Iowa State WR Jaylin Noel Scouting Report | 2025 NFL Draft Analysis - video Dailymotion

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Joe DeLeone and Ryan Roberts discuss the NFL Draft profile of Iowa State WR Jaylin Noel, talking about his strengths and weaknesses, and how his game c

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00:00Jalen Noel will sneak his way into the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

00:05Here's why.

00:08Ryan, you think that Iowa State's Jalen Noel could sneak into the first round and be the

00:16most unexpected first round pick.

00:19Why is that?

00:20Well, I mean, first and foremost, it is not the greatest first round class ever.

00:25We've talked about it, that there's only about nine or 10 true first round grades here.

00:29Every single year, Joe, there's one or two players that ends up being a late first round

00:33pick that you're just kind of like, huh, that's weird, that's kind of out of left field.

00:37I think that could be Jalen Noel because of how he's stacked this draft process so far.

00:42First and foremost, he just had two really good years at Iowa State, especially this

00:46past year, over 1,000 yards, over 80 receptions.

00:49He then follows that up by going to the Senior Bowl and being the best wide receiver in Mobile

00:54on both sides.

00:55So he dominates the Senior Bowl.

00:56Then he goes to the combine, Joe, what's he do?

00:58Goes 4-3-8, goes 40 plus in the vert, no off the field concerns, no injury background

01:04to my knowledge.

01:05I just think when you put all those things together, this could be a kid, and he also

01:10measured in over 5'10", he was listed under 5'10 in the spring, so he measured in over

01:155'10 as well, which I think was a big thing for him.

01:17When you stack all those things together, high-end athlete, production, Senior Bowl

01:22winner, combine winner, I think when you put all those things together, man, he has made

01:26a strong case to being a guy that's going to go a lot earlier than some people anticipate.

01:32I love his physical profile for what his role is going to be in the NFL.

01:36This is a pure slot who's built like a running back.

01:39He's super strong in contested situations.

01:42He's also somebody who is going to power through press.

01:44He doesn't care.

01:45He's got this mean, tough approach, the way that he plays the position.

01:49His hands are reliable.

01:50The release is awesome, the way that he gets off the ball.

01:54I can trust his hands, and he's also got pretty good body control.

01:57Rocco Beck was all over the place at times when he was trying to deliver him the ball,

02:00and he was able to contort his body and come down with it.

02:03He checks so many boxes, and he's somebody who I have a favorable day-two grade on, who

02:08if he goes in the end of the first round, I don't think I'd be really that upset.

02:12I'd maybe feel weird if he went ahead of Luther Burden, but his production was better than

02:15Luther Burden, and they have a similar role, but maybe not a similar usage in the league.

02:21Yeah, I have a second-round grade on him, and I love everything he brings to the table,

02:24because he does everything that you would expect him to do well.

02:28He's 5'10", 190-something pound slot receiver, so he wins it for the catch well.

02:32He has good ability to get in and out of his breaks.

02:35He has a good ability to find open space against zone coverage, and he can win against Mann

02:39with that route running upside as well.

02:42All those things are what you would expect of him, but the things that separate him in

02:45my opinion, and we'll talk about this comp later that I think makes a lot of sense, is

02:49he is really strong at the catch point for as small as he is.

02:55That's not a typical thing that you would expect a guy of his size and his stature to

02:58be good at, so I look at him and say, yes, he's not the biggest guy of all time, a little

03:04south of 200 pounds, he's 5'10", but what he does with his ability to win in the air,

03:09win after the catch, and the consistency that he brings to the table, why can't this guy

03:14be a high-end No. 2 receiver on the NFL level?

03:16I think he has that kind of upside to him.

03:18The thing with Noel, if we're discussing some weaknesses for him, the obvious thing

03:22is a lack of length.

03:23This is a compact dude.

03:25I'm not going to ask him to play anything but in the slot.

03:29There's a very unlikely path for him to play any role outside of the slot, so when you

03:34don't have versatility, but you're really good at that role, it still limits your projection

03:40for where you're going to land.

