Jalen McLeod
 McLeod at the 2025 Senior Bowl | |||||
| No. 35 – Jacksonville Jaguars | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Outside linebacker | ||||
| Roster status | Practice squad | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born | June 5, 2002 Washington, D.C., U.S. | ||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||
| Listed weight | 236 lb (107 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school | Friendship Collegiate Academy (Washington, D.C.) | ||||
| College |
| ||||
| NFL draft | 2025: 6th round, 194th overall pick | ||||
| Career history | |||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 3, 2026 | |||||
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Jalen McLeod (born June 5, 2002) is an American professional football outside linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Appalachian State Mountaineers and Auburn Tigers. He was selected by the Jaguars in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft.
Early life
[edit]McLeod attended Friendship Collegiate Academy in Washington, D.C., where he was an honorable mention all-metro selection after making 60 tackles and 10 sacks as a senior; he helped the team to the District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletic Association championship in both 2018 and 2019.[1] An outside linebacker, he was ranked a three-star prospect, the 1,640th-best player nationally and the 68th-best recruit at his position by 247Sports.[2] He received relatively little attention as a recruit – having no offers from Power Five teams – and committed to play college football for the Appalachian State Mountaineers, one of only two NCAA Division I FBS programs to give an offer.[3]
College career
[edit]McLeod appeared in five games, one as a starter, as a true freshman in 2020, posting nine tackles and two sacks.[4] He then played in all 14 games in 2021 and recorded 26 tackles, a sack, and three tackles-for-loss (TFLs).[4] As a junior in 2022, he posted 41 tackles, six sacks, 7.5 TFLs and two forced fumbles, with both of his forced fumbles coming in an upset win over Texas A&M.[5] He was selected third-team All-Sun Belt Conference (SBC) for his 2022 performance.[6]
McLeod opted to transfer following the 2022 season, concluding his stint with the Mountaineers having made 76 tackles, 12.5 TFLs and three forced fumbles in 30 games played.[7] He ended up transferring to the Auburn Tigers for the 2023 season.[8] With the Tigers that year, he totaled 50 tackles, 10.5 TFLs and 5.5 sacks.[9] As a senior in 2024, he recorded 57 tackles and a team-leading 14 TFLs and eight sacks.[10] He was invited to the 2025 Senior Bowl.[10]
Professional career
[edit]| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1+5⁄8 in (1.87 m) | 241 lb (109 kg) | 32+1⁄4 in (0.82 m) | 9+3⁄4 in (0.25 m) | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | ||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[11][12] | ||||||||||||
McLeod was selected 194th overall in the sixth round in the 2025 NFL draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.[13]
On August 30, 2026, McLeod was waived by the Jaguars as part of final roster cuts and re-signed to the practice squad the next day.[14][15]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Jalen McLeod". Auburn Tigers. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
- ↑ Silva, Richard (May 2, 2023). "Appalachian State transfer pass rusher Jalen McLeod commits to Auburn football". The Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
- ↑ Cohen, Matt (August 14, 2023). "Jalen McLeod was very particular in the portal. Auburn provided exactly what he wanted". AL.com. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
- 1 2 "Jalen McLeod". Appalachian State Mountaineers. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
- ↑ Cohen, Matt (November 9, 2023). "How Auburn's Jalen McLeod rose from undersized to a vital pass rusher". AL.com. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
- ↑ Silva, Richard (November 14, 2023). "Auburn football's Jalen McLeod is finally healthy, and that's bad news for opposing QBs". The Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ Lee, Ainslie (July 24, 2023). "Year one on The Plains: Meet Auburn's transfer Jack linebacker Jalen McLeod". AL.com. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
- ↑ Lee, Justin (August 15, 2023). "Auburn's head-turning Appalachian State transfer Jalen McLeod has already made his impact on the SEC". Opelika-Auburn News. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
- ↑ Biggs, Terrance (July 13, 2024). "Auburn Tigers Undersized Edge Plays Oversized Role". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
- 1 2 Stephenson, Creg (December 2, 2024). "Auburn's Jalen McLeod headed to 2025 Senior Bowl". AL.com. Retrieved April 15, 2026.
- ↑ Reuter, Chad; Zierlein, Lance. "Jalen McLeod Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
- ↑ "Jalen McLeod College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
- ↑ Oesher, John (April 26, 2025). "Jalen McLeod is the Jaguars No. 194 Overall in the 2025 NFL Draft". Jaguars.com. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
- ↑ "Roster Moves: Jaguars Reduce Roster to 53 Players". Jaguars.com. August 30, 2026.
- ↑ "Roster Moves: Jaguars Announce Additions to Practice Squad". Jaguars.com. August 31, 2026.