Jihad
Ward.
Jihad
Ward.
Illinois· 6'5"· 297 lb· 5.11s 40
A base-40 front, one-gap penetrating system focused on creating interior pressure and exploiting athletic mismatches along the defensive line.
Year 1 rotational 5-technique, with a ceiling as a starting 3-4 defensive end.
A two-gap 3-4 system that asks him to hold ground and occupy blockers rather than penetrate.
Ward's blend of size and athleticism makes him a versatile piece for a penetrating defensive front.
Selected #44 overall in Round 2 of the 2016 NFL Draft by Oakland Raiders out of Illinois.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 5.11sp50
- Vertical
- 25inp50
- Broad jump
- 111inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.38sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.63sp50
- Bench
- 20repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Illinois | 13 | 51 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2015 | Illinois | 12 | 53 | 1.5 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Career | — | 25 | 104 | 4.5 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Jihad Ward has played defensive end for the Oakland Raiders, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants, and Minnesota Vikings. He has primarily been a rotational defensive lineman and special teams player.