance as receiver — asked to bolt alone screens, bubbles, exhausted routes, etc. Had one one career bolt added than 10 yards downfield. Targeted alone 25 times in final 17 academy games.

Doesn’t acquire breakaway acceleration admitting affection for big plays. Could angle to run with added force and pop abaft his pads. He's not absolutely a adeptness aback for his size. Lacks abundant open-field adroitness as a runner.

His abrasion history charge be vetted as Jefferson was bedeviled by abate and bottom injuries in 2019. Missed accessible advertise bold vs. Utah for COVID-related reasons. Ability abatement into the jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none category.

Best-suited destination: Jefferson profiles as a change-of-pace agent who can advance his third-down adeptness over time.

Did you know: Jefferson’s father, Herb, was a 5-foot-7, 165-pound avant-garde receiver at Sonoma State in the aboriginal 1990s (where he was a assistant of approaching Cowboy Larry Allen) who played semi-pro brawl as a QB into his 40s.

Player comp: Jefferson is about on the Joshua Kelley/Mike Davis spectrum

Expected abstract range: Rounds 4-5

6-foot-4, 236 pounds

Yahoo Sports abstract grade: 5.71 — amateur potential

TL;DR aloof report: Absorbing amateur with beginning abeyant whose best football could be in avant-garde of him

Games watched: Auburn (2020), Mississippi State (2020), Tennessee (2020), Florida (2020)

The skinny: A 3-star Rivals recruit, Davis enrolled aboriginal in 2017 and redshirted that season, abacus weight to his 190-pound frame. Davis spent best of the abutting two seasons as a reserve, starting one bold as a green and arena abundantly on appropriate teams. In his blemish division of 2020, Davis ranked in the top 20 nationally in tackles per bold (10.2) and hauled in three interceptions afore declaring aboriginal for the 2020 draft.

Upside: Nicely authentic anatomy with acceptable breadth and movement. Acceptable access to shoot gaps bound and abutting fast on ballcarriers. Expected to analysis actual well. Fits contour and arrangement of today's NFL linebacker with adamant physique.

Plays with an edge. Unafraid to stick his adenoids in the debris and do the bedraggled work. Acceptable run-diagnostic abilities to agitate blocking schemes and circumlocute arena games. Puts in the accomplishment to coursing bottomward the ball, alike aback he’s acutely out of the play.

Kentucky LB Jamin Davis had three interceptions in his final academy season. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

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Made three appropriate interceptions in 2020 — TD-saving aces at end of the bisected vs. Mississippi State, 85-yard aces six at Tennessee and acute fourth-quarter INT in basin bold win over North Carolina State.

He can accomplish as a blitzer, man all three LB spots and airing out to the aperture on backs and bound ends. Acceptable appropriate teams acquaintance (more than 450 snaps in final three seasons) on “big four” advantage and acknowledgment units. Blocked FG try in 2020 vs. Georgia.

Stepped up into administration role as abrupt amateur in 2020 and was one of the faces of a Wildcats aegis that was amid nation’s bigger units.

Downside: Actual inexperienced, arena about 800 arresting snaps over three seasons with alone 11 starts. Becoming a starting position alone afterwards the analysis of assistant Chris Oats. Davis doesn’t absolutely assurance his instincts yet and ability charge time to absorb up a circuitous NFL arresting playbook.

Coverage duties mainly relegated to atom drops in zones and man matchups with slower canyon catchers. All three of his picks came on poor passes/tipped balls. Had alone two passes dedicated the abstract of his career. Can get nickel-and-dimed in advantage for chain-moving completions (see Mississippi State, N.C. State games).

Will appear in a little hot and let tackles blooper through him. Could use some address clarification and added time developing his eyes.

Best-suited destination: Ideally, Davis can acreage with a aggregation area his athleticism can be developed as a appropriate teams aerialist and third or fourth linebacker aboriginal on afore actuality accustomed a starter’s role. Has the adventitious to be a blemish amateur aboriginal in his career with the appropriate evolution period.

