Jake Ferguson NFL Draft Prospect Profile and Scouting Report

NFL Draft Profile: Jake Ferguson, TE, Wisconsin

Name: Jake Ferguson

School: Wisconsin

Year: rSr

Position: Tight End

Measurables: 6’4’, 250 lbs

 

Stats: 

 

General Info:

Ferguson went to high school in Madison, Wisconsin at Vel Phillips Memorial, where he played wide receiver and linebacker.

He amassed 1,795 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns on offense and 314 tackles, five sacks and five interceptions on defense in his high school career, before committing to the University of Wisconsin.

Ferguson comes from a Badger family. His grandfather, Barry Alvarez, coached Wisconsin between 1990 and 2005.

The tight end played at Wisconsin for four seasons after redshirting as a freshman in 2017. As a senior, Ferguson broke the school record for consecutive games with a reception, after catching a pass in 39 straight games.

 

Positional Skills:

Strengths

The main attraction to a player like Ferguson is that he’s rock solid at pretty much everything.

As a route runner, he showed an ability to break off underneath routes and is also capable of executing double-moves.

Ferguson has trustworthy hands and this allows him to be an efficient redzone target and also make big plays downfield.

He also possesses the ball skills you look for in terms of being able to adjust his body to make difficult catches.

As a blocker, Ferguson has the willingness evaluators want to see and already has some ability to get the job done. He should have no problem learning to block more efficiently at the next level.

Ferguson also showed football intelligence and could be seen selling that he was blocking before going out on a route instead.

Despite not appearing to be a plus athlete, Ferguson put up a solid Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 6.7 out of 10, and received ‘good’ scores in all categories: Size, Speed, Explosion and Agility.

Weaknesses

There are few overt and obvious weaknesses to Ferguson’s game, but the criticism of him will be that he is not an elite or dynamic athlete. Because of this, he could be viewed as a player with a limited ceiling.

He will not be consistently gaining yards of separation from his opponents in man coverage, but this is not necessarily that important for tight ends, and Ferguson makes up for it with his ability to make contested catches.

Ferguson did not show much prowess after the catch, so he may not be suited for the tight end screens the Packers have utilized under Matt LaFleur.

While he has the potential and ‘want-to’ to be a good blocker, this area does still need some development.

 

Fit with the Packers:

Every team in the NFL needs a tight end like Jake Ferguson.

He’s not spectacular or sexy in any one area, but projects as an all-rounder who will be in the league for a long time as a reliable player on a down-to-down basis.

Ferguson has the ability to carry out all the core responsibilities of a more traditional tight end as both a pass catcher and a blocker.

His redzone effectiveness could make him a welcome addition in Green Bay, with the Packers experiencing some issues in punching the ball into the end zone in 2021.

Ted Thompson’s Packers tended to stay away from drafting Badgers, but this stance has softened somewhat under Brian Gutekunst, who selected Cole Van Lanen in the 6th round last year.

Ferguson is a prospect whom the Packers may look to target in round three or four and profiles as a guy who will be hard to ‘miss’ on.

 

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Mark Oldacres is a sports writer from Birmingham, England and a Green Bay Packers fan. You can follow him on twitter at @MarkOldacres

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4 points
 

Comments (19)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
stockholder's picture

March 27, 2022 at 03:21 pm

Late 4 works.

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PackEyedOptimist's picture

March 27, 2022 at 03:39 pm

I'd be happy with him in the fourth, though I like Cade Otton, Greg Dulcich, and Jelani Woods more, if one of them is available.

Tight End and Guard are the two positions where "workmanlike/high floor" is good enough.
In my mocks, I've often taken two TEs in the fourth, one "workmanlike" and one boom-or-bust (Woods).

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dobber's picture

March 27, 2022 at 04:02 pm

Ferguson was the focal point of a weak passing game with a young and skittish QB. If he'd had a credible passer throwing to him, he might have had real standout college numbers. It could be that a good QB will make better use of him and he'll show much better. I think the assessment above (a solid, but unspectacular pro) seems to be about right.

