Jer’Zhan Newton DL Illinois: Scouting Report

Height: 6’1

Weight: 295

Overall

Jer’Zhan Newton is an undersized 3-technique in Illinois’ 4-3 defense. In his 4 collegiate seasons, he played in 45 games, starting 38 of them. While he is undersized at his position, he had a very productive college career, especially as a pass rusher, but he shows some weaknesses on film that need to be improved before he can be a consistent starter in the pros.

Pass Game

In the pass game, Newton has a very inconsistent first step. At times he will fire off the ball and quickly get linemen on their heels but often he looks slow and fails to make an immediate impact. He has very good hand usage at the point of attack and shows an excellent rip move to get around his man and have a free run at the quarterback. If his initial move fails though he lacks the power and leg drive to get off blocks but he does do a good job of getting his hands up to bat down balls when he can’t create pressure. He has sufficient power but with his lack of size he will struggle creating any pressure from a simple bull-rush. He has good athleticism on stunts to get on the outside and collapse the pocket but he has poor change of direction skills in open space allowing athletic quarterbacks to evade him often on film.

Run Game

In the game, Newton’s lack of size and power is much more prevailing. On film he often gets moved off the line of scrimmage and pushed out of his gap. He has an inconsistent anchor making it difficult for him to hold his ground on zone runs where lineman are firing off the ball and attacking him up the field. At times, he swipes off of blocks to make tackles in the backfield but on a majority of runs he is a non-factor or even a liability. At the 3-technique he lacks the size and strength to fight through double teams making it easier for teams to run right at him. On runs to the opposite side, he shows good effort in chasing down the play but he lacks the speed to be effective in doing so.

Last Word

Newton projects best as a designated 3rd down pass-rushing linemen in a 4-3 defense. His struggles against the run will limit his ability to be a true down starter but he has experience playing all over the line of scrimmage making him a strong depth piece on early downs. His hand usage against the pass will make him very valuable on 3rd downs and with him being used sparingly he will be able to save his energy allowing him to be more explosive on more of his snaps. His pass-rushing moves should allow him to make an impact on special teams as well, specifically field goal and punt block units.

One-Liner: Jer’Zhan Newton has the hand usage to be effective in rushing the quarterback, but his lack of size and anchor will force him to be used solely on 3rd downs rather than as an every down lineman.

Grade: 6.5 (Lower End Starter on 3rd Downs)

Games Watched: 2023 - Penn State, Toledo, Kansas, Wisconsin

Team Fits: Arizona Cardinals, Washington Commanders, Atlanta Falcons