Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - In the days leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, WGR will provide profiles on some players that could be a good fit for the Buffalo Bills at positions of need.
As we continue to focus on wide receiver this week, this profile will feature Jalen Royals, an athlete and not just a football player.
A native of Powder Springs, Ga., Royals was All-State in high school as a high jumper, who once cleared 6 feet, 4 inches. However, football was his main sport.
Royals went the junior college route out of high school and played for Georgia Military College. He played in 23 games before transferring to Utah State.
Over two seasons with the Aggies, the 6-foot, 205-pounder totaled 126 catches for 1,914 yards and 21 touchdowns. That career touchdown total is the third-most in program history.
Those career numbers likely would have been higher, but Royals only played seven games last season before suffering a season-ending foot injury on Oct. 19.
Royals earned All-Mountain West honors in both seasons with the Aggies. His 15 touchdowns in 2023 were second-most in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
Royals ran a 4.42 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.
Here is what Joe Marino from the “Locked on Bills” and “Locked on NFL Scouting” podcasts has to say about Royals:
Positives:
So much to love about Jaylen Royals, starting with his story. A guy that came out of high school with some self-admitted grades issues, begins his career at Georgia Military College and then he gets to Utah State after doing a workout there.
He didn't have any production his first season at Utah State, but was Academic All-Conference, so you love to see that he got that under control. Then his next two seasons were just super productive.
I love the size and athleticism, love how competitive he is, everything he does on the field is aggressive. The physicality just shows up with his yards after catch profile with how he wins early in routes, and deals with press coverage, with how he wins at the top of routes.
Very good body control, excellent ball skills, excellent hands, and he has some speed. He's got low 4.40 speed, so I think there's a do everything component to his game that makes him a three-level threat, and probably a guy that might be a sleeper in this wide receiver class.
Concerns:
I think he just has to diversify his game, and it just comes from what he was asked to do at Utah State, and what he'll be asked to do at the next level. At Utah State he was always aligned to the left side of the formation. He only ran a few different routes.
He'll have to develop more of a route tree, and he only has two seasons of production. I think it's just more about diversifying and validating what he did in the small sample size, but I think there's an extremely high ceiling with this player.
WGR will provide full coverage of the 2025 NFL Draft during all seven rounds, starting Thursday, April 24 and continuing through Saturday, April 26.
Related
