Jadon Haselwood was one of the top wide receiver prospects in his class, and leading up to 2021, he hadn’t lived up to his billing. When Oklahoma switched from Spencer Rattler to Caleb Williams, Haselwood shined and became one of the biggest threats on the team immediately. Haselwood transferred to Arkansas for the 2022 season, where he split time with Matt Landers as big bodies for KJ Jefferson to throw the ball to. Arkansas wanted to use Haselwood much like they used Treylon Burks the year before, and didn’t end up with the same type of threat. 

Jadon Haselwood certainly has some upside to his game, and it’s mostly found in his ability to simplify things. If he simplifies his route running, his release, and just goes into his breaks with a simple fake, he is going to be a very effective receiver. He spends so much time trying to sell the route that I think he forgets he has to get to a certain spot by a certain time. 

Take a bow, Jadon Haselwood 😎 pic.twitter.com/pMACoTf5DO

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) September 3, 2022

Jadon has done a good job staying healthy through most of his career. Reportedly injured his knee in both the 2019 and 2020 spring practices. Suffered a toe injury during practice that forced him to miss the Shrine Game. 

Jadon Haselwood’s scouting report

Athletic Ability (25)

Speed/Athleticism: 15

• Speed (4.5/7) – Good speed, not great. Won’t run away from a lot of defenders. 
• Change of Direction (3/4) – Very solid change of direction. He can do some crazy things with his movement to make defenders miss. 
• Body Control (3/4) – Decent body control, though not great. 

Explosiveness/Burst: 10

• Acceleration (4/5) – Acceleration looks really good. Can fly past defenders who are unsuspecting. 
• Explosiveness (4/5) – Very explosive athlete. Works well in space. 

Receiver Fundamentals (25)

Route Running: 15 

• Footwork (5.5/7) – Solid route runner. Shows some very subtle ability to manipulate defenders with his movement. 
• Route Tree (4/5) – Has a large route tree that he has run between Sam Pittman’s Arkansas and Lincoln Riley’s Oklahoma. 
• Nuances (2/3) – I think Haselwood oftentimes gets so caught up trying to sell the route rather than actually running it, he wastes too much time and movement. The ability is there, now he has to simplify it. 

Release/Control: 10

• Release Ability (3.5/5) – Flashes the ability to work well through releases. Uses his hands well. Can sometimes dance too long. 
• Sideline Work (2.5/5) – Inconsistent working the sideline. 

Catch Ability (25)

Catch Ability: 15 

• Natural Catch Ability (8/10) – Shows good hands. Has made tremendous strides to making catches outside of his frame. 
• Consistency (4/5) – For the most part, has made catches consistently. Dropped 7% of his target share over the last couple of years. 

Contested Catch Ability: 10 

• Vertical Ability (2.5/5) – Doesn’t position himself well when fighting for the ball. Has the explosive ability to go up and make jump catches. 
• Through Contact (3.5/5) – Flashes the ability to make tough catches through contact. Doesn’t do it consistently. When he does, he’s electric.  

Schematic Aspects (20)

Deep Threat/Red Zone: 10

• Deep Threat Rating (2.5/5) – Doesn’t seem to have the speed nor the physicality to stretch the field as a deep threat. Will mostly be an intermediate threat in my opinion. 
• Red Zone Threat Rating (4/5) – Serious red zone threat. Oklahoma did a great job utilizing him out of the slot in those situations. 

Run Blocking: 10

• Strength (2.5/5) – Has the size and strength to be a good run blocker, just doesn’t play the right way. 
• Consistency (2/5) – Not aggressive enough as a run blocker. Needs to use his frame and get downhill to dominate the rep. 

Overall: (71) – 5th/6th round