Tag: Jalen Royals

2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: WR Jalen Royals, Utah State

Jalen Royals offers upside and potential

Jalen Royals committed to Georgia Military College as a freshman but was limited to only seven receptions. He left for Utah State the next year but did not see the field until 2023 as a junior. He was the leading receiver for the Aggies that year and broke 1,000 yards despite catching passes from three quarterbacks.

He again led the wide receivers with 55 catches as a senior while only playing in seven games. He was on a hot streak with four straight 100-yard efforts in his final games before a foot injury that ended his season prematurely.

He was on a pace for 100 catches and 1,500 yards, including his career-best three games in a row with 211, 155, and 188 yards when he was injured. Royals shined on a team that lacked a top-level quarterback and broke out as a junior when he was finally given a starting role.

Height: 6-0
Weight: 205 pounds
40 time: 4.42 seconds

A former track star with basketball skills, Royals is a multi-sport athlete who recorded a 4.42 40-time at the NFL Combine, along with bigger frame for a wideout. He enters the NFL draft more potential than proven history, but Royals stepped up with elite play when finally given the starting nod for two seasons, playing on a team with an otherwise dull passing effort spread over five quarterbacks in just two years.

Jalen Royals stats (2022-24)

*includes postseason/bowl games (stats from Sports Reference)

Pros

  • Excelled for both seasons as a starter while setting school records
  • Above-average acceleration
  • Deadly after the catch with the speed to take it to the endzone
  • Flypaper hands and able to adjust to balls throughout his route
  • Versatile receiver that played both slot and outside
  • Continually improved in college
  • Plays with good focus on contested catches

Cons

  • Did not face top-tier competition in the Mountain West Conference
  • Blocking skills need more refinement
  • Less productive in press coverage
  • Route tree needs expansion for NFL offenses
  • Previous season-ending foot injury in second season needs to be cleared by drafting team

Fantasy Outlook

Royals is an interesting prospect. On one hand, his accomplishments can be downplayed simply from playing in the Mountain West Conference and starting just for a season and a half. But – he had success when given the chance and had to mesh with two or three quarterbacks per season. He’s still a bit raw both in experience and the total mechanics of being an NFL receiver, but there are reasons to believe he could be a surprise.

Expectations range from a late Day 2 selection to an early Day 3 pick. He was noted for impressive adjustments to the ball and catching contested passes. Royals won’t be asked to step into a Week 1 starting role, at least probably, but is one to watch. Much depends on where he ends up and the situation he finds there, but it’s a lock that wherever he ends up will be far better than what he left in college. He just has to prove to be up to that challenge.

2025 Bucs Offseason Preview: Wide Receivers

The Bucs continue to boast one of the NFL’s best WR tandems with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, but more drafted talent wouldn’t hurt.

The 2024 season was a three-part tale of glory, turmoil, and redemption for the Buccaneers’ wide receiver corps. It teased the possibilities of a top-five finish for Chris Godwin and reminded everyone why Mike Evans is still one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, 11 record-breaking seasons on.

The season began with Godwin carrying the Bucs pass offense. Through seven games, he caught 50 passes for 576 yards and five touchdowns, putting him on pace to finish top-five in all three categories among wide receivers. Even after suffering a season-ending ankle injury in Week 7, Godwin posted the NFL’s best reception rate (83.3%) and was top-10 in yards per route run, yards after catch per reception, and NFL passer rating (minimum 35 targets). Godwin even posted a career-best zero dropped passes.

Godwin’s success was not shared by Mike Evans, who posted just 335 receiving yards through Week 7, which would have put him well short of getting an 11th-straight 1000-yard season. For the first half of the season, Evans simply was not the focal point of the offense as he had been his entire career.

Week 7 is where the story turns, as the Bucs lost Godwin for the season and Mike Evans to a hamstring injury for several weeks in a crushing loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Bucs faced a brutal three-game stretch in which Baker Mayfield relied on veteran Sterling Shepard and undrafted players like Ryan Miller and Rakim Jarrett.

