Grade
74.1Photo: The Boston Globe
QB
7th Round - UDFA
2026 Draft Class
Haynes King
Status
UDFACarolina Panthers Georgia Tech
6'2 3/8"
212lbs
Age 25
Aug 7, 2026
Executive Summary
Haynes King is a tough, highly competitive dual-threat quarterback whose improvisational ability, athleticism, poise, and leadership give him legitimate value as an NFL backup.
Strengths
Improvisation / Play Extension, Athleticism / Mobility, and Poise / Leadership / Toughness
Weaknesses
Processing / Game IQ, Mechanics / Footwork, Deep Accuracy
Full Scouting Report
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Processing / Game IQ
Pros:
•Immediately looks to the safety to buy him time to throw and manipulate defenders
•Sells play fakes well
•Protects himself decently well for someone who runs so much
•Eyes are never locking on a target
•Makes really solid play fakes that draw defenders out of position
•Sometimes his coverage recognition is good
•Surprisingly has some second-level manipulation as a runner
•Decent progression speed
•Finds open holes in the defense well
•Doesn’t put the ball in danger except as a runner
•Will take his dump-offs and quick hitters when necessary
Cons:
•Panics under pressure a little
•Eyes occasionally stay locked onto the same route
•Will occasionally miss completely wide open guys
•Inconsistent coverage recognition
•Not an anticipation thrower
•Never really been asked to be a pure pocket passer, go through progression, and make reads
•Timing is late on deep balls
Accuracy & Ball Placement
Pros:
•Throws a very catchable ball
•Layers the ball very well over the second-level
•Places the ball away from defenders
•Receivers don’t have to break stride
•Good short passing accuracy
•Shown flashes of a pretty touch on a deep ball
•Has shown very small flashes at being able to throw receivers open
•Throws well rolling out to his right
Cons:
•Accuracy dips a fair amount when throwing off-platform
•Throws a lot of leading passes and needs to recognize when to just put it on a guy
•Deep accuracy is lacking with overthrows and not knowing how much touch to put
•Can’t throw receivers open
Improvisation / Play Extension
Pros:
•As a scrambler, he is a playmaker
•Uses pump fakes and head fakes to deke guys out
•Not scared
•Consistently falls or dives forward to pick up extra yards
•Can buy himself time in the pocket to get a throw off
•Can make some impressive jump throws
•Escapes the pocket easily
•Makes plays out of nothing
•Every now and then he will make a really impressive throw while getting drilled
Cons:
•Isn’t the greatest off-platform thrower, especially on throws 10+ yards away
•Has to make those easy wide open throws when he is on the run or off platform
•Definitely isn’t the best thrower under pressure
•Passes get batted down more than you would like
Arm Talent (Strength + Angles)
Pros:
•Can put touch on the ball
•Gets pretty good zip on the ball
•Above average arm strength
Cons:
•Hard to tell since the majority of his throws were quick hitters and screens
•Definitely not elite
Athleticism / Mobility / Frame
Pros:
•9.65 RAS Score
•33 ½” vert is pretty solid and puts him in the 72nd percentile
•4.46 is blazing for QBs and puts him in the 99th percentile
•116in (9.08ft) broad jump is very solid and puts him in the 76th percentile
•6.89 3-cone is elite and puts him in the 88th percentile
•4.17 shuttle is very solid and puts him in the 82nd percentile
•He can scramble for sure, and he is not scared to put a shoulder down and attempt to truck a guy
•Good patience as a runner
•Nose for the endzone on designed runs
•Finds a way to get to green grass and makes really solid cuts
•Accelerates out of his cuts pretty well
•Creates lanes for himself
•Makes guys miss in a phone booth like running backs do
Cons:
•Height isn’t the most ideal at 6’2 ⅜”; puts him in the 22nd percentile
•Hand size is below average
•212lbs (17th percentile) could affect how many hits he can take at the NFL level
•Vision will have small lapses at times
Mechanics / Footwork
Pros:
•Good and consistent hip snap and timing on throws
•Good arm slot
•Can change arm angles when necessary
•Drop back footwork is decent
Cons:
•Struggles to get to a relaunch point with his feet set
•Not the best at moving his feet with him while going through progressions; his head is moving and his top half, but not his feet or throwing stance
•Lower base is changing way too much because he has slight happy feet
•Has to aim with that front foot more
•Way too many fumbles on option transfers
Poise / Leadership / Toughness
Pros:
•Definitely not scared to take a hit
•Leader at the LOS
•Will lower the shoulder to pick up extra yards
•Never saw him lash out at his teammates for their mistakes
•Receivers were not doing him any favors
Cons:
•Even though some of the turnovers aren’t his fault, there are simply too many, and he is the leader of the offense, so some of that will fall on him
•Not entirely sure how much at fault he was for the sheer amount of false starts the Yellow Jackets offense had last season
Games Watched:
•Week 1 vs COLO, Week 4 vs TEM, Week 8 vs SYR, Week 9 vs NCSU, Week 10 vs BC, BOWL vs BYU
Ideal Situation:
