Jalen Tolbert was only a two-star prospect (per 247Sports) coming out of McGill-Toolen High School. He chose to stay at home in Mobile, Alabama, and attend the University of South Alabama. After sustaining an injury during the offseason in his first year, Tolbert redshirted and didn’t debut until 2018, playing in only five games. While his sophomore (2019) stat line wasn’t overwhelmingly pretty, that season served as his breakout, as he led his team in receiving touchdowns (six) and yards per reception (19.3). He also commanded a 23.0% target share.
For the next two years, Tolbert had the kind of production we covet from small-school receivers. In 2020 and 2021, he ranked seventh and sixth in receiving yards among all FBS wide receivers. He soaked up 32.5% and 33.4% target shares along the way. Delving deeper into his efficiency, he was 32nd and 12th in Yards per route run among all FBS wideouts with 50 or more targets. While Tolbert’s age (23) and his not being an early declare are red flags on his profile, he checks so many other boxes. He closes the book on his collegiate career with a college dominator (51.2% per PlayerProfiler.com) and target share (33.4%) that both rank in the 96th percentile. After showing out at the Senior Bowl against higher-level competition, Tolbert has proven he has the skills worthy of his projected Day Two draft capital.
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