NFL Draft Profile: Jalen Tolbert, Wide Receiver, South Alabama Jaguars

NFL draft profile scouting report for South Alabama wide receiver, Jalen Tolbert

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#8
Pos: WR
Ht: 6011
Wt: 194
Hand: 1000
Arm: 3228
Wing: 7638
40: 4.49
Bench: N/A
3-Cone: N/A
Shuttle: N/A
Vert: 36"
Broad: 10'03"
DOB: 2/27/99
Eligible: 2022
Mobile, AL
McGill-Toolen High School

Jalen Tolbert
South Alabama Jaguars

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One-Liners

Long and skinny wideout with great speed who lacks physicality and has inconsistent hands. 

Pros:

Lanky wideout with good length who lines up on the outside and in the slot. Tolbert possesses great speed and acceleration to eat up cushions and fly past defensive backs. He is sudden and nuanced in his releases off the line, allowing him to separate against press coverage if cornerbacks are unable to land their punch. Tolbert is best on vertical routes, where he can use his speed to get behind defenses in a hurry. Ball tracking is a strong suit of his, as he can adjust to off-target passes and attack the ball at the high point. After the catch, he attacks angles with his speed. 

Cons:

A skinny build means Tolbert possesses slightly below average weight which shows on the field as he has below-average play strength. He struggles to fight through contact in routes and against press, when cornerbacks land their punch and jam him. Poor effort as a blocker means he leaves a lot to be desired, lacking urgency and whiffing frequently. As a route runner, Tolbert is sloppy and does not pay attention to detail. His hand strength is below average, allowing defenders to knock the ball out late. He can suffer from occasional drops over the middle. Tolbert will not break tackles after the catch.

Background:

Jalen Tolbert attended McGill Toolen high school in Alabama where he caught 37 passes for 696 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior. Tolbert lettered in football, basketball and baseball, for three years each, showcasing his multi-sport athleticism. After high school, 247Sports ranked him as a 2-Star recruit, the 2952nd-best recruit nationally, the 415th-ranked wide receiver recruit in the country and the 108th recruit in the state of Alabama.

Tolbert committed to South Alabama and in his freshman year in 2017, he endured a season ending knee injury in the opening game. In 2018, he appeared in all five games, catching five balls for 60 yards. In 2019, Tolbert stepped up into the starting role for all 12 games and finished with 27 catches for 521 yards and six touchdowns. In 2020, Tolbert started all 11 games and set school records for catches with 64 and yards with 1,085, while also adding eight touchdowns. In 2021, Tolbert started 12 games and beat his own record, finishing with 82 catches for 1,474 yards and another eight touchdowns.

Tolbert’s improved play over his career at South Alabama can be attributed to his late start to football and work ethic to learn the finer details of receiver play, “I started playing kind of late, and I have been constantly learning even back during the spring. I’ve learned about different coverages and schemes team might play. I’ve also learned about reading defenses and just becoming a better wide receiver. I trained with some NFL guys over the summer and they just showed me some steps and other things I can work on to improve my game for this season.” The world is taking notice of Tolbert’s talents, with Senior Bowl Director, Jim Nagy stating of his off-field qualities, “His head is on right. He’s a leader. He’s a high-character player, so it’s going to be exciting to see where he can go through the pre-draft process.”

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Grades

Current Player Value/Potential Player Value

7.0/7.7

NFL Draft: Wide Receiver Senior Bowl Invitee Declares for NFL Draft

NFL Draft South Alabama WR Jalen Tolbert will be a Steal

2/6/22 - A hometown favorite, the South Alabama Jaguar, showed why he belongs atop the receivers in this year's draft class during his week in Mobile. While the ability to move the ball hampered his success to only two grabs for 24 yards, Tolbert was a menace on the field in his route tree and proved to be tough to guard all week. Tolbert plucks the ball out of the air with an impressive catch radius and strong hands and gets up the field quickly. Corners often have trouble with him at the line of scrimmage, as evident in today's gameplay due to his physicality and twitchy releases. When speaking with Tolbert about his balanced playstyle, he said: "For me, I like to watch a lot of different receivers do what they do best. For instance, I watch how Julio Jones catches the ball on fades, I watch Cooper Kupp at the top of his routes, and I watch guys like Davante Adams' work releases." A student of the game that pays attention to the fine details, should Tolbert run fast enough in the evaluation process, he may steadily sneak up draft boards come April.

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