Fred Jackson scouting report from The Scouting Academy

The Seahawks recently signed free agent running back Fred Jackson, so I talked with Dan Hatman, Chairman of Scouting Development at The Scouting Academy, who pointed me in the direction of their scouting report on Jackson.

Hatman's company, The Scouting Academy, is an industry-tested, 16-week online course designed to take their students through the fundamentals of evaluating football players. They learn from a team of instructors led by Hatman that includes former NFL GM Jerry Angelo, Broncos' GM Wade Phillips, and former NFL Scout and current ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, who collectively have nearly 300 years of NFL experience. Their focus is on increasing football acumen and developing a strong evaluation community. The Scouting Academy has a Live Classroom at the Senior Bowl in addition to the online classroom and has alumni throughout the NFL.

You can check out more scouting reports (both on pro players and college prospects) here, but here's one sample from their students.

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Fred Jackson Scouting report (link)

Best:

Passing Game, Blocking, Mental Processing

Worst:

Burst, Finish/YAC, Improvising

Projection:

He is a complimentary/3rd down back in the league that uses his smarts to pick up blitzers and good hands

Scheme Fit:

3rd down back in Power or Zone scheme.

Player Summary:

8 year RB that was a UDFA, playing 3 years in other leagues before being picked up by BUF. He fractured his right fibula in 2011 and sprained his right MCL in 2012. This year he gutted thru an ankle sprain in week 5 and tore his groin week 7 only to make it back in 2 weeks' time.

Very good height with a solid build, defined upper body, solid length and Athletic Ability, with adequate explosion and stiff hips. After getting the handoff, he shows good vision and instincts on Powers, ISO's and Inside Zones. He does a solid job of improvising on Inside Zones when the DL gets push in the backfield. He does a solid job of running behind his pads, showing solid toughness competing for extra yards and uses his good upper body strength to stiff arm defenders.

In the Passing game, he does a shows good awareness by scanning the entire formation before making himself available to the QB as a safety valve when needed. He runs solid routes out of the backfield using his smarts to get open and displays good hands. He shows good body control and able to catch ball both above his shoulders and below his waist.

He does a good job to gather himself after making the catch, turns upfield and does shows good FBI (football intelligence) to set up his blocks and elude defenders.

In Pass pro, he shows good awareness and diagnoses when picking up blitzers and holds his ground using his solid strength vs LB's with the ability to work across the entire formation. He does a solid job of cutting the DL when he has to pick them up.

After taking the handoff, he has issues with vision and improvising on Outside Zones and has trouble at improvising on Powers when the puller gets stacked up. He shows little acceleration thru the hole and doesn't separate from defenders when he gets thru the hole. He needs a hole in order get yards, won't do a lot on his own and shows to be adequate after cotact.

In the passing game, he has trouble catching the ball when the QB leads him and he has to extend his arms out in front of him.

Overall, he is a complimentary piece that would be used best as a 3rd down back in either a Power or Zone scheme. He can do enough in the Run game to get by but excels in Pass pro and catching the ball out of the backfield. He doesn't have the long speed to be a home run threat but will get some solid gains.