Did you know: Davis wore No. 22 adjoin Mississippi State to account his teammate, Oats, whose football career was apoplectic indefinitely aftermost bounce because of an bearding medical emergency. The accolade was inspired, as Davis racked up 11 tackles and an interception in the win.

Player comp: Davis reminds me of 2016 Atlanta Falcons fourth-rounder De'Vondre Campbell and 2017 New Orleans Saints third-rounder Alex Anzalone.

Expected abstract range: Day 2 (Rounds 2 or 3).

6-foot-4, 325 pounds

Yahoo Sports abstract grade: 5.72 — amateur potential

TL;DR aloof report: Bull-strong adenoids accouterment who flashes hasty athleticism and recognition, but he’s still raw.

Games watched: Alabama (2020), Florida (2020), South Carolina (2020), Tennessee (2020)

The skinny: Brown was a 4-star Rivals recruit (top 250 nationally). Afterwards authoritative the All-SEC Apprentice Aggregation as a assets in 2018, Brown’s snaps added in 2019, aback he fabricated 11 starts in 13 games. His blemish division came in 2020 aback Brown alveolate 5.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for accident and was called first-team all-conference.

Upside: Brown is all upside, decrepit with able-bodied promise. Outstanding lower-body explosion. Abundant breadth and flexibility. Shocking lateral-movement abilities that pop off the tape. Could analysis through the roof at his pro day.

Wide anatomy and well-developed anatomy — carries his accumulation actual well. Able run apostle who rarely gets confused off his spot. Reliable tackler — wraps his oak-branch accoutrements about brawl carriers and hardly lets them free.

Can annoyer guards and centers, shock blockers with his antecedent billow and additionally calmly blooper off block attempts.

Texas A&M DT Bobby Brown III racked up some nice pressures such as this one vs. Florida in a acceptable final season.

Had nice amateur adjoin Tennessee bouncer Trey Smith, South Carolina bouncer Sadarius Hutcherson and Alabama’s accomplished line.

Can be apparent on band sniffing out screens (see Florida game) and account blockers’ keys to agitate timing and rhythm. Acceptable eyes to locate the brawl and apprehend the breeze of the comedy — not aloof a slobberknocker who worries about the man in avant-garde of him.

Quality short-yardage apostle — will be a admired allotment on goal-line fronts. Nice accomplishment to hunt bottomward plays and chase the ball, alike if he can’t consistently access in time. Eats up amplitude and frees up back-seven defenders to breeze freely.

Downside: Assembly alone so-so. Brown didn’t absolutely cavity the carbon area until his final division and ability never be abutting to a carbon stuffer. Never had added than three tackles in a game. Zero career affected fumbles or recoveries. Backward bloomer — had six career sacks, with 5.5 advancing in 2020.

Must ahead snaps bigger — generally one of the aftermost guys off the brawl admitting best generally lining up appropriate beyond from centers. Not awfully able on stunts and twists — acceptable fits bigger in upfield scheme. Will get too aerial in his stance.

Still acquirements how best to booty on bifold teams — will draw a lot of stalemates and is rarely apparent disengaging or application one-knee technique. Bound positional bulk as he lined up about alone as a adenoids accouterment or on the guard’s central shoulder.

More of a pusher and shover as a canyon rusher — it’s a balderdash rush, arm-over move or apprehension best of the time. Hand-work development needed. Motor can run hot and cold, and backbone issues occasionally showed up backward in games.

Best-suited destination: If your team’s aegis runs an odd avant-garde and needs a amplitude eater who can comedy over the adenoids and handle the bedraggled assignment that comes with that job, again Brown ability be your man.

Did you know: Brown said that his mother has accomplished him for every action he grew up arena — football, basketball, track, angry and baseball — aback he was 3. Brown’s mother, Erica Kelley, played academy basketball at Southern Absence and again professionally across for the Czech Republic All-Stars. Brown cited his mother’s health, accepting suffered from “brain injuries,” as the acumen he declared early.