Once Evans returned in Week 12, he reminded everyone who he was and what he could do. He broke a couple of records. First and foremost, he tied Jerry Rice’s record of 11 straight seasons with at least 1000 receiving yards. Evans also became the NFL’s all-time leader in defensive pass interference yardage in the regular season and playoffs (860) per FTN.

Though Godwin and Evans peaked at different points in the season, they proved they are among, if not the best, wide receiver tandem in the NFL. 

That is why the Bucs will move heaven and earth to ensure Chris Godwin stays in Tampa Bay.

The continuity of Evans and Godwin is a major reason for the Bucs’ sustained offensive success over the last five years. Despite considerable turnover at offensive coordinator and quarterback, Evans and Godwin just make everyone right on offense.

Evans has another year on his extension, while Godwin’s expires this offseason. Due to the heavy borrowing, the Bucs did during the Brady years, Godwin has a dead cap hit of $18.8 million in 2025 per Over the Cap.

However, re-signing Godwin before the start of the league year would likely cost less than letting Godwin walk. At 29 years old and coming off a significant ankle injury, Godwin probably would command a salary similar to Cooper Kupp or Davante Adams, averaging between $25 and $30 million per year. While this would again require the use of void years and back-loading his contract, the Bucs could keep Godwin in Tampa Bay at a competitive price.

2025 also saw the rise of rookie Jalen McMillan, who started the season slow but came on as a viable scoring weapon down the stretch. In the last five games of the season, McMillan scored seven touchdowns. While he could be the Bucs’ WR2 if Godwin signed elsewhere, he would be a top-end WR3 next season playing behind Evans and Godwin.

The Trey Palmer experiment may have reached its untimely end. Despite the injuries to the wide receiver corps this season, Palmer was less productive and no more efficient than he was in 2023, catching just 12 passes for 172 yards compared to 39 catches for 385 yards and three touchdowns in 2023. He was also an ineffective punt return, averaging just 7.6 yards per return and muffing twice.

While the Bucs are sure to bring back some combination of Palmer, Shepard, Jarrett, and undrafted rookie Kameron Johnson, more talent is needed at the position to ensure against age and injury to Evans and Godwin. To bring back Godwin, the Bucs cannot afford to pay an up-and-coming receiver, so the draft will be their primary venue for acquisitions.

Iowa St. WR Jayden Higgins would add a little more size to a receiving corps that otherwise lacks it outside of Evans. He is a physical player known for his ability to make contested catches. While he is not the field stretcher that Evans is, he could be the next big target in the Bucs’ receiving arsenal.

While Utah St. WR Jalen Royals does not add much size to an NFL wide receiver room, his build and skill set are not dissimilar from Godwin’s. Royals averaged 3.0 yards per route run and 7.9 yards after the catch per reception, both top marks in this year’s receiver class.

Both Higgins and Royals could be targets for Tampa Bay on Day 2 of the draft. Though the Bucs are sure to emphasize adding defensive talent with their top picks, adding either prospect would simultaneously prepare for the future and reinforce the strength of the offense.

B/R calls New Orleans the best landing spots for two incoming rookies

This Bleacher Report analyst sees two wide receivers as perfect fits for the New Orleans Saints in the 2025 draft:

Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski has two receivers who are perfect fits in New Orleans: Ole Miss star Tre Harris and Utah State standout Jalen Royals.

The lack of depth in the New Orleans Saints wide receiver room exposed itself in 2024. The room was clearly carried by Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed coming into the season. Both of those players have dealt with injuries that ended their season or cost them a large amount of time.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling has been a good midseason addition and should be considered for next year’s roster, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Saints invest draft capital into the position.

It’s hard to have a truly valuable conversation about prospects’ fit within the team. The Saints are a schematic unknown, so it’s best to focus on skillset.

Harris comes in with a good physical prototype. He’s 6’3 210 pounds. Sobleski sees him as a player who would thrive in an offense that gets the ball in his hands quickly.

Shaheed possesses this ability, though it hasn’t been used frequently. Adding Harris could allow for the bigger receiver to take some of those catch and run opportunities early on and Shaheed continues to stretch the field.

