Draft Analysis: Jalen Nailor

April 20, 2022 /
  • Height: 5’11”
  • Weight: 186
  • College: Michigan State
  • Tape watched: Northwestern, Miami, Michigan
  • NFL Comparison: Nelson Agholor

Pros

  • Blocking
    He isn’t the most physically impactful blocker, but Jalen Nailor is high on the list of dedicated blockers in this class. He tries to get in someone’s way on every play. He does a nice job of staying inside with his hands and mimics the defenders extremely well. Few times was Nailor not squared up to his defender with a solid base. Nailor does not take plays off and can also be found downfield blocking on broken plays.
  • Explosiveness
    While he has adequate speed, Nailor is best in short areas where he displays his acceleration and burst. Clean releases and hitting holes with the football are where Nailor shines pre and post-catch. He doesn’t run by, or through, defenders, but he can most definitely split them for big gains.
  • Tracking
    Nailor rarely loses the football. He tracks the ball downfield and on the sidelines well. He has great body control as well. Nailor had some drop issues in college, but appeared to be mostly on short to intermediate passes. He can be a true downfield threat with his double move explosiveness and ability to find and secure the ball on deep throws.
  • Route Running
    Almost exclusively used on the perimeter, Jalen Nailor has plenty of detail and nuance to his route running. He ran a good variety of NFL routes, and it really shows up in his route breaks. Nailor was best used on slants, comebacks, and double moves, all of which capitalize on his ability to start and stop at a high level.

Midline

  • RAC
    To put it simply, if there isn’t space, Nailor probably won’t create any. Nailor doesn’t have that elite gear to always turn and run by defenders, especially to break their angles on him. He does run with good power behind his pads for his size, but it is far from imposing to defenders.

Cons

  • Release
    While incredibly explosive, Nailor is greatly impacted in press coverage. Contact disrupts Nailor off the line and through his routes often. When he can avoid first contact, he does do a great job of staying small and sliding through man coverage. He needs to work on keeping his pad level low and keeping defenders away. A greater focus on active hands can go a long way for Nailor.
  • Hands
    Nailor is disrupted by contact and doesn’t have the natural snatch-and-grab feel to his receptions. Focus drops showed up too often, and there weren’t many plays made outside of his immediate catch radius. If he can clean up the easy drops, this shouldn’t be an area of concern.

Overview

Despite his great jumping numbers at the combine, Jalen Nailor fell short with some scouts after running a 4.50s 40 yard dash. Nailor may not be the top level deep threat he was touted as last year, but he still thrives in that area. He possesses great route breaks that set up double moves, and keep defenders guessing. He snaps down off of route stems with ease, helping his case to stay on the field in the redzone and on back shoulder plays. While he didn’t see many opportunities from the slot at Michigan State, I feel his skillset fits best there at the next level. He is a great blocker, that can decimate defenses in short areas, especially when given free releases off the line of scrimmage. Nailor could be one of the best receivers taken on Day 3 of the draft.