Jalen Royals 2025 NFL Draft & Dynasty Profile
Jalen Royals 2025 NFL Draft & Dynasty Profile
- Position: WR
- School: Utah State
- Class: Senior
- Date of Birth: February 18, 2003
- Height: 5-11
- Weight: 210 lbs
Jalen Royals Bio
It’s been quite the journey to the NFL for Jalen Royals. He played high school ball at Hillgrove High School in Powder Springs, Georgia where he also starred in basketball and track. In fact, he was an All-State high jumper before committing to play football at Georgia Military College as part of their class of 2021. He was an unrated recruit and only caught nine balls for 72 yards and two touchdowns in his one season.
Royals then participated in Utah State’s Elites Camp where he impressed scouts with his incredible athleticism. It was enough to earn an offer to join the Utah State program for the 2022 season. Royals played in 12 games during the 2022 season but did not record a single stat. However, his career took a major turn in 2023.
Royals went from zero catches to a breakout season of 71 receptions, 1,080 yards and a school single-season record 15 touchdowns. He was named first-team all-conference for his efforts.
A foot injury limited Royals to just seven games in 2024. Still, he managed an impressive pace, finishing with 55 receptions for 834 yards and six touchdowns.
College Stats
Jalen Royals college stats courtesy of sports-reference
Positives
- Route Running
- Speed
- Acceleration
- YAC
- Alignment Versatility
- Body Control
- 9 career kick returns
- 7.9 receptions per game
- 42.9% touchdown share
- 37.8% Dominator Rating
Negatives
- Struggles vs physical defenders & press coverage
- All production came late in career
- Underwhelming array of release packages
Highlight Reel
Archetype: Possession WR
NFL Comp: TBD
Performance Score: Coming Soon
Draft Projection: Third Round
NFL Draft & Dynasty Outlook:
Jaylen Royals was a late-bloomer but he’s looked like a guy primed for a productive NFL over the last two years. Royals combines his quality route running with blazing speed to present a true three-level threat. He’s an instinctive player who has the versatility to line up in multiple positions across the formation. He gets up to speed quickly and consistently wins on vertical routes. He tracks the ball well and has the body control to adjust to the throw in the air and make difficult catches down the field. Royals is a good enough route runner to win in the short and intermediate areas of the field as well. He eats up zone coverage with ease, seemingly always knowing where the open lanes are going to be.
Royals is excellent after the catch, too. He bounces off tackle attempts and has the speed to outrun defenders in the open field. He’s a guy offenses will want to get the ball to at the NFL level.
Where there is room for development is against physical coverage and press looks at the line. Royals can get knocked off his routes pretty easily when a bigger defensive back gets handsy. He is also inconsistent at the catch point when working in traffic, though he has been known to come down with his fair share of contested catches. NFL coaches will surely want to improve his sideline awareness on vertical routes as well. Royals doesn’t keep enough space between himself and the sideline to allow his quarterbacks to lead him away from the defense on go routes. Instead, he allows the cornerback to use the sideline to his advantage and Royals runs out room to make a play on the football. These are things that can be coached out of his game at the next level
Speaking of the next level, Jalen Royals projects as a playmaking possession wide receiver in the NFL. He will give offenses a versatile weapon that can move around the formation and win down the field as well as underneath. He’s going to earn some manufactured touches that will allow him to get into space and use his speed and elusiveness after the catch to create explosive plays. He will settle in nicely as a team’s starting Z receiver who can potentially add some value in the kicking game as well.
On draft weekend, Royals will likely come off the board in the third round to a team looking to add a dynamic playmaker with room to develop into a consistent contributor. In dynasty, Royals presents a ton of upside in the second and third rounds of rookie drafts.
NEXT: Tre Harris 2025 NFL Draft & Dynasty Profile
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