Jalen Tolbert Scouting Report: NFL Draft Prsopect Report

 

Wide Receiver, South Alabama, # 8

 

Measurements

6’3” / 190 lbs.

40 Time: currently unknown. His combine performance may drastically boost his stock if he runs a good 40 time.

 

Jalen Tolbert NFL Draft Player Profile

Jalen Tolbert is a former two-star recruit out of McGill Toolen High School in Mobile, Alabama. Throughout his time at South Alabama, he has shown he has a chip on his shoulder. According to 247sports, coming out of high school he was ranked as the 415^th best wide receiver in the nation. Even though he was only a two-star recruit, two power five schools in Michigan St. and Vanderbilt offered him. Regardless of getting these offers from larger schools, he decided to take his talent to South Alabama.

According to his bio on South Alabama’s website, his favorite athletes are Russell Westbrook and Julio Jones. It is obvious that he appreciates guys who are freakish athletes and one in a million players. For example, Julio Jones is one of the best vertical threat wide receivers, arguably in NFL history. After watching some of his highlights, I realized that his game is modeled after Julio Jones. After a strong showing in 2020, he has once again impressed. He is 7th in the nation in receiving yards, at the time of this writing.

Jalen Tolbert Strengths

Body Control

Tolbert’s body control is probably the biggest reason why I am so high on him. His ability to contort his body in the correct position to make a play on the ball is one of the best in the nation. When watching his film for the Jalen Tolbert scouting report, I realized that he is targeted a lot on deep balls. This isn’t surprising because as I just noted, it seems he always positions himself in the right place to make a play. His highlight reels are filled with him rising above the defender and “Mossing” them for a big gain. You don’t see many people at the college level doing this, especially as often as he is doing it.

Playmaking Ability

When looking at all of the wide receivers in the 2022 NFL Draft, he is one of the best playmakers.  When the ball is thrown in his direction, he makes the opposing corners look small. As I noted earlier, he does a fantastic job of rising up and making a play he shouldn’t be able to. This is exactly what you want from an NFL caliber receiver, especially if you have a young QB. There are many examples of when he has put his playmaking ability on display. The one that stands out to me the most is when he faced Georgia St. in 2020. There was a ball that was thrown way above his head and he jumped up and made a one-handed catch.

Quick Feet

Tolbert does a fantastic job of shaking the defender opposite of him when the ball is snapped. Although he has very quick feet, he is not very shifty. He is good at losing defenders off the snap, and when running vertical routes, but struggles to gain separation elsewhere. Regardless, being able to shake the defender right off the snap is all you need to be able to do in the NFL. Once he is drafted, he needs to take this production to the field immediately. This is the case because he needs to focus on other elements of his game.

Route Running

Tolbert is a very good route runner considering his speed isn’t off the charts. He does a fantastic job of using his quick feet off the snap to shake defenders. After he does that, he coasts down the field and finds a hole in the defense. Honestly, I don’t think he ever really has to turn on the burners when route running. All he has to do is position himself in the right spot and use his fantastic body control.

Even though I noted that route running is a strength of his, when he gets drafted he will have to work on perfecting it. Even deep threats like Julio Jones have consistently improved their route running every year they have been in the league.

Jalen Tolbert Weaknesses

Struggles Against Press Coverage

This is one of his biggest weaknesses and reason why he is not projected to be drafted higher. When lined up opposite of press coverage, he struggles to get open in the middle of the field. As I noted earlier, he is very effective when running vertical routes. If he does not increase his effectiveness with shorter routes, he will be too predictable and easy to cover. After a few years in the NFL being coached up a little, hopefully he will improve his effectiveness all around the field.

Average Speed

I don’t want you to be deceived with this statement. As noted in Top Performers Week 7 NCAA Football article on our website, he is quick for his size. When watching his film he won’t blow you away with his speed, but he can gain separation when running vertical routes. After a few years in the NFL, he should be able to develop his playing speed and potentially become a dangerous wide receiver.

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Jalen Tolbert’s Draft Stock

Although I am very high on Jalen Tolbert, he is still a mid-round draft pick. I feel like the earliest I can see him going is in the third round. With that being said, I would not say that taking him in the third round is a reach. Actually, I would take Tolbert in the third round without hesitation regardless of what team I am the GM for. Although I am a little biased because I am a Packers fan, I would love to see him get drafted by Green Bay. If you look at the Packers’ history of developing wide receivers, I think that Tolbert would be a great fit. This is especially true if Davante Adams stays in Green Bay a few more years.

Final Thoughts on Jalen Tolbert

Considering Tolbert was only a two-star recruit coming out of high school, he has improved drastically while at South Alabama. One could assume that he may keep progressing, and if he does watch out NFL DBs. His natural athleticism and ability to make any play happen is what makes him a very special talent.

In order to take his game to the next level, he will have to work on his efficiency against press coverage. If he does not improve upon this, he will not have a future in the NFL. This is because every team will put their best press cover corner against him on every snap. Tolbert has incredible red zone ability as a jump ball receiver and can use his catch radius to become a QB’s go to in the end zone. This may be where he finds time on the field early in his career.

Jalen Tolbert NFL Comaprison: His frame and game play reminds me of a young A.J. Green at Georgia. Their statistics are similar too, but Green faced better competition being in the SEC.

Jalen Tolbert scouting report by Mathew Lewis