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.