•At the time I am writing this, Haynes King just had his first taste of the NFL in the Hall of Fame preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals. Boy, did he answer the bell. Haynes King went 21/34 with 180 yards passing, 2 TDs, no INTs, 39 yards rushing, and had the game-winning TD, which he ran in. This is simply what makes him special and is not something you can rate. Guys like Mendoza and Haynes King have the trait of simply finding a way to win and rising to the situation they are in. Haynes King still needs to mature and improve as a pocket passer. King can struggle to identify coverages and distinct disguises. I also never saw King throw with anticipation before a receiver broke off his route. The timing of his throws is also lacking. On deep balls, he was late a lot of the time, which allowed corners time to recover while the receiver waited for the ball to come down from the clouds. King had some really bad overthrows on deep routes that would have been massive plays in the game. King also can't throw accurately under pressure. A lot of his overthrows were due to him simply not putting it on a guy, and he would lead them for no reason. When trying to throw off-platform within the confines of the pocket, his accuracy does dip. King is also seriously lacking when throwing under pressure; most of this is due to his mechanics and footwork, which we will get to later. Haynes King definitely doesn’t have the strongest arm in the class. King is definitely on the shorter side and not the ideal height for a QB, but it isn’t egregious. His hand size is below average, and he is underweight. King’s weight raises questions about how many takes he can hit against stronger and bigger guys at the NFL level. King’s footwork will need to be cleaned up plenty. At the moment, he has no way to reset his feet and prepare to launch if he is knocked out of cadence. He gets happy feet when the pocket even slightly closes. King is almost immediately prepared to book it and scramble rather than letting the play develop and letting his pocket awareness and footwork take over. I know for a fact that he is a good leader because of how much people rave about it, and it is visible in the way he plays. However, I do believe he deserves plenty of blame for the huge amount of false starts and fumbles on handoff/RPO transfers. Those are all the things that Haynes King needs to work on. Now let’s take a look at everything he does well. Haynes King sells his eyes very well and doesn’t typically reveal where he is looking to throw early in the play. King, in the games I saw, was not putting the ball as a thrower in harm's way as much as other guys I have looked at. On a normal play, he can get through his progressions decently well and find the holes in the defense. King has shown that he can layer some beautiful throws over the second level and third level. He consistently throws the ball away from defenders and hits his receivers in stride the majority of the time. King can get plenty of zip on the ball and has above-average arm strength. Haynes King is a very solid athlete. He has plenty of agility and speed to outrun defenders. As a designed runner, he is fantastic. He can create lanes for himself, juke defenders out, and is always diving forward instead of sliding so he doesn’t lose those yards at the start of his slide. He isn’t afraid to lay down a shoulder, and he looks almost like a running back in a QB's body a lot of the time. King has a nose for the end zone, and he finds a way to score with his legs all the time and make it look easy. King has decent hip usage on his throws, keeps a consistent arm slot, and can also change his slot to avoid defenders. King is a leader on the field who keeps his poise for the full 60 minutes of game time. He led game-winning drives with ease and was never flustered by the big moment. King constantly put his body on the line for his team. One thing I especially liked about him was how he never lashed out at his teammates when they made mistakes. A lot of guys flip out if a player makes a mistake, which I don’t think is fair to the player, and as a leader you need to pick guys up, not bring them further down. Leave discipline to the coach. Haynes King was a UDFA signing by the Carolina Panthers. At the current moment, he is the QB3 on the Panthers, and I don’t anticipate that he will get cut. I actually think he could challenge Kenny Pickett for the backup position, as Pickett has looked really rough in recent seasons. I could see him getting some action in trick plays potentially as well. Haynes King is a very old prospect. He turned 25 in January, which will strongly limit his ceiling. King suffered a fractured ankle in 2021 while at Texas A&M, which caused him to miss the majority of the season. King did miss 2 games due to a shoulder injury in 2024, but was able to play through it while being in a lot of pain. Overall, I really like King, and I think he is a backup that a lot of teams will desire in a couple of seasons. I would be surprised if he got a starting opportunity anytime soon, but I think he can capitalize on it and make big plays to keep his team competitive. It is about the small reps and executing consistently for him.
Rating:
•Processing / Game IQ- 6.0/10
•Accuracy & Ball Placement- 7.5/10
•Improvisation / Play Extension- 8.7/10
•Arm Talent (Strength + Angles)- 8.0/10
•Athleticism / Mobility- 8.2/10
•Mechanics / Footwork - 5.0/10
•Poise / Leadership / Toughness- 8.8/10
Total = 74.1/100 (C) Early 4th or Late 3rd
Combine Testing
Height
6'2"
22thPoor
Weight
212lbs
17thPoor
40-Yard Dash
4.46s
99thElite
Vertical
33.5in
72thAbove Average
Bench
—
Broad Jump
116in
76thVery Good
Three-Cone
6.89s
88thVery Good
Shuttle
4.17s
82thVery Good
DPH Proprietary Scores
Frame Score
20
Measures a prospect's physical build and size relative to historical NFL positional standards.
DPH Athlete
72
Diamond Prospects' proprietary athletic score that evaluates a player's overall athletic profile using combine testing and positional percentiles.
Total Score
46
The combined athletic evaluation generated from Frame Score and DPH Athlete Score.
Combine Year: 2026 • Data from DPH Combine Database
I am an Assistant in Player Personnel/Scouting for Washington State Football with over six years of experience scouting NFL prospects and evaluating talent. I previously covered high school baseball as a writer for NMPreps and now run DiamondProspects, where I publish scouting reports, prospect evaluations, and draft analysis. I am currently a junior pursuing a degree in Sports Management and am originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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