Cardale Jones NFL Draft 2016: Scouting Report, Grade for Bills Rookie

POSITIVES

Cardale Jones is the most intriguing quarterback prospect in this year's draft. Given his arm strength, size, athleticism and the flashes of success he had during Ohio State's national title run, he can't be overlooked.

Jones' footwork is a work in progress. He has a wide base in his throwing stance and shows quick feet in the pocket. He doesn't let his feet go dead when scanning the field and isn't in a big hurry to tuck the ball and run if his first read isn't open. In the Buckeyes offense, he was a designed runner, and he could be dangerous in short-yardage situations.

Mechanically, there's room to grow, but Jones does a lot of things well already. The first thing you notice is that he has a clean delivery and the ball jumps out of his hand with great velocity. He can manipulate his arm angle to fit the passing window and is athletic enough to launch the ball both deep and underneath while on the move.

Jones checks all the boxes when it comes to arm strength. He has a big right arm and can launch the ball down the field with ease. That became the Ohio State offense during its playoff run in 2014, and Jones had a knack for ball placement that created chunk plays down the field. On underneath routes, he can throw fastballs and has no trouble fitting the ball into tight windows with velocity. If anything, he has to learn to take something off his throws underneath.

When asked to rip a deep ball, Jones shows remarkable placement and an understanding of timing and space. He excels at leading receivers down the field on throws of 20-plus yards and can drop the ball over the defense and into a bucket. His touch, arc and timing on deep passes is a sight to see.

NEGATIVES

The biggest concerns in Jones' projection to the NFL are accuracy and decision-making. He completed just 61.7 percent of his passes in an offense designed to create easy completions on crossing routes and bubble screens. On timing-based throws underneath, he struggles to lead receivers and puts too much trust into his arm to throw through coverages.

Many of the accuracy issues plaguing Jones can be explained by his mechanics. He doesn't square his feet, hips and shoulders when throwing from the pocket and too often trusts his arm to do the work his body could be doing for him to generate velocity. Jones' left hip (his back foot) is often turned away from the target and doesn't allow for a full torquing of his core when he throws.

You want Jones on the move, but this is where his accuracy really falls off. On tape, you see him struggling to keep the ball up when working to his right out of the pocket. This could be fixed by helping him to better rotate his core and open up his hips when he throws on the move.

Jones was essentially asked to make one read and then run in the Buckeyes scheme, which means it will be a tall task for him to execute in an NFL offense. He's not someone who will play in Year 1 and should be brought along slowly to improve his mechanics and football IQ. Given his struggles reading coverages on slants and crossing routes, Jones needs a crash course in QB 101.

Jones' 11 college starts will be a major hurdle for NFL scouts who like him and want him on their team. The fact that he lost his starting job doesn't help either. Some scouts I've spoken with excuse Jones' poor play in 2015 by citing Urban Meyer's struggles to develop the Ohio State offense, but others point out that Jones played on a team with as many as eight first-round picks on the field—more talent than he may have with him in the NFL.

COMBINE RESULTS

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 253 lbs.

40 Time: 4.81s

Hand Size: 9¾"

3-Cone: N/A

PRO COMPARISON: Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers
FINAL GRADE: 5.70/9.00 (Round 5—Backup Caliber)