Jags Draft Auburn's Jalen McLeod in Sixth Round

McCloud is the third Tiger taken in this year's NFL Draft.

Auburn Tigers defensive lineman Jalen McLeod (35) celebrates his sack on Alabama A&M Bulldogs quarterback Cornelious Brown IV (10) as Auburn Tigers takes on Alabama A&M Bulldogs at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Auburn Tigers have their third player of the 2025 NFL Draft going off the board.

Linebacker Jalen McLeod headed to the Jacksonville Jaguars after being drafted in the Sixth Round with the 194th overall pick.

McLeod joins teammates Jarquez Hunter and KeAndre Lambert-Smith as the Auburn players to be drafted so far. Hunter was drafted in the Fourth Round at pick 117 to the Los Angeles Rams while Lambert-Smith went in the Fifth Round to the Los Angeles Chargers at pick 158.

Jalen McLeod (@_JayRashaan) long arms his blocker to the ground, gets the strip sack, stays with the play & strips it again allowing the defense to recover.

Effort will never betray you! #passrush #appstate pic.twitter.com/uyrTM56WCT

— DLineVids (@dlinevids1) September 11, 2022

McLeod was one of the Tigers’ defensive leaders the past few years, finishing finished third in tackling and first in sacks among the Tigers in 2024 with 56 total tackles, eight sacks, one pass deflection, a force fumble and a fumble recovery. 

The Jaguars will look forward to potentially combining his pass rush abilities with linebacker Josh Hines-Allen, linebacker Devin Lloyd and defensive lineman Arik Armstead and Travon Walker. 

New general manager James Gladstone has been focused on their defense, starting with an unprecedented pick on ironman Travis Hunter after a trade with the Cleveland Browns. The Jags also took corner Caleb Ransaw out of Tulane and Notre Dame linebacker, Jack Kiser who had a massive hand in getting the Fighting Irish to the National Championship game this past January.

With the combination of several veterans, new young players and the new front office/coaching staff, the Jaguars’ future is very bright, and McLeod will be part of that moving forward.