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MooPack's picture

March 27, 2022 at 04:12 pm

Jeremy Ruckert in the 3rd. IMO, that's who they should target.

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LLCHESTY's picture

March 29, 2022 at 03:25 am

Ruckert was still in a walking boot at Ohio State's pro day last week. With the logjam of talent at TE he slips into the 5th round IMO. Could be a steal there.

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realitybytez's picture

March 27, 2022 at 05:18 pm

his 40 time was slower than some offensive linemen.

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MooPack's picture

March 27, 2022 at 05:44 pm

Ruckert ran a 4.68. You mean like McBride's 4.65, or Wydermyer's 5.03, or do you mean Ferguson's 4.81.? Not great year for TE, but Ruckert, imo, is best option.

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LLCHESTY's picture

March 29, 2022 at 03:45 am

A 4.68 is a fantastic 40 time when you're in a walking boot. Wherever you got the number from was wrong.

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LLCHESTY's picture

March 29, 2022 at 03:44 am

This. Everyone knows NFL success is completely dependent on having a fast 40 time.

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Coldworld's picture

March 27, 2022 at 06:09 pm

Ferguson is as close to an NFL ready skill set as one is likely to find mid draft. That’s the good news. The fact is, he is slower than Richard Rodgers. That scares me.

He’s got great hands, he can be physical but he’s a questionable blocker. Without really good blocking, are his undoubtedly good hands enough to get him on the field when he’s that slow? I have my doubts in the Packer O. I think that they might prefer Davis.

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

March 28, 2022 at 04:40 am

Ferguson Combine: 4.81 forty. Rodgers combine: 4.87.
Ferguson Pro Day: 4.71 forty. Rodgers 4.82.

Ferguson 3 cone: 7.03. RR 7.23 (7.31 pro day).
Ferguson 10 yd: 1.60. RR 1.69 (1.78 pro day gag).
Ferguson: Vert: 31.5 (34.5). RR 31.5 (31.5 pro day).
Ferguson: Bench 15. RR did 16 (16 pro day).
15/16 is bad for a TE - about 20th percentile bad. RR and Ferguson both had 32 and 5/8th inch long arms.

RR was 257 pounds at the combine and pro day. He had weighed 287 pounds, moved to slot WR at 245 and then added a dozen pounds for the combine and his pro day.

My concern is not that he is slow. His maternal grandfather is Barry Alvarez and his father is a coach. Can scouts get accurate info from Badger coaches? Why is his technique, strength and determination against DEs in question coming from the Badgers? Does he want to block or just be a receiver? Scouts can meet and talk to him. I can't.

5th. Not a great year for TEs. He probably goes in the fourth.

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dobber's picture

March 28, 2022 at 07:24 am

Has a knack for getting open, though, and runs tough with the ball. He's not a game-breaker and isn't going to run away from defenders, but he's the kind of receiver who gets the key catches. Mostly a short and intermediate zones guy.

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MarkinMadison's picture

March 27, 2022 at 08:45 pm

I'll be interested to see how Charlie Kolar does at his pro day. There are a lot of good TEs in this draft. Not like the classes of 18 and 19, but I think the Packers can add some upgrades here.

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dobber's picture

March 28, 2022 at 07:19 am

This guy is the one people aren't talking about nearly as much. Like him better than Ferguson, to be honest. I think he has a higher ceiling definitely as a blocker and potentially as a receiver.

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LLCHESTY's picture

March 29, 2022 at 03:33 am

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greengold's picture

March 28, 2022 at 07:37 am

Ghhhh… I can’t believe we’re talking about this guy. No.

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MarkinMadison's picture

March 28, 2022 at 08:12 am

I think he has really good hands and is worth talking about. I'd put money down that he will be playing somewhere in the NFL in 2026. He's a decent prospect.

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greengold's picture

March 28, 2022 at 08:32 am

Mark, I really do appreciate you, but, I question whether or not he even gets drafted. It’s possible there might some Badger bias behind his support amongst Packer fans.

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LLCHESTY's picture

March 29, 2022 at 01:59 pm

It's possible there might be some anti Badger bias behind you saying he might not get drafted.

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