Coming out of high school, Jalen Tolbert wasn’t a highly-sought after prospect. But now as he heads into the NFL, he’s one of the top wideouts in the 2022 draft coming out of South Alabama.
The Montgomery native balled out for his local college over his final two seasons there, eclipsing 1,000 yards and hitting pay dirt eight times in both his junior and senior seasons. He caught 82 balls for over 1,400 yards during his senior campaign and looked impressive against SEC talent when the Jags took on Tennessee. He also had over 100 yards in seven of his 12 games during his senior season.
WR Jalen Tolbert: Scouting Report
Tolbert is already an extremely polished prospect coming out of a smaller school. That non-Power 5 competition may have been a worry, but based on how he performed against the Vols, seven catches for 143 yards and a score, and at the Senior Bowl, that worry has been put to rest.
The former USA pass-catcher has solid size at 6-foot-1 and 194 pounds and has some of the smoothest and most technical route running in the NFL Draft class. He has great burst and can stop on a dime, making life miserable for the DBs covering him. Though one thing against him is that he does drop the ball when he’s wide open from time to time, which can be a bit frustrating and he can be a bit weak when blocking from time to time, though he’s solid in that regard most of the time.
Mock Draft landing spots
Mel Kiper/Todd McShay (ESPN): No. 73, Indianapolis Colts
“The Colts have to get themselves a receiver before Friday night is over, even though 13 are already off the board. Matt Ryan, meet Tolbert, who is a smooth route runner with good speed.” -McShay
Vinnie Iyer (Sporting News): No. 71, Chicago Bears
“Justin Fields and Darnell Mooney need some help beyond cheap veteran additions with Allen Robinson leaving in free agency. Tolbert has intriguing raw skills including size and speed to think he can develop into the ideal No. 2 with better hands and routes.”
Chris Trapasso (CBS Sports): No. 74, Chicago Bears
Fantasy impact: Rookie year
He should have a pretty big leg up over most rookie receivers during training camp simply because of how well he can run the entire route tree. He’s not necessarily the fastest, though he does posses speed greater than his 4.49 40-time would indicate. His best trait is his extreme quickness when breaking out of routes which should allow him to see the field pretty early on.
His drops are a concern, but even with them he still catches a ton of passes and will be a valuable asset in a PPR league.
Fantasy impact: Career
As he moves on in the league, he should become a league-average starter at a minimum and has the potential to be another superstar WR from a smaller school. He projects as a solid WR 2 pick for most fantasy managers.