Rookie Scouting Profile: WR Jalen Tolbert

Jalen Tolbert (WR) South Alabama

Height	Weight	40-Time	DOB	NFL Draft	Dynasty ADP	NFL Comp
6-1	194	4.49	02/27/1999	Day 3	3.01-3.05	Marvin Jones

College Production

The first real signs of Tolbert’s potential flashed during his sophomore season in 2019. During his sophomore campaign, he caught 27 passes for 521 yards and a team-high six receiving touchdowns. Then as a junior, he fully broke out catching 64 passes for 1,085 yards and eight touchdowns. This was enough to earn him first-team All-Sun Belt honors.

While first-team All-Sun Belt is nice, in 2021 he upped his game and was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year. He caught a school record of 82 receptions for 1,474 yards. His eight TDs was also a South Alabama record. He also set career records for the school with 178 receptions and 3,140 yards.

Strengths

Tough to slow down with press coverage.
Plays well against physical corners.
Performed best against toughest opponents.
Good height and length.
Dangerous vertical threat.
Explosive with the ball in his hands.
Can play inside or outside.
Smooth route runner.
Strong hands.
Good separation.
Impressive footwork.

Weaknesses

Suffers from concentration drops at times.
Occasionally takes plays off.
Better vertical route runner than horizontal.
Lacks elite acceleration.
Not overly elusive.

Fantasy Outlook

Tolbert is certainly not a lock for stardom, however, he has to be in the conversation as a potential sleeper star in this year’s draft. There are always a few Day 3 picks that break out at the position and it’s tough to find a better candidate in 2022 than him. I like his potential. All of his shortcomings are very fixable and his skill set is undeniable. My prediction is he starts his career out as a deep-threat boom-or-bust guy and develops into a receiver who makes more plays on short and intermediate routes as well. He needs a bit of work but has everything he needs to be a three-level wideout.

The ideal landing spot for Tolbert is Jacksonville. They spent a lot of money and added a lot of weapons in free agency, however, none of those weapons are particularly good. Still, all that money will prevent them from drafting any more weapons on the first two days of the draft. I like the combination of Trevor Lawrence and Tolbert.

Post-Draft Recap

After being selected by Dallas, Tolbert’s fantasy stock is on the rise. He’s comfortably now being selected inside the top-20 in rookie drafts. The fit is a good one, as the Cowboys traded Amari Cooper to Cleveland and also lost Cedrick Wilson. Tolbert profiles as a deep threat who has been comped to players like Tyler Lockett and even new teammate Michael Gallup. With an explosive offense like the Cowboys, there’s definitely some appeal towards Tolbert in the later rounds of redraft and high-stakes leagues, but he’s still a bit of an unknown so be sure not to invest too heavily.