Steelers scouting profile: Jermar Jefferson is a wasted pick

Jefferson’s Negatives

The worst trait with Jefferson is his lack of ability to create on his own. While every running back benefits from a great line, elite backs can still make the most out of nothing. Jefferson doesn’t do that. If there is no obvious hole, Jefferson seems to get logged down and essentially waste the play. Not every play will require Jefferson to make something out of nothing, granted, but it would have been better had he been able to craft big plays on his own.

His game speed isn’t great either. Frankly, he looks every bit of the 4.6 that he ran, and even on his long runs, it seems like he never really hits that next gear. I struggle to see him making big runs at the NFL when going up against better athletes. While elite speed isn’t necessary for a running back, different traits would need to balance out the lack of speed. He doesn’t have any elite traits to compensate for this.

His hands were not great either. While he caught a handful of passes, he had a few drops. Even some of his catches seemed like almost drops. He doesn’t do anything special as a route runner either. While a quarterback can dump a pass off to him in a pinch, he will never be a threat as a receiver.

Lastly, and this seems like the nail in the coffin, Jefferson’s lack of elite traits shows up. He tries to push the pile but usually can get stoop up easily. He tries to break away from the defense but gets caught. He tries to make a defender miss in space, but he just doesn’t make it. If he was having these issues in college, his prospects as a pro are poor. In each game I studied, I constantly found myself shaking my head. He has the want to be a good complete back, but his lack of traits always left me disappointed in him.