Jalen Royals, Utah State: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Royals was a wide receiver recruit from Hillgrove High School in Powder Springs, Ga. in the class of 2021

Utah State’s Jalen Royals is one of the best wide receivers not in the Power Four. His combination of ball skills and speed make him a threat to create on schemed touches or downfield contested catches. Royals projects as an early Day 3 selection in the 2025 NFL Draft.

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Jalen Royals, WR Utah State: 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Senior wide receiver from Powder Springs, Ga.

Background: Royals was a wide receiver recruit from Hillgrove High School in Powder Springs, Ga. in the class of 2021. He didn’t receive a recruit ranking from 247Sports, Rivals, On3, or ESPN. Royals transferred to Utah State from Georgia Military College for the 2022 season. He totaled 26 receptions for 455 yards and four touchdowns as a high school senior. Royals was an All-State high jumper as a senior, clearing 6-4.00 to finish sixth in the 7A Track & Field State Championships. He also played basketball.

Injuries & Off-Field: N/A

Awards: 2023 First Team All-Mountain West, 2023 Third Team All-American (CFN)

Pros: Posted 4.30 40-yard dash and 10-10 broad jump at Utah State Elite Camp, arm length will check box, hesitation move and sharp cuts to avoid punches vs. press, sudden acceleration, impressive burst off the line, speed to stack corners out of press, overtakes off-man defenders, above-average straight line speed, feasts on open-field coverage, stems vertically and fakes and outside cut before cutting inside on the slant, sharp breaks on outs, slants, and posts, beautiful post-corner route vs. James Madison (2023) with super sharp break, stutter-go, some flashes of elite deceleration to work back down the stem, sinks hips well at top of stem, works back down the stem to meet the ball, finds space vs. zones, got unlucky with several should’ve-been DPI calls in the end zone, fully extends to make difficult catches, concentration at the catch point, natural hands catcher, ball tracking over the shoulder, plays above the rim on contested catches, plays bigger than listed height, slips through arm tackles, angle eraser, willing stalk blocker

Cons: Competition level, likely leaner than his listed weight, limited special teams experience, limited experience in the slot, some wasted movement in his release, hand usage vs. press, doesn’t leave himself much room to operate on outside releases, mid-route contact drives him into the sideline, runs some routes short of the sticks on late downs, route tree limited at short and intermediate levels, some issues decelerating on some comebacks, route tempo can improve, speed is great but not totally overwhelming as a route runner, some routes run at half speed, slows down when nearing the catch point, a few open concentration drops, doesn’t have the best vision as a ball carrier, more straight line than shifty or elusive after the catch, struggled to break tackles vs. James Madison (2023), limited blocking power

Overview: Royals might come in lighter than his listed weight, but his arm length should meet NFL thresholds. He’s a fast receiver with a good build for the position. Royals hasn’t faced elite competition consistently in his college career and has limited experience operating in the slot and on special teams. He needs to improve his hand usage against press coverage and cut down on wasted movement, but he deploys hesitation moves and sharp cuts to dodge jams. Royals needs to leave himself more room along the sideline on outside releases. His sudden acceleration, impressive burst, and vertical speed let him stack press corners and create on schemed touches like screens. He just ran past Boise State’s (2023) corners several times in the game’s opening ten minutes. Royals overtakes off-man defenders and feasts on open-field coverage over the middle. His speed is impressive but not overwhelming. Royals manipulates the defender’s leverage with route fakes and how he stems his routes to create open space. The Georgia native executes sharp breaks on routes heading downfield and freezes defenders on stutter-goes. He sinks his hips well at the stem’s peak and works back down the stem to meet the ball. Royals sometimes struggles to decelerate in rhythm from his top speed on comebacks and curls. There are some flashes of elite deceleration on those routes, but he needs to be more consistent and shave some space off his turn. Royals understands the defense’s spacing well, making him effective against zone. He needs to be more resilient against mid-route contact and show better awareness of the sticks on third down. The senior is still developing his route tree at the short and intermediate levels. He suffers from some concentration drops but is usually excellent at the catch point. Royals drops a few easy catches but makes the difficult ones. He is a natural hands catcher who displays great concentration at the catch point when a defender is in his space. He tracks the ball well over his shoulder and plays bigger than his listed height when it’s time to climb above the rim in contested catch situations. Royals must improve his vision after the catch but offers YAC value with his ability to slip arm tackles and erase angles. The All-Mountain West selection is more of a linear athlete than a shifty or elusive weapon. He is a willing stalk blocker but has limited blocking power.

Overall, Royals is an explosive vertical threat and a burgeoning route runner with some elite reps under his belt, but he still needs to expand his release package and route tree. Royals is more of a linear athlete than twitchy, all-around creator, but he fills his role well. He projects as an early Day 3 contributor with lots of room for growth in 2024 and beyond.

Role & Scheme Fit: Vertical stretching Z receiver

Round Grade: Mid Fourth to Late Fourth Round

Size: 6'0", 210 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 07-26-24