RB Jake Funk, Maryland

2021 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

MARCH 21, 2021

NFL Draft 2021 Scouting Report: RB Jake Funk, Maryland

*Our RB grades can and will change as more information comes in from Pro Day workouts, leaked Wonderlic test results, etc. We will update ratings as new info becomes available.

*We use the term “Power RB” to separate physically bigger, more between-the-tackles–capable RBs from our “speed RBs” group. “Speed RBs” are physically smaller, but much faster/quicker, and less likely to flourish between the tackles.

I suspect more than a few of you were like, ‘Who in the heck is Jake Funk’? Is he one of those old, hardcore legend professional wrestlers? That was me up until a few days ago. Then I saw his Maryland Pro Day numbers of a 5’10”/204-pound RB prospect running a 4.49 40-time and a sweet 1.50 10-yard with a 4.12 shuttle/6.71 three-cone while throwing down 22 bench reps and leaping 38 vertical inches – and suddenly I stopped everything I was doing to go find some answers to my own ‘Who is Jake Funk?’ ignorance.

To try to draw you in here, my summary statement on Funk would be…

In another time and place…Funk might be the best sub-215-pound RB prospect in this draft class. But at this very time and in this very place, with little prospect awareness nationally – Funk still might be the best sub-215-pound RB in this draft…but with a ‘problem’ to discuss. He could/should be a national discussion but he’ll never be close to getting the mainstream football analysts to notice/consider it.

We got a lot to unpack here.

Let me roll out three things regarding Funk’s profile to begin, and then I’ll discuss my scouting take/eye of his work:

(1) Pro Day/Measurables comparison of a few top 2021 sub-215-pound RBs…

4.49 40-time, 1.50 10-yard, 4.12 shuttle, 6.71 three-cone, 22 bench, 38.0” vert = Funk (204 pds)

4.47 40-time, 1.62 10-yard, 4.46 shuttle, 7.26 three-cone, 21 bench, 35.0” vert = Gainwell (201 pds)

4.45 40-time, 1.56 10-yard, skip shuttle, skip three-cone, 18 bench, 33.5” vert = Etienne (215 pds)

You could say all their 40-times were about the same but give the edge to Etienne for running his time 10+ pounds heavier – and from there, Funk wins every measurement comp…some of them with ‘distance’.

The best athlete of this group, on paper…it’s Jake Funk. Let that sink in.

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2021 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

MARCH 21, 2021

(2) I’m not a Mel Kiper worshipper, but Kiper has gone out of his way to discuss Funk at his Pro Day:

“I think he’s going to fight his way onto a roster,” Kiper said Monday on a conference call. “He’s a competitive runner. He’s a battler. He just puts his nose in there and he just fights and he’s quick to the hole. He’s shown home run-hitting ability where he can outrace the cornerback, safeties to the end zone, to the pay dirt. He’ll catch the ball, he’ll block. He’s just a guy that gives you everything he has.

“When you’re talking late-round or an undrafted priority free agent, Jake Funk is one of those guys I want on my team. He’s going to do nothing but help your team as a backup running back, special teamer.”

(3) Seeing helps believe…

Here’s a three+ minute video highlight package of Funk’s college career (and feel free to watch on mute, because for some reason there is a federal law that all YouTube created highlight tapes of football players MUST be accompanied by offensive and profanity-laced background music -- if I were a video highlight creator, I would put old timey country music in the background just to blow everyone’s minds. How is ‘We Want The Funk’ not the background music of choice here?). https://youtu.be/e9xzEoCwwHo

If you watched that video to the very end, then you know the problem here… So, let’s go through Funk’s brief background and then discuss ‘the problem’.

Funk was the 2015 Maryland High School Gatorade Football Player of the Year…scoring a measly 57 TDs his senior campaign. All that gets you in the high school football circles is a two-star rating. His family is littered with athletes -- college football players, college swimming stars (mom)…but no one saw much in Jake despite his bloodlines, history and production.

Despite the recruiting snub, he got a shot to play for Maryland and contributed right away as a freshman/2016 – 29 carries, 7 catches in limited time in the backfield (with two future NFL backs on the roster – Ty Johnson, Trey Edmonds) and he also returned a few kicks and made 11 special teams tackles. Not bad for the true freshman.

In his sophomore season/2016, Funk shared the backfield with two future drafted pros (Ty Johnson, Javon Leake), but was the low man on the totem pole again.

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2021 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

MARCH 21, 2021

2017 was going to be a challenge with three future draft pick backs on the depth chart (Ty Johnson, McFarland, Leake). Funk wasn’t seeing touches like he got in his first two seasons…and then in their 3rd game, on a special teams play, he felt something in his knee…ACL, done for the season.

Funk fought his way back to play in 2018 season and earned a larger role in the backfield right away…but in their second game, on special teams, same issue…ACL, done for the year.

Back-to-back ACL tears, surgeries, and rehabs. Fortunately, his brother is a doctor who had just opened a physical rehab center for athletes – and Jake followed his brother’s vigorous rehab plan – and he made it back in time for the 2020 season…just in time for COVID to hit.

Despite the limited season, Funk was the Terps lead running back for their five games…but of course missed a game with a positive COVID test. Finally a starter…and his season was all of four games long.

Guess what? In two of those 4 games…Funk rushed for 180 and 221 yards.

If you watched the video, you can see Funk is no fluke – he has the short burst speed (confirmed by his 10-yard dash) as well as breakaway speed in the second level…but he also shifts around/through holes adeptly (as testified by his three-cone and shuttle times). Funk has high-end movement skills and is a high-end athlete in all the other ways RB prospects are measured.