03:41What other weaknesses stand out to you on Noel?

03:44There's not a ton, man.

03:46Literally, it's just the size.

03:48He doesn't have great height or length, and that's going to affect his alignment versatility,

03:54to your point.

03:55I think he could line up at Z in certain systems, and he could do some things out there, but

03:59for the most part, I agree with you.

04:01He's an inside player due to just his general lack of size.

04:04What does that mean?

04:05The lack of size, what is that going to affect you of being good at?

04:08Probably consistently getting on top of dudes from an outside perspective.

04:12Probably winning at the catch point outside against longer, lengthier corners.

04:15Those things are never going to be necessarily in his wheelhouse due to his size, but outside

04:19of that, Joe, we're not talking about a ton of weaknesses, man.

04:22It really all derives from the same issue, and that's the fact that he's not the biggest

04:25guy of all time.

04:27Jumping into his background, this is a three-star recruit in the 2021 class.

04:33Jalen Noel was the 124th ranked receiver per the 247 Sports Composite Ranking, the 837th

04:44ranked recruit, and the 13th in the state of Missouri.

04:47He snuck past a lot of people and didn't really have a ton of big offers.

04:54It's pretty crazy when you think about it because he had some low-end offers like Kansas,

04:57Kansas State were a couple of schools that were in on him, but other than that, man,

05:01there was a lot of Charlottes and a lot of Power Five schools.

05:03I think Iowa also did offer him, but he's a young man that Kansas City, Missouri, and

05:09obviously he understands Midwest and Midwest football, all that type of stuff, but quick

05:14shout out if I can to Iowa State.

05:16I don't know who their director of recruiting is or their general manager, and I don't even

05:21know if they have a general manager role, but they have consistently done this the last

05:24couple of years, Joe.

05:25They have found these underrated, underrecruited athletes that need a little bit of development.

05:30Shout out to them because they found a true gem in that class with Jalen Noel.

05:36Definitely a gem, and this is why the comparison feels awesome because another guy who was

05:40a gem in his college career at Utah and was a gem in the NFL was Steve Smith.

05:45This was one that you and I were ... You were looking up who you wanted to compare him to

05:49before you said it out loud, and then I just said, this is Steve Smith.

05:54Not as angry, maybe not as angry the way that he plays, but the physical nature and the

05:59build and the athleticism is so similar.

06:03I love this comp.

06:04This is probably my favorite comp that we've done because I really see a path where he

06:08goes on to becoming one of the better NFL receivers.

06:12I think it's possible, obviously, depending on the system.

06:16I really do think because Steve Smith, Joe, he was such a likable player because Steve

06:21Smith was one of those guys that ... You can't quantify this all the time, but he was so

06:27competitive.

06:28We always hear, oh, he's a dog.

06:30Steve Smith was a dog, man.

06:32He blocked his butt off.

06:33He won at the catch point.

06:34He was super physical, very competitive, and he talked a ton.

06:38He was that type of dude, and you got to look past the fact that he had some size limitations

06:43because they ended up being limitations for Steve Smith.

06:46I think similar to Jalen Noel, we're going to hyper focus on the size, but the question

06:51is when you watch him play, who has done a great job of guarding him the last year?

06:55Who has done a good job at the senior bowl of guarding him?

06:58Those athletic upside traits showcase that this can translate to the next level.

07:03We're not hyping up a 5 foot 10, 190 pound kid that ran 4.56 as the next big dude.

07:09This is a legit 5.43 athlete, 40 inch vertical.

07:11I think all this translates, that competitiveness translates, and I think he could be a potential

07:15difference maker on the next level in the right role.

07:18Folks, let us know in the comments, what team do you want to see Jalen Noel play for?

07:22Hit that like button and subscribe.

07:24We'll talk to you later.

Iowa State WR Jaylin Noel Scouting Report | 2025 NFL Draft Analysis

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