2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report: South Carolina State CB Jarod Washington

After following head coach Chennis Berry from Benedict to South Carolina State, Washington put together back-to-back All-MEAC seasons for the Bulldogs. He helped lead the program to back-to-back Celebration Bowl appearances, winning the HBCU National Championship in 2025.

Washington is aiming to become the first South Carolina State player to be selected in the NFL Draft since Cobie Bryant in 2022.

Career Statistics: 25 games played (FCS), 75 tackles (63 solo), 1 TFL, 4 INTs, 3 INT TDs, 33 PBUs, 1 FF

Accolades: First-Team All-MEAC (2024, 2025), MEAC Defensive Player of the Year (2025), Aeneas Williams Award Winner (2025), First-Team FCS Football Central All-American (2025), Second-Team AP FCS All-American (2025), First-Team Stats Perform FCS All-American (2025)

Scouting Report:

Jarod Washington is a cornerback with good size, strong instincts in zone coverage, and competitiveness. He shows a good closing burst, paired with adequate anticipation, to drive on underneath routes in zone coverage.

He does a good job of reading the quarterback’s eyes and has a quick trigger when he diagnoses routes in front of him, especially in Cover 2 when he has to cover the flats. His angles to the catch point are tight, and he routinely fights through the hands of pass catchers to force incompletions.

He has adequate foot quickness and slightly above-average change of direction to mirror receivers early in routes. He does a good job of using physicality and hand fighting mid-phase to stay in the hip pocket of receivers when stretched vertically.

However, he lacks early acceleration and top-end speed, allowing receivers to quickly compress his cushion and stack him vertically in man coverage. He does show good recovery speed and the competitiveness to get back in phase if beaten vertically. He relies heavily on instincts in zone coverage, but can get caught staring at the quarterback.

Washington is scrappy but not physical versus blockers on the perimeter. He does not consistently use an array of moves to disengage from blockers. He takes good angles on his runs and fits, putting him in position to make plays near the line of scrimmage. As a tackler, he often dives low and can miss in space due to constantly leaving his feet.

He projects best in a zone-heavy scheme with match elements that allow him to play in the shallow areas and trigger underneath routes. He projects as a fringe NFL roster prospect.

Projection:

Washington projects as a fringe NFL roster cornerback prospect who fits best in a system that allows him to trigger on underneath routes and play primarily in zone. His instincts and trigger make him an intriguing option as a late-round or post-draft priority pick-up.

He has upside to be a quality rotational cornerback at the NFL level, with special-teams value, or to become a quality starter earlier in his career on a second-tier league roster.

Strengths:

Strong zone instincts
Closing burst to the catch point
Competitiveness in coverage
Tight angles to the catch point
Zone awareness

Weaknesses:

Top-end speed
Early acceleration
Tackling
Physicality vs blockers
Handsy in coverage

Best Fit: Cover 3 or Match-Zone System

Stylistic Player Comp: Levi Wallace

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