Jake Haener NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for New Orleans Saints' QB
HEIGHT: 6'0"
WEIGHT: 207
HAND: 9 3/8"
ARM: 29 3/4"
WINGSPAN: TBD
40-YARD DASH: N/A
3-CONE: 7.01
SHUTTLE: N/A
VERTICAL: 35"
BROAD: 114"
POSITIVES
— Tough as nails and extremely willing to make difficult throws. Sunday mentality.
— Good anticipation and decisiveness. Rarely late getting the ball out.
— Flashes of good velocity over the middle when he is set and comfortable.
— Stays calm under pressure; willing to make throws while taking a hit.
— Good understanding of how to throw WRs open when necessary.
NEGATIVES
— Slightly undersized and already has a history of getting beat up.
— Arm strength is dependent on his lower half being clean. Arm strength suffers greatly when throwing without his base.
— Below-average ability to throw with touch. Mostly throws fastballs; throws can sail on him as a result.
— Below-average pocket movement and ability to escape the pocket to make plays.
NOTES
— DOB: March 16, 1999
— 3-star recruit who committed to Washington in 2017, transferred to Fresno State in 2019
— 29 career starts (all at Fresno State)
— 2021 second-team All-Mountain West, 2022 first-team All-Mountain West
— Fresno State all-time leader in career completion percentage (68.1%)
— Suffered an ankle injury in Week 3 of 2022 vs USC.
OVERALL
Jake Haener is an undersized three-year starter with the toughness and decisiveness to be a quality backup. His game revolves around being unafraid to make a play.
In the pocket, Haener is exceptionally tough. He has zero issue taking a shot to the chinstrap if it means getting a high-value throw off. He remains calm under pressure and keeps his eyes up consistently when presented with cluttered pockets, though he could stand to move around a bit more than he does.
Haener also plays like a seasoned vet when it comes to finding ways to make throws work. He shows good anticipation and a fearless trigger. That runs him into trouble on occasion, but it more often allows him to maximize his average arm strength and fit difficult throws.
Haener has a great understanding of how to throw receivers open by placing the ball away from the defender's leverage, be that high, low, inside or outside of the "standard" target point. That unlocks a degree of throw difficulty that many other Day 3 quarterbacks don't have.
With that being said, Haener's physical skill set is limiting, and his accuracy is nothing to get excited over. Haener is undersized at 6'0" and 207 pounds, and he plays with such reckless abandon that he will always be prone to taking major hits. The accumulation of those hits over time will be an issue.
On top of that, Haener is often late to try to move outside the pocket and doesn't have the athleticism to escape most of the time. His arm is also middling. Haener throws with everything he has on every throw. That does just enough to give him NFL velocity, but it hurts his ability to control the ball and throw with touch, and he loses that velocity when his base isn't set properly.
It's hard not to appreciate Haener's playing style. He is fearless both in terms of taking hits and making NFL-level throws. He also brings just enough veteran savvy to be interested in his floor as a prospect.
However, Haener's size, up-and-down accuracy and middling physical tools make him more of a high-end backup than potential future starter.
GRADE: 6.3 (High-Level Developmental Prospect/Round 5)
OVERALL RANK: 151
POSITION RANK: QB7
PRO COMPARISON: Brett Rypien
Written by B/R NFL Scout Derrik Klassen
