J.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio State: 2017 NFL Draft Scouting Report

J.T. Barrett, a 2013 four-star recruit, has started 17 of 23 career games for Ohio State. He enters his junior season with a 15-2 record as a starter. After beating out Cardale Jones as a freshman for the number two role, he was quickly promoted to a starter after Braxton Miller suffered a season-ending shoulder injury prior to the start of the 2014 regular season.

He would lead the Buckeyes to a record of 11-1 before suffering an ankle injury which ended his season.

As a sophomore in 2015, Barrett lost a quarterback competition to Jones prior to the season, however he saw snaps as a redzone specialist. He would later take over on a full-time basis after Jones struggled.

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In two seasons, Barrett has completed 64 percent of his passes for 3,826 yards, 45 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He’s added an additional 1,620 yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground. Barrett possesses adequate height on an athletic frame with very good athletic ability.

Measureables

Height: 6’1″ 1/4

Weight: 225 pounds

Games Watched

2015: Northern Illinois, Rutgers, Illinois, Michigan State, Michigan, Notre Dame

Strengths

After taking the snap, Barrett does a solid job of going through his progressions quickly and analyzing the defense as a result of good mental processing skills. He remains calm under pressure and excels when facing a blitz.

Here’s an example of this from last season’s contest against Rutgers. Barrett begins with his eyes to the left, but quickly scans the field before finding Curtis Samuel running outside the numbers. Knowing he’s about to get hit, Barrett sets his feet and delivers a well-placed ball for a touchdown. This was Barrett’s first start of the season.

When he doesn’t have an open receiver, Barrett possesses solid athletic ability and instincts to escape the pocket and extend the play with his legs. He keeps his eyes downfield and displays good accuracy on the move.

Barrett began the season as the Buckeyes’ redzone QB and played extremely well in that role. Not only was he more of a threat as a runner than Cardale Jones, but he threw the ball efficiently as well. In 2015, Barrett completed 84 percent of his passes and scored 16 total touchdowns inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

Ohio State ran a lot of zone read with Barrett at QB and it allowed him to showcase solid decision-making skills. In the play below, Barrett initially follows his blocks to the left, but utilizes his very good vision to see a running lane open to the right. He bursts through the hole and is just able to elude the middle linebacker on his way to the endzone.

Weaknesses

The biggest knock on Barrett has been his arm strength. While he was capable of completing deep passes at times, this has more to do with the velocity on his throws across and down the field. The lack of zip on those passes allows defenders to get an extra step closer to making a play on the ball and hampers Barrett’s ability to complete passes into tight windows.

Nov 8, 2014; East Lansing, MI, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett (16) on the bench during the first quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports /

While he’s quick to make decisions on where to throw the ball, his play speed is only adequate due to a slower than average release. Two of his four interceptions last season occurred on plays in which his arm was hit as it was moving forward.

Completion percentage hasn’t been an issue for Barrett, however his ball placement must improve if he’s going to have any success at the next level. On this play, Barrett has a wide open receiver running across the field. The pass is completed, however the ball was placed well behind the receiver; resulting in zero yards after the catch. A better placed ball would have allowed the receiver to turn up field and possibly score a touchdown.

Barrett’s situational awareness is marginal as he completed 52 percent of his third-down passes last season, but only 29 percent resulted in a first down. Too often he settles for the easy completion underneath rather than taking a chance downfield to extend the drive as a result of adequate competitive toughness.

He possesses marginal play strength as a runner, going down easily when contacted.

Overall

Overall, J.T. Barrett is a developmental QB prospect who currently lacks the arm strength and ability to complete passes into tight windows to have success at the NFL level. For the first time in his college career, Barrett has had an entire offseason as the unquestioned number one QB. How this helps his development has yet to be seen, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

He’ll have eight new starters with him on offense, however there’s no shortage of talent on the Ohio State roster. At this point, Barrett receives a late-round grade and is someone who can run a select package of plays early in his career.

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