From the University of Utah State, Jalen Royals has the potential to be one of the second-round steals in 2025 Dynasty Rookie Drafts. The 21-year-old put up some impressive numbers during his short time in college and was a key part of the Aggies offense the past two seasons. He’s a dynamic wide receiver who checks a lot of boxes for a productive future NFL wide receiver. Royals is a Georgia native who’s beginning to get more talk after the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, and should continue to impress scouts throughout the rest of the pre-draft process. Also, depending on where he ends up, he could quickly become an NFL starter immediately or at some point during the season and become a valuable Dynasty wide receiver after that. Let’s take a closer look at him.
* Within this article, the statistics were pulled from Sports Reference, KeepTradeCut (KTC), and Sleeper.
College Production (2021 – 2024)
Royals began his career at Georgia Military College in 2021, where he had seven receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Following his true freshman campaign, Royals transferred to Utah State and didn’t record any stats his first year. Then, in his junior season, he made a name for himself. In 13 games, he posted 71 receptions for 1,080 receiving yards and an impressive 15 touchdowns. As a senior, he was off to a strong start, but in October, he suffered a foot injury that forced him to miss the rest of the season. However, he put together another productive season in those seven games. He finished the year with 55 receptions on 834 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Royals recorded a 2.21 YPRR in 2023 and a 3.00 YPRR in 2024, which are both elite marks. He was arguably the best YAC receiver in 2025, and analytically, Royals’ scores are as good as anyone in this year’s draft.
Royals was named a College Football Network Third Team All-American and All-Mountain West First Team selection in 2023 and earned Second Team All-MW honors in 2024. Before his injury in 2024, Royals was on pace for 1,400+ yards and 90+ receptions. Most impressive, though, Royals was the only wide receiver in the country in 2024 to average 3+ yards per route run, make 8+ contested catches, force 17+ missed tackles, and average 7+ YAC/reception. He’s a special YAC monster and a prospect who’s underrated. Royals has shown dynamic playmaking abilities when on the field.
Strengths
Listed at 6′ 0″ and 205, Royals has the ideal size and physique that you look for in a top NFL wide receiver. His biggest strengths are his YAC ability and real breakaway speed with impressive bursts off of the line. I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, he runs it under 4.40. He’s a well-built receiver who moved around formations a lot and played primarily on the outside but was used a little more in the slot this past year. Utah State designed their offense around him, so he caught a relatively high volume of screens, hitches, slants, drag routes, and seam routes, where he excelled with his abilities after the catch. Royals has shown very good strength and contact balance. One thing that caught my eye was that he makes good adjustments to balls away from him and sells out to make the catch.
Additionally, Royals is a smooth athlete who can play inside or outside and is best suited for an offense that will value him as a possession target over the first two levels. He gets up to speed quickly and can run through arm tackles and create big plays off of shorter throws, with a good burst after the catch. He is also a physical receiver who shows good competitiveness in finishing his runs. I expect his stock to continue rising as we approach the 2025 NFL Draft. Most importantly, what separates him is his big play ability after the catch, which is difficult to teach. Royals has shown that he has all the traits you look for in a successful NFL wide receiver.
Weaknesses
Royals does have a few weaknesses in his game that stick out to me. First, his season-ending foot injury will require further medical examination during the rest of the pre-draft process to make sure everything checks out. Royals also has a smaller sample size as he has just two years as a full-time player and producer at the collegiate level. Some of his stats were padded by the high volume of manufactured touches he received. In terms of his on-field play, some of Royals’ routes aren’t the sharpest, and he doesn’t create a ton of separation against man coverage. If this continues into the NFL, he’ll require a very accurate quarterback to succeed. Royals has shown average foot quickness and burst to separate. Royals relies on tempo changes to beat defenders. He also tends to run into zone coverage instead of sitting in soft spots.
There’s no reason to believe he can’t improve upon many of these traits and further develop his game. At the next level, refining his route running will be key to helping create more separation. It’ll be key that he gets placed with a good coaching staff at the next level. However, Royals is a very intriguing prospect and someone who, with the right team in the right situation, can be an instant difference-maker.
Draft Projection
Royals is projected to be a 3rd-round pick (85th overall prospect), according to NFL Mock Draft Database as things currently stand. He’s a very talented prospect that teams will be willing to take a chance on his upside, especially with some refinement, as he has the potential to be a very good all-around wide receiver in the NFL. This year’s 2025 NFL Draft has a weaker wide receiver class but Royals is one of the under-the-radar intriguing names who has next-level impact ability. Royals is a player that some of your league mates might not be familiar with yet but probably will be soon as he’s beginning to rise on NFL Draft boards. Currently, he projects in the mid-to-late second round of Dynasty Fantasy Football Drafts, and he could be one of the hidden gems of Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Drafts this year, especially with a nice landing spot. Once Royals gets an opportunity to show off his abilities at all the remaining NFL Pre-Draft processes, I expect him to be one of the fastest-rising prospects in the 2025 Combine, which could push him up draft boards. In the future, I expect him to become a very productive player in the NFL.
Conclusion
Royals is one of the more unique receiving prospects in this year’s 2025 Draft Class. He might not be a physical specimen and doesn’t run the crispest routes. However, he manages to play bigger than his size, and with his strong frame, he’s able to win against defenders. He’s great at making adjustments once the ball is in the air and has shown impressive power and burst after the catch to run through tackles, which is why his YAC is so impressive. I think Royals has a high ceiling because of his explosive playstyle. Similar to another intriguing receiver in this year’s class, Tre Harris, if Royals didn’t get hurt, we’d be talking about him getting drafted much higher. Royals has been compared to Rashee Rice or Brandon Aiyuk but his frame reminds me more of Aiyuk with his prototypical size. Aiyuk is 6′ 0″ and 200, similar to Royals, and both players’ strengths come with the ball in their hands after the catch. Time will tell if he can live up to his pro comparisons. If Royals can add more strength and refine a few of his flaws, mainly his route running separation ability he has the makings of a top wide receiver who can do just about everything on the field. I see Royals’ ceiling as the 1B or a solid number 2 receiver to his team’s true alpha if he can reach that Aiyuk level of play.
As things stand now after the Senior Bowl, Royals’ stock is beginning to rise, and I will be watching his performance leading up to the NFL Draft very closely to see if he can keep climbing up draft boards any further. In Dynasty Fantasy Football, landing spot and draft capital mean a lot in terms of how early in their careers wide receivers make an impact. It will be important to see where Royals lands, because if he’s drafted by an offensive-minded team with a creative play-caller, his stock will rise.
Additionally, as long as his medicals look good, Royals looks like a player who will continue to improve his draft stock. Within Dynasty Rookie Drafts, he’s currently projected to go in the mid-to-late second round. Royals is someone that I will be targeting heavily, especially if he has a good landing spot that could allow him to showcase his dynamic playmaking abilities and make him the steal of Dynasty Rookie Drafts. He’s a guy I’ll be drafting a lot of because he has game-changing abilities with his eye-popping YAC numbers. I believe Royals could be of great value on his way to becoming a very valuable Dynasty Fantasy Football player. Royals is an under-the-radar player with elite playmaking ability, and I’m betting he will be one of the better wide receivers in this year’s 2025 rookie class. Get him on your team, as he projects to be a diamond in the rough from round two of Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Drafts.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, and I hope you gained some valuable information. If you have any questions or you’d like additional insight and analysis, please follow me on Twitter/X at @MonicasHubby. #DFFArmy #AlwaysBeBuilding
