Measurables
Weight - 194 lbs.
40 Time - 4.58s
Arm Length - 32 5/8
Hand Size - 9 1/4
3-Cone - 6.94s
College: Virginia Tech
POSITIVES
Isaiah Ford is a polished route-runner who can win at the line of scrimmage and down the field. He had back-to-back 75-catch 1,000-plus receiving-yard seasons at Virginia Tech. He has good feet and uses them to beat press coverage. He gets good separation on intermediate routes with his ability to drive back to the ball. Often, on his deep targets the defenders stay on his hip and he must make spectacular catches, which he flashes the ability to do. As he showed with his broad jump of 127 inches, Ford has explosive leaping ability that he uses to outjump defenders He has great body control in the air and near the sidelines, showing nice adjustments to the football. His combination of size, leaping ability and body control give him an excellent catch radius. Using his size, he muscled defensive backs down the field and could gain hidden yardage after the catch.
NEGATIVES
Ford needs to improve at catching the football. He has concentration drops, lets the ball get into his body and at times won't high-point the football. He needs to be more consistent using his size and leaping ability to high-point it; too often his catch point gave the defender a chance to break up the play. Ford profiles as a deep threat but lacks the ideal speed (4.61-second 40) to get consistent separation. He relies on his feet at the line of scrimmage too much and will need to develop the ability to win hand fights at the point of attack. Improving his strength could allow him to improve at the line of scrimmage and in hand fighting down the field. Too often versus press coverage corners forced him close to the sideline. He needs to improve his blocking as well, as too often defenders beat him by out-muscling him.
PRO COMPARISON: Kenny Stills, Miami Dolphins
FINAL GRADE: 5.90/9.00 (Future Starter—Round 4)
