2023 NFL Draft Profile: Alabama Linebacker Jaylen Moody

BamaCentral is taking a long look at each of the Crimson Tide's 15 football prospects who could hear their names called during the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City on April 27-29.

A little over a year ago, the Alabama Crimson Tide was coming off a loss in the national championship, and Jaylen Moody was down to his final year of eligibility. The interior linebacker had yet to secure a starting role, having primarily been a special-teams player. 

So he did what a lot of players do in that position, enter his name into the NCAA transfer portal.

It didn't stay there, though, as Moody decided to give Alabama one final shot. 

 "This is where I want to be at. Alabama has always been a home for me for four years," he said. "Going into my last year, I want to make an impact."

At the time, Nick Saban said: “Jaylen has certainly been a guy that’s made a lot of positive contributions to the team in a lot of ways. Been a great special teams player for us, has always accepted his role, being a really, really solid backup player. But he’s played — he’s been able to play very well.”

That sort of remained the theme with Moody, a consensus 3-star prospect who was ranked the 11th-best prospect in the entire state of South Carolina when he signed with Alabama in the recruiting Class of 2018. 

He did win a starting job at interior linebacker next to Henry To'oTo'o, and essentially doubled his numbers despite dealing with a shoulder injury. He played in 10 games with eight starts, and continued to play on special teams. 

Alabama Linebacker Jaylen Moody

Photo | USA TODAY

No. 2: 42
Position: Linebacker
Height: 6000
Weight: 222
Hand: 948
Arm: 3048
Wing: 7418
40: 4.70
DOB: 11/6/1998
Hometown: Conway, SC
High School: Conway

What They're Saying About Jaylen Moody

Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

NFL Draft Bible: "The South Carolina native appears indecisive when dropping into coverage and sometimes finds himself stuck in no man’s land. Moody has the athleticism to cover players in the flat and gain depth in coverage, but he lacks the looseness in his hips and experience to carry tight ends downfield. He also has bouncy feet that hinder his fluidity in coverage. 

"The former three-star recruit possesses above-average linear speed, but I wouldn’t call him a true sideline-to-sideline player. Moody possesses the speed, and closing burst to prevent running backs from turning the corner on outside runs and contain quarterbacks looking to scramble. His motor runs hot in pursuit, but he rarely makes plays behind the line of scrimmage. Moody takes good angles to the football, which are complemented by his speed and burst. However, his frame lacks power. He often gets stuck on blocks or washed out of position by climbing linemen and tight ends. 

"Sometimes his hand fighting and quickness help him shed blocks and redirect to the football, but these splash plays occur inconsistently. Moody is largely ineffective as a blitzer off the edge. He occasionally shoots gaps on the interior but doesn’t possess the arm length, power, and pass rush plan to consistently generate pressure or tackles for loss."

BamaCentral Analysis

Alabama Athletics

Moody was a little hit-or-miss as he finished seventh on the team in tackles with 49.0, including 7.5 for a loss and two sacks. At Texas, he led the Crimson Tide in tackles with 10, and had a sack. Against Arkansas he had eight tackles including two for a loss and one sack. At LSU he was credited with nine tackles, including 2.5 for a loss. That might be enough to get him into a training camp, but probably not drafted. 

Projection: Free agent  

Alabama Athletics

This is the ninth story in an annual series profiling Alabama football players available in the upcoming NFL draft.

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Safety Brian Branch

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Guard Emil Ekiyor Jr.

Running Back Jahmyr Gibbs

Safety DeMarcco Hellams

Tight End Cameron Latu

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