Jacob Cowing, WR Arizona: 2024 NFL Draft Profile
Cowing was a two-star recruit from Maricopa High School in Maricopa, Ariz. in the class of 2019
Jacob Cowing transferred from UTEP to Arizona and remained one of college football’s most productive receivers. The Wildcats team captain will attend the Senior Bowl in a few weeks with the hope of raising his stock in the 2024 NFL Draft.
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Jacob Cowing, WR Arizona: 2024 NFL Draft Profile
Classification: Fifth-year senior wide receiver from Maricopa, Ariz.
Background: Cowing was a two-star recruit from Maricopa High School in Maricopa, Ariz. in the class of 2019. He was the No. 3,652 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 2,931 (three-star) for On3.com. Cowing was an unranked two-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked recruit for ESPN with no grade or star rating. His high school career totals include 89 receptions for 2,065 yards and 21 touchdowns. He recorded 28 receptions for 872 yards and ten touchdowns as a senior and 50 receptions for 1,081 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior. Cowing transferred from UTEP to Arizona for the 2022 season, allowing him to be closer to his son, Chase Cowing.
Injuries & Off-Field: Carted off with an injury in 2018 in high school, exited the game against UTSA (2021) with a shoulder/arm injury, helped off the field with a shoulder injury vs. UAB (2021), left game vs. North Texas with possible shoulder injury (2021), suffered an undisclosed knee injury against Utah (2022), carted to the locker room with a right ankle/foot injury vs. USC (2023) but returned to the game
Awards: 2020 Second Team All-Conference USA, 2021 First Team All-Conference USA, 2022 Honorable Mention All-Pac-12, 2023 Honorable Mention All-Pac-12, 2023 Team Captain
Pros: Gained special teams experience as a punt returner at Arizona, experience playing outside and in the slot, smooth and loose mover, quick off the line, wins early in the route with agility, good acceleration, detailed route runner, good stop-start agility, sharp cuts and changes of direction in routes, sharp cuts at the top of the stem, separates with twitch and route running, separates on crossers and drag routes, lethal on stick routes because of his agility and acceleration, quick feet, good hesitations and route fakes, adjusts route tempo to match throwing window, speed to quickly out-leverage linebackers up the seam, finds holes in zone coverage, works back to the football, gives the QB a target on broken plays, taps/drags toes along the sideline, fully extends for high placements to make catches outside his frame, decent elusiveness after the catch, acceleration to generate YAC and make defenders pay for taking bad angles, enough speed to turn the corner, subtle cuts to make defenders miss, willing blocker
Cons: Size, slot-only prospect, durability, can he survive over the middle, not an elite speedster, might be quicker than he is fast, not much separation on vertical routes, bumped off routes by contact, can he handle physical defensive backs at the line, not pressed often, catch radius, size limits viability at the catch point, doesn’t consistently haul in misplaced throws, some body catches, occasional concentration drops, route definition is inconsistent, schemed short touches, low ADOT at Arizona, elusiveness is good but not great, lacks the power to break many tackles, lacks the size to be an effective blocker
Overview: Cowing gained special teams experience as a punt returner at Arizona. He has experience playing outside and in the slot. Cowing is a smooth and loose mover who is quick off the line and wins early in the route with his agility. The fifth-year receiver’s acceleration is a weapon that allows him to generate yards after the catch and separation on routes. Cowing is a detailed route runner who uses stop-start agility and acceleration to shake tight coverage and generate natural separation. He makes sharp cuts and changes direction quickly throughout the route and at the stem’s top. Many of his short routes involve sitting to lull the defender before reaccelerating away from the coverage and into space. Cowing has quick feet that help execute hesitations and sell route fakes. The veteran receiver adjusts his route tempo to match throwing windows and finds holes in zone coverage. He easily out-leverages linebackers up the seam. Cowing works back to the football and gives his quarterback a target on broken plays. While he suffers from concentration drops and a limited catch radius, he taps or drags his toes for catches along the sideline. Cowing fully extends for high throws to make catches outside his frame, even if he doesn’t consistently haul in misplaced throws and sometimes defaults to body catching. He showcases decent elusiveness after the catch, punishing defenders for taking bad angles with his acceleration. Cowing makes subtle cuts that lead to defenders sliding off him. However, he doesn’t have the size or play strength to break tackles consistently. The Arizona native is a willing blocker but lacks the power to be effective in this area. He is a slot-only option at the next level with limited size and a growing list of nicks and bruises. Teams will question if he can survive operating over the middle of the field. Cowing appears to be quicker than he is fast, which limits his upside as a vertical threat. He doesn’t generate a ton of separation on vertical routes. Contact frequently bumps Cowing off his routes, and he isn’t suited for handling heavy doses of press coverage. His route definition drops off and becomes inconsistent at times. He benefited from plenty of schemed touches at Arizona.
Overall, Cowing is a dynamic slot option with the acceleration, agility, and route running to create natural separation and hurt defenses in space. However, his size is a significant limiting factor, and he lacks the elite levels of speed and twitch found in some other small receivers. Cowing is a highly productive college receiver who proved himself at multiple levels. He’s worth an early investment on day three.
Role & Scheme Fit: Slot receiver (Y) in an 11 personnel heavy scheme
Round Projection: Mid Fourth to Early Fifth
Size: 5'11", 175 lbs. (Unofficial)
Submitted: 12-16-23