Mel Kiper Jr. Sees Jaylen Wright as "Late-Round Sleeper"
Tennessee running back Jaylen Wright had a great career during his three seasons in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was part of the 2022 team that breathed life into the program, amassed eight 100-yard games in his career, and became Tennessee's first 1,000-yard rusher since 2015.
After this past season, Wright declared for the 2024 NFL Draft, forgoing his final season of collegiate eligibility to join the professional ranks. ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. has kicked off draft season discussing early favorites that stand out to him on tape, and Wright is one of those prospects.
"I’m going to a kid that played at Tennessee. You talk about guys that played at that particular program, Josh Heupel. You say, 'They throw it all over the yard.' How about running the football with Jaylen Wright? Jaylen Wright’s kind of my guy. I liked what I saw from him this past year. I liked what I saw from him two years ago. This year, he went from six yards-per-carry up to 7.4-per-carry. He went from two catches to 22 receptions. Runs through traffic. Strong, patient, slippery. He’s got balance. He was a track guy in high school, he was a sprinter, so he can hit that long-gainer. He had a 42-yard run, a 52-yard run, 82 and 75-yard runs this past year. Against Alabama, they contained him, but he had seven catches in that game. You talk about production in back-to-back years; he hit some big plays for Tennessee in the run game. He’s caught the ball better. He was more of a factor in the passing game."
Kiper elaborated on how he sees Wright transitioning to the NFL game. He doesn't have much tread on his tires after three seasons in college and has the age most franchises want at the running back position.
"I like everything about him. In the NFL, you’ve got to be able to run through contact, basically make the first defender miss, and if you get into a situation where you’re off-balance, the ability to keep the chains moving with an extra yard or two, that he showed he could provide. I'm a big fan of Jaylen Wright from Tennessee. If you can get him in that fifth-round area, you’ve got yourself one heck of a running back."
Tennessee Volunteers RB Jaylen Wright during the win over Vanderbilt. (Photo by Randy Sartin of USA Today Sports)
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