Jelani Woods Key Stats:
Tight End, Virginia
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 253
Test Score: Woah
RAS: 10.0
Games Watched:
Illinois, North Carolina, Virginia Tech
Positives Scouts Saw:
- Height/Size/Length
- Good long speed, long strides
- A very willing, but not a great blocker
Negatives Scouts Saw:
- Less than ideal hip movement on routes
- More of an athlete than a polished prospect
- Limited to an in-line role?
Positives I Saw:
- Uses his big body to put himself in a position to catch passes
- He is a willing blocker and he hits dudes relentlessly
- Guys bounce off him after the catch
Negatives I Saw:
- Has a slow first step off the line
- Very raw, unpolished
- Wasn’t even the TE1 on his college team
As a Prospect:
As the late entry in the “holy shit, this guy has a monster athletic profile” game, Jelani Woods is an interesting prospect. He kinda looks like how Boban looks in a basketball game, where he’s just so big and tall that he creates mismatches simply by existing. Let’s get real: a dude this big and fast will get draft capital used on him and will get a chance to play. However, he is limited as a player at the next level where that height will be used against him (DBs will hold him up while linebackers catch up and rip at the ball). I think if he gets coached up, he can be a threat. As of now, he’s just an incredibly raw prospect that will take a couple of years before we know his true ceiling. His floor is UDFA or camp cut/practice squad guy.
Fantasy Football Potential:
Woods has been an interesting point of discussion on the Football Absurdity Discord over the last few days. He projects as a 4th round dynasty pick, as a pure dart throw. The value of the picks where Woods will be available is extremely low, but he is at best the 4th/5th best TE off the board, and that pick is purely from an upside perspective. He’s a more interesting prospect than a lot of the other guys you can get that late (rotational RBs and guys that were 6th/7th round picks or high upside UDFAs), but he has a much lower ceiling than a Keontay Ingram, Mataeo Durant, or Dai’Jean Dixon).
Overall:
There’s an episode of the Simpsons where we are introduced to Mr. Burns’ son (played by Rodney Dangerfield). They go to a fancy party and an older lady says to him “Larry, you must meet our daughter, the debutante. She just came out last spring!” Larry responds: “Woah, put her back in, she’s not done yet!” Jelani Woods is the debutante; he’s not quite done yet. Hopefully, some quality coaching and a couple of years on special teams will allow Woods to break out around years 2, 3 or 4, and be a quality piece. My only hope is that the team that takes him is willing to let him develop because all the tools are there.
Jelani Woods Reminds Me Of:
Ladarius Green
Grade: 74/100
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