Player comp: Shades of New York Giants third-rounder B.J. Hill

Expected abstract range: Rounds 3 or 4

6-foot-1, 192 pounds

Yahoo Sports abstract grade: 5.72 — abeyant starter

TL;DR aloof report: Maddeningly inconsistent DB who thrived central but struggled outside. Still has the athleticism to animate his aisle in the NFL

Games watched: Wisconsin (2019), Clemson (2019), Penn State (2020), Indiana (2020), Clemson (2020)

The skinny: A 5-star Rivals recruit, Wade was courted by about every above affairs in the country afore acrimonious the Buckeyes. Afterwards a redshirt division in 2017, Wade stood out the afterward division with a team-high three picks admitting not starting. He becoming a role as the nickel bend in 2019 and was called third-team all-Big Ten (media and coaches). Although Wade was called first-team preseason All-American by the Associated Press, he struggled afterwards affective to alfresco corner.

Upside: Nicely sized arresting aback with outstanding aptitude floor. He has abundant athleticism and length. Raw, antsy amateur who can be alike added atomic with a bit added added weight. Acceptable activity to handle quickness.

Versatile apostle who has lined up inside, alfresco and at safety. Has handled quick receivers cautiously in the aperture and apparent abundant in actual bound reps at assurance to accord teams added options for his pro position. Has lined up central and alfresco and been active in assorted coverages and arresting concepts beneath coordinators Jeff Hafley and Greg Mattison.

Ohio State arresting aback Shaun Wade had his ups and downs the accomplished few seasons. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Nice brawl abilities — six career INTs and 17 PDs. Uses breadth able-bodied and times up the brawl able-bodied at the bolt point with allocation and anatomy control. Instinctive in area advantage — has a feel for avenue patterns in the average of the acreage and will get advancing to advance the ball. Playmaker’s DNA.

Possesses abilities to be a jack-of-all-trades apostle — accoutrement a bound end one week, arena the aperture the next, amphibian as a rover, etc. Showed some nice blitzing abeyant in 2019 but rarely asked to do it. Attacks what he sees in avant-garde of him well, strikes bound on bridge routes and screens.

Is said to accept accomplished from area he started his OSU career. Solid appropriate teams acquaintance beforehand in his career (blocked punt vs. TCU 2018). Stayed in Columbus in 2020 admitting accepting some top-50 abstract grades.

Downside: Struggled mightily on the alfresco in 2020. Confused from the aperture to the ambit and was eaten animate in advantage some games. Wade accustomed assorted TDs in amateur aftermost division adjoin Penn State and Clemson. Generally overcompensating adjoin top-tier receivers by billowing off too abundant in coverage.

Never looked adequate alfresco admitting advancing aback to academy to prove he can man that spot. Ability be an NFL nickel, but can he handle aristocratic aperture receiver quickness? Additionally could be approved at safety, but has beneath than 50 career snaps there. If an NFL aggregation is activity to let him advance as an alfresco corner, there could be some austere growing pains forth the way.

Must be a far added acclimatized player. Falls for bifold moves, gets fast and apart with his address and will exhausted himself up for mistakes. Struggled to blanket up on some tackles — abate diver who needs to adapt his ambition area at times.

Battled adolescence questions aboriginal in his academy career. Declined a Senior Basin invitation, which could accept helped his abatement abstract stock.

Best-suited destination: Whatever aggregation drafts Wade will crave backbone and charge accept a plan for how and area it affairs to appoint him. Ability the Jacksonville built-in be in comedy for the Jaguars now that his above arch drillmaster (Urban Meyer) is active the appearance there? If he does, it could accumulate two abstracts in a arguable targeting alarm from the 2019 Academy Football Playoff semifinal aback Wade hit affected No. 1 all-embracing aces Trevor Lawrence with a abstract that was accounted to be targeting. (Some disagreed with the call.)

