Jerome Ford Profile: Why the Cincinnati Browns drafted the running back in the 2022 NFL Draft
The Cincinnati Browns picked Jerome Ford with the 156th pick of the 2022 NFL draft.
After originally committing to Alabama as a four-star recruit in 2018, Ford transferred two years later because he didn’t get the chances to show off his skill-set for the Crimson Tide. In 2020, he was still sharing touches with Gerrid Doaks (81 touches for 534 yards and eight TDs), but Ford eventually became the Cincinnati’s workhorse as a senior, touching the ball 236 times for 1539 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Jerome Ford's strengths:
Ford approaches the line of scrimmage with some urgency on more vertical schemes and takes the direct lane, when it’s there. He can pull in his shoulders to squeeze through to narrow openings and there’s a lot of occasions, where other backs would try to navigate their way around traffic, as defenders are leveraged to either side of him, but he just slices right through it. Ford does a nice job of adjusting his path ever so slightly on the move and pairs it with excellent burst, to make swinging arms at him look like they don’t affect him at all. He displays some impressive start-stop quicks in crowded areas. When going off-tackle and seeing the edge defender peak inside, he will not hesitate to punish poor contain and get to the corner, where he becomes a tough tackle for flat defenders, while forcing guys to overrun stuff with his burst as well.
This guy becomes a freight train, when you give him a runway, where he can pull through wraps and push off defenders in his way, with tremendous leg-drive and contact balance, quickly getting his feet back down. I really appreciate the violence to his game and how hard he runs from the first to the very last snap. Ford utilizes a well-placed stiff-arm against diving tackling attempts, putting his hand right at the crown of the helmet. He doesn’t fool around in short-yardage situations, probably bruising his own blockers on plenty of occasions with the way he plows ahead. Often times he will take a negative play and at least pull himself back forward to the line of scrimmage. At the same time, he has the top-end speed to go the distance, which you saw on a 79-yard touchdown against Georgia in the 2020/21 Peach Bowl, where he was actually gaining ground on fast DBs. On what PFF calls “perfectly-blocked runs”, nobody averaged more yards per (11.2).
Due to the mobility of quarterback Desmond Ridder, Ford is very familiar with the option run game (zone read and speed option), along with some duo and Y/H-lead. He’s also one of the better draw runners I’ve watched in the class. His burst out to the edge and quick footwork to hit cutbacks was on display during Senior Bowl practices. Ford does not shy away from sticking his face in the fan when picking up blitzers, although his take-on technique needs some work to actually maintain blocks, and when you get this guy rumbling, he can quickly gain yardage after the catch, as you flip it out to him out in the flats, where he shows good focus on extension grabs.
Jerome Ford's weaknesses:
With that being said, I would like to see him plant harder on lateral run schemes, to really punish the flow of the defense. There’s room to become more efficient with his footwork overall and there’s a lack of patience to some degree, where he runs into his own blockers, when it’s not necessary (even if he has improved there). Rarely does Ford actually make guys flat-out miss. While his fight is appreciated, he has to understand the importance of protecting the ball when he’s pushing forward with bodies around him. You love the physicality Ford brings to the table, but you have to question the durability long-term with that kind of style, since he did come in 10 pounds lighter at the combine than expected. Ford didn’t have a ton of passing down work, often being subbed out in those situations and being limited to swings, flat routes and screens.
Conclusion on Jerome Ford:
You look at some of the other backs that have come out of Cincy, there has certainly been a benefit to playing in that system and having a running threat at QB next to them. However, there are a lot of redeeming qualities to Ford’s game, with the ability to set up runs with quick movement in tight spaces, the power to run through contact and the speed to rip off big chunks in a hurry. He will have to work on his technique as a pass-protector, and he’s unproven himself as a route-runner, but I don’t see anything that would keep him from becoming a three-down back at the next level eventually, if he learns to hold onto the ball, having fumbled three times in each of the last two years.
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