2022 Chiefs Draft Prospect: Jalen Tolbert

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NAME: Jalen Tolbert

POSITION: Wide Receiver

SCHOOL: South Alabama

HEIGHT: 6’1”

WEIGHT: 194 pounds

CAREER BACKGROUND

A native of Mobile, Alabama, Jalen Tolbert attended McGill-Toolen High School. He starred in three sports as a high schooler. Outside of football, Tolbert competed in basketball and baseball. He was a three-time letterman in both sports and was part of the basketball team that won the state championship in his junior season. In football, Tolbert and McGill-Toolen also won a state championship during his junior season. He registered 14 receptions and 135 receiving yards that season. Meanwhile, Tolbert broke out in his senior season of high school football, totaling 37 receptions, 696 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns.

247Sports rated him as a two-star recruit. Tolbert was recruited by many schools to play college football. This included Mississippi State, Memphis, Troy, Louisiana and UAB. To boot, he was offered scholarships by Ball State, Massachusetts, Michigan State and Vanderbilt. He opted to stay home and play for South Alabama, however.

Battle-Tested

Tolbert was forced to miss the entirety of his true freshman season in 2017. The wide receiver was injured in the opening scrimmage of preseason camp. Thus, his college career was off to a challenging start. In 2018, Tolbert would go on to appear in every game for the Jaguars. He would tally five receptions for 60 yards that season.

Team Leader

Moving on to 2019, Tolbert became a routine starter for South Alabama. He started in all 12 games and finished with 27 catches for 521 receiving yards. Elsewhere, Tolbert finished as the team leader in touchdown receptions (six) and yards per reception (19.3) that season.

Tolbert again started in all 11 games in 2020. He not only broke out, but also set school records, from a statistical perspective. Namely, Tolbert set South Alabama single season records in receptions (64) and receiving yards (1,085). That allowed him to become the first wide receiver in program history to record over 1,000 receiving yards in a single year. He also set a new single game receiving yardage record for South Alabama that year, as he recorded 252 receiving yards against Arkansas State. Meanwhile, Tolbert tied another school record with eight touchdown catches. The pass catcher received a first-team All-Sun Belt selection for 2020.

Those school records did not last very long. In his final season, Tolbert reset those school records in receptions (82) and receiving yards (1,474). He had eight touchdown catches once again. For the second consecutive season, Tolbert was named first-team All-Sun Belt for 2021. More impressively, he was recognized as the 2021 Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year.

SCOUTING REPORT

Instead of listing positives and negatives for traits, this year we will be listing the best trait of each prospect and work our way down to the biggest area of improvement/absent trait(s), from top to bottom.

Run After Catch Ability

Tolbert brings a tremendous mix of size and speed to an offense. Where he makes it even more difficult to bring him down, is the smooth gliding style that he uses when moving either vertically or laterally. Tolbert is not afraid to lay a shoulder into the opponent’s chest if he gets a chance. On the other hand, the wide receiver is more elusive than some may realize. He makes people miss with patience and solid spatial awareness while in the open field. Finally, Tolbert is able to change direction urgently, exposing possibly horrible taken angles by defenders.

Release Package

There is a wide array of moves and starts that Tolbert uses within his release package. First off, his quick feet is something that he picks and chooses to bring out, depending on the down and distance or what area of the field that the offense is in. Tolbert likes to infuse a stutter step when opting to go the route of a release with quick feet. Additionally, the wide receiver knows how to use his overpowering strength to his advantage. Tolbert can either rip through contact with quick jabs, or he can lean into the defensive back, forcing them to give up their natural leverage. His multitude of releases allow him to stay ahead of the curve, so to speak, given refinement needed with route running.

Speed

This area of Tolbert’s game is the cherry on top to his size and strength. He has an explosive push when looking to outrace opponents. If given plenty of cushion, Tolbert can still work to get on top of defensive backs when working vertically. He has plenty of speed to stack those vertically. Because of having a true second gear, Tolbert has a chance to turn any short catch into an explosive gain or long touchdown. He also uses his speed efficiently. Whereas instead of always playing at 100 miles per hour, this pass catcher utilizes his next level quickness at the most opportune time.

Versatility

While at South Alabama, Tolbert aligned all across the Jaguars’ offensive formation. He mostly aligned as an X-receiver or even as a Z-receiver. When moving into the slot, Tolbert showed an ability to create extra space and separation in the quick passing game. The same results occurred when he was given the opportunity to work option routes in the short to intermediate areas. Tolbert has the blend of athleticism, size, speed and change of direction skills to handle any kind of defensive back in a one-on-one battle, regardless of where he aligns in the offense.

Route Running

Going back to his speed, Tolbert is extremely structured and methodical when it comes to his timing and decision making on his routes. He has a good idea of being able to find and sit in the soft spots in coverage. You also see him sustain leverage and is quick to adjust his body positioning, depending on if he is running over the middle of the field or near the sideline. Tolbert still has some details to improve upon within his route running, nevertheless. For example, finishing his routes and not rounding off the end of his routes will be crucial moving forward. Tolbert could also stand to clean up his transitions and getting out of his breaks or cuts smoother.

Football IQ

There are many small items where Tolbert is quietly above average in creating extra opportunities for himself as a pass catcher. Structuring his body positioning as it pertains to the defender and the sideline is not something that all pass catchers are aware of. On top of that, Tolbert is precise when it comes to timing up his jumps and hands at the catch point. His vision with the ball in his hands is also something that flies under the radar a bit.

Ball Skills

Tolbert can seemingly make some of the most difficult catches look easy. This is especially true in contested catch situations. Tolbert is able to outmuscle opponents in those moments. At the same time, he does a solid job of adjusting and contorting his body in order to protect the football away from defensive back’s frame. His tracking ability is a major part in his ability to hit on explosive plays in the deeper areas of the field. Lastly, Tolbert’s results when facing contact or working with smaller throwing windows make him difficult to defend.

Separation

Going back to his refinement on his routes, there are chances for Tolbert to improve when it comes to creating separation. He seems to be too indecisive in a couple of areas. This includes deciding when to throw in a counter move to shake off of the defensive back and when to switch up his cuts and breaks. Rather than reacting to the defensive back himself, Tolbert has been more accustomed to dictating who makes the first move in a one-on-one battle. Uncovering at the top of his route is another aspect that could be improved while he makes his transition into the NFL.

Hands

Despite his ability to make difficult catches look easy, Tolbert does have some lapses in his focus on the natural plays. Being able to limit those drops on the outer areas of the field will allow him to maintain consistent production. From a technical perspective, there is also some refinement that could be made with his hand technique. Tolbert does not always get his arms fully extended. As a result, the ball can often travel too far into his chest or bounce off of his fingertips.

CHIEFS FIT

Following the stunning trade of Tyreek Hill, the Kansas City Chiefs have an opportunity to add more wide receivers. Surrounding JuJu Smith-Schuster, Travis Kelce and Mecole Hardman with another physical receiver may be the best option for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense. The combination of size, speed and run after catch ability that Tolbert possesses could also help Kansas City’s offense grow even further.

They already have a new wide receiver that can work primarily in the middle of the field or underneath, with Smith-Schuster. By adding someone like Tolbert, this could once again infuse a pass catcher that is comfortable working in the shorter to intermediate areas. Mahomes would not have to live solely on the explosive play. Consequently, Tolbert has the type of attitude that Kansas City must continue to add into their ever-changing offense.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs draft prospect profiles throughout this spring. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.