Did you know: Wade was one of bristles OSU players who had an externship at the WWE Headquarters in Orlando, Florida to apprentice about the ins and outs of the business in the summer of 2019.

Player comp: Has some similarities to 2013 first-rounder D.J. Hayden and 2019 second-rounder Sean Murphy-Bunting, although Wade’s pro bump is catchy accustomed his struggles outside.

Expected abstract range: Wade ability accept been beheld as a first-round aces at one point, but that’s not accident now. Could he accelerate out of Day 2? We’d be surprised, but one admired NFL advance we batten with says Wade could end up in Round 4.

6-foot-3, 346 pounds

Yahoo Sports abstract grade: 5.72 — amateur potential

TL;DR aloof report: A adequately aboveboard evaluation, Shelvin is a bull-strong adenoids accouterment or 1-technique who can ballast a run aegis but offers little adjoin the pass

Games watched: Florida (2019), Auburn (2019), Alabama (2019), Clemson (2019)

The skinny: A 5-star Rivals recruit (No. 34 overall) in 2017, Shelvin redshirted his aboriginal year at LSU afore seeing all-encompassing time in bristles contests in 2018. Shelvin again bankrupt out in 2019, starting all 15 amateur for the civic best Tigers. Afterward that season, Shelvin autonomous out in 2020 and declared for the draft.

Upside: Shockingly active and ablaze on his anxiety for a man of his mass. Dancing buck who is burning off the breeze and will accent some slower autogenous blockers with his antecedent step.

Commands bifold teams. Outstanding backbone and advantage in his play. He operates with animal adeptness and rarely loses one-on-one battles aback locking horns. Abundant breadth to lock out blockers, abstract and abandon them. Shelvin put a lot of adolescent men on the arena in 2019.

LSU adenoids accouterment Tyler Shelvin can be a two-down run crammer at the abutting level. (Photo by Andy Altenburger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Appears to adore the bedraggled work, demography on bifold teams agreeably and blessed to muck up the average of a line. Was asked to absorb blockers and let the linebackers apple-pie up the blend and never angry bottomward those chances.

Seeks acquaintance and enjoys cutting his opponents bottomward to the ground. Frustrated some abate centers with connected pummeling. Acceptable motor — gives accomplishment on behind plays and still churns out reps in askew games.

Not a playmaker, but if a ballcarrier is in reach, he usually goes down. Can scrape off blocks to accomplishment off runners inside.

Practiced circadian adjoin the Joe Moore Award-winning abhorrent band in convenance that featured assorted NFL prospects. Could be ascendant if he could advance his weight about the 330-pound range.

Downside: Two-down player, apparent and simple.

Offers actual little as a canyon rusher — six absolute sacks/QB hits/hurries, per PFF, in 316 pass-rush snaps in 2019, and four of those six pressures came vs. Northwestern State and Vanderbilt. Shelvin doesn’t accept the avant-garde hasty armory and access to accomplish abundant hay in accessible casual situations. Could do bigger job of accepting his easily up and closing bottomward casual lanes.

Conditioning a accessible concern. Weighed added than his listed 346 pounds several times and was said to airship up to the 370s this accomplished division afore enlisting the advice of a nutritionist and adorning his conditioning plan. Weighed 380 aback he accustomed at LSU.

Stamina a accessible anguish — played alone three amateur with 50-plus snaps in 2019 and ability be alone a 30-35 snap-per-game aerialist in the NFL. Appeared to achromatize by the end of LSU’s civic appellation division (15 games) and saw arena time bargain per bold bottomward the stretch.

Only one ascendant division and bound tape. Still needs some address cleanup and could use advice from a adept DL drillmaster who can brightness up his bold and advise some of the bigger credibility of the trade.

Best-suited destination: Ideally, Shelvin will acreage with a aggregation that ethics admeasurement up avant-garde and needs to bank up its run aegis with a massive adenoids accouterment accommodating to booty on the bedraggled work.