Without a COVID year, Funk might have really splashed in 2020. Without the two ACLs, Funk might be one of the top or THEE top sub-215-pound RB prospect in this class. Some guys are just unlucky, but if you look past that – a high-end athlete is lurking here. A talent on tape is here. Potentially, the best smaller RB in this draft class is hiding here.

Everything off the field is ‘high-end’ as well. 3x all-Academic, beloved by coaches and teammates, team captain, overall uplifting/positive outlook person.

…if not for the ACLs.

Jake Funk, Through the Lens of Our RB Scouting Algorithm:

In 2020 season, Funk played/was the main back in four of Maryland’s five games. If you take his four games and extrapolate them into a 12-game season, you get a season tally of…

180 carries, 1,548 rush yards (8.6 yards per carry), 9 rush TDs, 30 catches, 204 rec. yards, 3 rec. TDs, 12 total TDs and 9 special team’s tackles.

-- 2nd game of 2020 season, vs. Minnesota: 21 carries, 221 rush yards, 243 total yards, 2 TDs.

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2021 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

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-- It’s hard to draw solid trends from Funk’s career output because it was so unusual, and so limited, etc.

Pro Day Numbers:

5’10.2”/204, 9” hands, 30.4” arms

4.49 40-time, 1.50 10-yard

4.12 shuttle, 6.71 three-cone

22 bench reps, 38.0” vertical, 10’2” broad jump

The Historical RB Prospects to Whom Jake Funk Most Compares Within Our System:

Two notes on the computer comps…

1) Bernard Scott and Bobby Rainey were college studs who fought to some NFL time/touches but were also guys who had injuries to battle going into the NFL Draft/in the NFL.

2) When I see Jake Funk’s style, I see old Donald Brown reincarnated…and Brown was a 1st-round RB prospect in 2009. Not saying Funk is that worthy, but the first guy I thought of when I saw Funk move/play was Donald Brown…only Funk is tougher/stronger.

RB Score RB- RB- Last First College Yr H H W Speed Agility Power Re ru Metric Metric Metric 6.332 5.66 6.14 Funk Jake Maryland 2021 5 10.2 203 7.63 9.57 8.05 7.583 8.34 8.15 Scott Bernard Ab Christian 2009 5 10.2 200 9.92 12.53 9.17 10.259 7.83 8.99 Brown Donald Connecticut 2009 5 10.2 210 7.11 8.61 6.19 7.284 6.91 5.34 Rainey Bobby W.Kentucky 2012 5 7.0 208 3.19 9.52 10.31 6.287 4.71 4.96 Scales Treavor Harvard 2013 5 8.6 201 6.21 9.88 6.89 7.070 5.17 5.69 Barner Kenjon Oregon 2013 5 9.2 196 5.33 8.91 7.69 7.226 6.70 5.29 Sanders Miles Penn St. 2019 5 10.5 211 4.68 7.17 6.90

*A score of 8.50+ is where we see a stronger correlation of RBs going on to become NFL good/great/elite. A score of 10.00+ is more rarefied air in our system and indicates a greater probability of becoming an elite NFL RB.

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2021 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

MARCH 21, 2021

All of the RB ratings are based on a 0–10 scale, but a player can score negative, or above a 10.0 in certain instances. Overall rating/score = A combination of several on-field performance measures, including refinement for the strength of opponents faced, mixed with all the physical measurement metrics – then compared/rated historically within our database and formulas. More of a traditional three-down search – runner, blocker, and receiver. *RB-Re score = Our new formula/rating that attempts to identify and quantify a prospect's receiving skills even deeper than in our original formulas. RB prospects can now make it/thrive in the NFL strictly based on their receiving skills – it is an individual attribute sought out for the NFL and no longer dismissed or overlooked. Our rating combines a study of their receiving numbers in college in relation to their offense and opponents, as well as profiling size-speed-agility along with hand size measurables, etc. *RB-Ru score = Our new formula/rating that attempts to classify and quantify an RB prospect's ability strictly as a runner of the ball. Our rating combines a study of their rushing numbers in college in relation to their offense and strength of opponents, as well as profiling size-speed-agility along with various size measurables, etc. Raw Speed Metric = A combination of several speed and size measurements from the NFL Combine, judged along with physical size profile, and then compared/rated historically within our database and scouting formulas. This is a rating strictly for RBs of a similar/bigger size profile. Agility Metric = A combination of several speed and agility measurements from the NFL Combine, judged along with physical size profile, and then compared/rated historically within our database and scouting formulas. This is a rating strictly for RBs of a similar/bigger size profile.

2021 NFL Draft Outlook:

Funk was headed towards UDFA oblivion, but his Pro Day and the Mel Kiper push probably gets Funk drafted 6th-7th-round…as a special teams guy with RB ability, or I bet an NFL team wants him to convert to safety, potentially. Several teams have now lined up visits with him since his Pro Day splash. He’s going to get drafted…late. He’s too good not to.

If I were an NFL GM, I’d be looking at Funk as a day three option – the athleticism, the character, and the versatility. I get special teams for sure, with RB hopes, and a possible move to defense…possibly a two- way player (as a backup/depth). The ACL issues keep you from getting too-too excited.

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2021 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

MARCH 21, 2021

NFL Outlook:

If his knees hold up…Funk is probably going to shock/be a pleasant surprise in the NFL. At minimum, a useful hand. At maximum, a shock starting RB…a productive one…one that’ll leave people whispering some Christian McCaffrey comps (do I even need to say why he’ll get CMC comps?).

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Signature______Date______3/21/2021

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