Royals provides a player similar to Olave in size and traits. The Utah State product comes in at six feet even and slightly over 200 pounds. Sobleski describes him as “a combination of being a precise route-runner, while also serving as a big-play threat.”

The Saints have that in Olave already. If the Saints add a receiver, he should bring a different dynamic to the receiving corps.

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2025 NFL Draft 1st impressions on early Senior Bowl commits

2025 NFL Draft 1st impressions on early Senior Bowl commits Jalen Royals, Charles Grant and B.J. Adams

The Senior Bowl is rolling out the names of some of the early prospects who have accepted invitations to participate in the 2025 edition of the annual scouting mecca and venerable All-Star game in Mobile, Alabama.

Three of the early Senior Bowl acceptances are players I haven’t really taken a long look at yet. After a crash course of watching at least two games of each, here are my preliminary scouting thoughts on Jalen Royals, Charles Grant and B.J. Adams.

Jalen Royals, WR, Utah State

Talk about a prospect who should thrive in the practices in Mobile in 1-on-1 matchups! Royals stands to raise his profile quite a bit with a strong Senior Bowl week to cap an impressive career for the Aggies playing in the MWC.

Royals had already made a strong first impression from watching him in the 2023 season opener against Iowa. Digging into his 2024 film, the 6-foot, 205-pounder (listed weight might be high) has only built open the smoothness he showed against a secondary loaded with future NFLers. Royals has a “glide” to his gait as a route runner and it serves him well when he breaks. It feels like defenders are always misjudging his speed and ability to make sharp moves.

The hands are outstanding. Royals attacks the ball and quickly secures the catch. No body-catching unless required on lower throws. He transitions well from receiver to runner and can be difficult to corral if he’s got any momentum from the catch. There are some similarities to Terry McLaurin–a former Senior Bowl standout–in both size and game approach with Royals.

Charles Grant, OT, William & Mary

Grant plays left tackle for the Tribe, and he was somewhat familiar thanks to former linemate Colby Sorsdal, a fifth-round pick by the Detroit Lions in 2023.

On the surface, Grant is a better prospect than Sorsdal even though the latter was bigger. Grant moves much more fluidly, and that is his calling card. The Tribe use a lot of outside zone in the run game and Grant is fantastic at getting to his point and engaging effectively.

In pass protection, Grant shows excellent balance and lateral agility with either foot. He’s active with his hands and can reset well after his initial jab. Grant doesn’t always sink his weight and drive, and his bull anchor is a little top-heavy–which is something to watch for when playing bigger/stronger pass rushers during Senior Bowl practices.

His feet are very good, and that’s important because Grant isn’t playing against anyone else who will sniff the NFL beyond a rookie minicamp invite. The core fundamentals of Grant’s game are strong, even if his play strength is questionable.

B.J. Adams, CB, UCF

Known in some scouting circles as Brandon, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound corner is listed by both UCF and the Senior Bowl as B.J. Adams. The length definitely stands out; Adams might not be 6-3, but he’s definitely long and uses it pretty well to his advantage.

When Adams gets his hands on a receiver, he’s very disruptive at the line and controls releases pretty well. His lateral agility isn’t great, nor is his recovery quickness, and that makes Adams winning at the start of the route imperative. Colorado took advantage of that by making him move laterally or sort through a stack to find his mark. He was much cleaner against Iowa State in that regard, though he was guilty of one pass interference flag and was endemically guilty of illegal contact in the NFL, something that isn’t against the rules in college.

Like many taller CBs, Adams doesn’t have the body control in space to handle shiftiness. His full-speed momentum doesn’t stop quickly and makes him more straight-linish.

There is confidence to Adams’ game, a requisite for a cornerback to succeed at the next level. I’d like to see more attack dog to him against the run, but Adams plays intelligent, positional football. He understands his boundary responsibility and is active in trying to get off blocks. Adams plays the sidelines to his advantage in man coverage, and his length cuts off throwing angles well.