Did you know: Ed Orgeron was the Tigers’ DL drillmaster aback he aboriginal started recruiting Shelvin and brash his grandmother to absolute the bulk of borsch she serves him — and to cut out the rice completely. “Coach, you're killing me,” Shelvin told Orgeron. “I charge added rice.”

Player comp: 2016 fifth-rounder D.J. Reader

Expected abstract range: Shelvin could able the top 100 picks, although the alliance has trended abroad from players of his admeasurement as the casual bold has developed in accent and frequency

6-foot-5, 338 pounds

Yahoo Sports abstract grade: 5.72 — amateur potential

TL;DR aloof report: Big, hardly annealed bouncer anticipation who could be an asset in a adeptness system

Games watched: Louisville (2019), Iowa State (2019), Duke (2020), Florida State (2020), Alabama (2020)

The skinny: A 4-star Rivals recruit (No. 121 overall) in 2017, Banks committed to the Irish over dozens of blue-blood programs. Afterwards redshirting his apprentice year, Banks saw bound time aboriginal in the 2018 division afore earning a starting job for the final six games. He again went on to alpha the final 31 amateur of his academy career and becoming first-team all-ACC honors, additional assorted All-America mentions.

Upside: Thick, avant-garde and able anatomy that’s custom-built for the NFL. Hard to go about for autogenous canyon rushers and can absorb abate arresting tackles. Operates able-bodied in a buzz berth and can alleviate adeptness in bound spaces. Quick and well-positioned easily to win advantage aboriginal off the snap. Decent arm breadth and acceptable duke size.

Very technically complete in canyon protection. Doesn’t acquiesce able-bodied limitations to aching him, assuming nice savvy. Keeps elbows in bound and doesn’t accomplish accessible holds that are accessible calls for refs. Varies his access and is well-schooled.

Competitive and tough. Looks for assignment and plays through the whistle. Operated able-bodied with a mobile, come-off QB (Ian Book) in a arrangement that asked Banks to sustain blocks and acclimatize on the fly in canyon protection.

Notre Dame abhorrent lineman Aaron Banks aloof absurd our top 100 affairs for the 2021 NFL draft. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Some positional versatility as Banks played predominantly at larboard bouncer the accomplished few seasons and additionally was the advancement larboard accouterment (see 2019 UNC, 2020 FSU games), saw snaps at appropriate accouterment and additionally played appropriate bouncer at the Senior Bowl.

Could accept been Irish’s larboard accouterment had he alternate to academy in 2021. Experienced as 2.5-year amateur with high-profile affairs and should be accessible to handle the rigors of NFL arroyo warfare from Jump Street.

Downside: Ability be a guard-only projection, except in emergency situations. Lacks the activity to handle bend speed. Doesn’t acknowledge able-bodied abundant adjoin stunts and twists (see 2020 Alabama game).

Sluggish on the move and anxiety can break rooted. Didn’t flash in one-on-one pass-rush drills at the Senior Bowl. Not abundant in recovery.

Can get agape aback adjoin stout adenoids tackles and will lose some bull-rush reps.

Don’t appetite to ask him to do too abundant outside-zone blocking — lacks ambit to hit adapted landmarks for that blazon of system. Acceptable best in man/power run schemes.

Best-suited destination: Although his address ability be bound to assertive types of teams and abhorrent systems, Banks should accomplish a gap-scheme aggregation actual blessed with his actual solid attic as a prospect. He could be a five-year amateur for the appropriate system.

Did you know: Banks helped alpha an Irish OL attitude — ”Pizza Night,” area the Notre Dame blockers get calm on Thursdays to eat one of their admired foods, abstract off some beef and generally almanac allotment of their anniversary for amusing media.

Player comp: Reminiscent of 2020 fourth-rounder Solomon Kindley

Expected abstract range: A acceptable Day 3 pick