For two straight seasons, the Northern Illinois Huskies have been a MAC power. Quarterback Jordan Lynch was the face of the Huskies' surprise rise to the top of the conference. He was a Heisman Trophy candidate back in 2012 and received similar attention in 2013.
Jimmie Ward 2014 NFL Draft scouting report
Jimmie Ward made a name for himself at the Senior Bowl, but he was impacting football games long before that.
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But the best player on Northern Illinois was roaming the secondary. Safety Jimmie Ward has quietly been one of the most productive defensive backs in the country. As a senior, he intercepted seven passes and had a hand in 95 tackles. He also broke up 10 passes.
Ward started to get noticed at the Senior Bowl, where his coverage skills were on full display. He not only has a shot at the first round, but he could be the second safety drafted after Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix.
Ball skills
Ward covers a ton of ground in the secondary and is constantly breaking up passes. He’s a physical and aggressive player in coverage, which makes it tough for teams to complete passes on him. Ward also has long arms that help him get a hand on passes. His compact frame is an asset when he goes up to try and make plays on the football. Ward has solid hands and body control as well.
Coverage ability
If there were any questions about Ward’s coverage ability, he answered them at the Senior Bowl, where he reportedly dominated in the one-on-one drills. He has fluid hips in coverage and a ton of short area quickness, making him tough to get separation against. Ward is the type of safety who can line up over a receiver in man coverage and he’s physical enough to cover tight ends. The only thing holding him back is a slight lack of size that may make covering tight ends a challenge, but he’s certainly willing to take on physical receivers.
Instincts/recognition
The most impressive aspect of Ward’s game is his ability to anticipate plays and diagnose what the offense is doing on the fly. He always seems to be a step ahead of the rest of the players on the field. It helps that Ward closes on the football in a hurry. That’s a combination of his quickness and his recognition skills. He’s also consistently taking proper angles to the football.
Run support
There are times when Ward jumps off the screen, almost literally. He is an aggressive run defender and shows no regard for his body when he’s making tackles. For a smaller player, Ward induces some huge collision. That aggressiveness can lead to some missed tackles, but that’s more of a technique thing than anything else. He doesn’t always wrap up, preferring to leave his feet and try to destroy his opponent. Still, with his speed and recognition ability, Ward is an asset in run defense. Smaller safeties aren’t always as physical or willing to stick their nose in the mix when defending the run, but that’s the least of Ward’s problems.
Final Word
Most of the concerns with Ward’s game are minor. He’s not the ideal size to play safety, and his straight line speed isn’t incredible and he could do a bit better job of tackling at times. Despite his flaws, Ward has the skills to be an impact player in the secondary. He’s laterally explosive and has the ability to diagnose plays. So many of the instinctual elements to safety come through in Ward’s game consistently. He should be a late first-round pick.
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