SUMMARY
Jennings is a player that is impressive. He is one of the few players at the position with no glaring weaknesses. He is a very good athlete with the foot quickness, balance and agility to make plays once he has the ball in his hands. While he lacks elite explosiveness and speed, Jennings runs sharp routes and has the ability to turn the cornerback around. This enables him to get better separation than most receivers who have better timed speed. While he is going to make a lot of big plays in the NFL, Jennings will get caught from behind more than he is used to. He runs hard with the ball and fights for extra yards until he is on the ground, and does a good job of blocking his man out of the play. Overall, Jennings is the type of receiver who usually ends up slipping a bit in the draft because he lacks the great height or elite 40-yard dash time that teams usually focus on. However, his athleticism will combine with his football intelligence and instincts to let him contribute sooner than nearly all the other receivers available this year. In the end, he will become a very good starting receiver that will make big plays when running after the catch and as a punt returner.
CRITICAL FACTORS
Size Athletic Ability Hands Competes Play Speed Instincts
6.0 6.5 6.5 6.0 6.0 6.5
STRONG POINTS
Jennings is a very good athlete with the foot quickness, agility and explosiveness to make big plays in the open field. He makes his biggest impact by making things happen after the catch. He is a very smart receiver that runs very sharp routes -- sells fakes very well and can get the cornerback to bite and turn the wrong way. When he can get the cornerback turned, Jennings has the burst to get separation deep down the field. He has very good hands and has shown the ability to pluck the ball away from defenders' hands at nearly full speed.
WEAKNESSES
Jennings will take his eyes off the ball at times and start upfield before tucking the ball away, which leads to him dropping some easy passes. He has a very good burst in routes and after the catch, but lacks the elite explosiveness and top-end speed -- fast NFL cornerbacks will be able to stay with him on deep routes. He looks smaller on film than his measured size, and while he can keep feet against hits and runs through arm tackles, he is not a tackle breaker.
POSITIONAL FACTORS
Grade Category Comments/Description
6.5 Hands Has very good hands -- can pluck the ball away from body well and can adjust to make great catches.
6.0 Initial Quickness Consistently gets off the ball and into the route quickly, but does not explode off the ball.
6.0 Clean Release Does a good job of getting off the ball and into the route quickly when he is uncovered by a cornerback.
6.0 Release vs. Jam His combination of quick feet, agility, strength and quick hands help him defeat the jam.
6.5 Patterns Runs very sharp and precise routes, and does a very good job of selling fakes to turn cornerbacks around.
6.5 Adjusts to Ball His hands, body control and coordination help him to adjust and make great catches seem routine.
6.5 Run after Catch He is an explosive runner after the catch who can make tacklers miss and has a burst through holes.
6.5 Deep Threat Has good speed, and his sharp routes and burst out of cuts help him easily get separation deep.
6.5 Hand/Eye Coordination Coordination allows him to make the super sharp cut without losing his footing.
6.0 Blocking Gives a good effort and nearly always stays on block long enough to eliminate his man from the play.
6.0 Return Ability His hands, quickness, elusiveness and burst make him a dangerous return man -- has experience at punt returner.
6.0 Fumbles/Error Not a fumbler and does not make any real errors, but needs to make all the easy catches every time.
ATHLETIC ABILITY Section Grade: 6.5
Jennings is a very good athlete and it has allowed him to be a dominant receiver in the MAC. His very quick feet enable him to accelerate to full speed in a flash, and that combines with his agility to let him change directions in ahurry. Change-of-direction quickness and burst lets him shake and make tacklers miss consistently -- very slippery and elusive runner in the open field. Has the explosive burst to get separation from the cornerback on short to medium routes and really shows that extra gear to break away from the defender on deep routes -- has shown ability to split the gap between the cornerback and safety and can get five yards of separation. Has the hands and coordination to adjust and make tough catches seem routine -- can pluck the overthrown pass surprisingly well.
Q.A.B. Quick Feet C.O.D. Flexibility Coordination
6.5 6.5 6.5 6.0 6.5
COMPETITIVENESS Section Grade: 6.0
Jennings is a tough football player who played through a lot of pain to stay in the lineup, which is what helped him set the Western Michigan receiving records. On the most important plays, Jennings has shown the ability to step up and make an impact -- not only does he make big catches, but he makes big plays once he is running with the ball in the open field. Was always able to get open, catch the ball and make things happen after the catch. Has the hands to haul in tough catches and has shown the willingness to catch passes in traffic, take the hard hit and hold onto the ball. A versatile team player who has lined up in a variety of spots so that the offense could get him the ball. Also returned punts as a senior despite being their premier player. He is a competitive runner after the catch, runs hard with the ball, and consistently avoid tackles to gain yards after the catch. Does a good job of not exposing himself to extra punishment -- goes down right before getting hit hard when there are a lot of tacklers around him.
Toughness Clutch Play Production Consistency Team Player Pride/Quit
6.0 6.5 6.0 6.0 6.5 6.0
MENTAL ALERTNESS Section Grade: 6.0
Jennings is a very smart football player, and he shows it by running very sharp and precise routes. Uses his hands very well to defeat the jam and does a very good job of coming back to the quarterback when he is flushed from the pocket. Top-notch instincts are combined with his quickness and speed to make him a dangerous runner in the open field -- follows blockers well and can make the quick cut off their blocks. Generally does a very good job of maintaining his concentration, which is what helps him to make tough catches on a regular basis. Occasionally he will take his eyes off the ball to peek upfield to see where he is going to run and ends up dropping some passes he should catch.
Learn/Retain Instincts/Reactions Concentration
6.5 6.5 6.0
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I voted Marshall. I have him, Jennings and Hagan in a tier with Chad Jackson, below Holmes, above Moss. My rankings make me happy to pass on Jackson, because the other three present similar value to me. I'd rather have two of them who go later. I tried. I took Jennings (@2.11) knowing he's had the higher ADP, and expected to get Hagan or Marshall next, barely preferring Marshall (Hagan is in a much better situation so I didn't really care). They both went before 3.11. CP's post is very smart though. Hagan and Jennings will produce sooner, and Marshall may get dropped in many leagues. When he gets his chance (two years at least?) he may end up the best of the lot. He's not a quick fix though, and Hixon is a lot of competition on the same roster from the same 4th round.
This is a rough crop of rookie receivers to say the least. we're seeking a needle in a haystack. One thing to note about the judgement of nfl scouts is we know GB liked Jennings a lot, but that's no guarantee they all liked him more than Marshall. Of the 14 WRs who went before Marshall, two were drafted to be corners/kick returners, three others were drafted primarily for their kick return potential, 1 was drafted as an RB, and another was a QB convert with potential but a long way to go. It gives me a little different perspective on his draft position, which was higher (in the order) than most expected. He was not invited to the Senior Bowl or the Shriner. He went to the Hula. But he was drafted before 7 Senior Bowl WRs. He made a nice move up the chart.
