2022 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Jelani Woods, TE, Virginia
Jelani Woods is a good receiver and a blocking tight end coming out of Virginia. He possesses the height that quarterbacks would love to throw to along with the speed needed to beat defenders down the field. He has played mainly as a blocking tight end at Oklahoma State and switched over to more of a receiving tight end at Virginia. Woods is yet to be in a system where he could develop into a two-way tight end but possesses athleticism in order to do so in the NFL.
Jelani Woods Profile
Combine/Pro Day Results
Jelani Woods Scouting Report
Jelani Woods was a 3-star quarterback coming out of high school and initially signed with Oklahoma State. Woods redshirted his freshman year and before the year was up, he made the move over to the tight end position. In his second and third years at Oklahoma State, he took over the starting tight end position and earned Big-12 honorable mentions both years.
Woods decided to transfer to Virginia for his fourth year, which turned out to create huge dividends for him. In his first year at Virginia, Woods took the starting tight end position and ended the year with 1st Team All-ACC honors.
Strengths
Jelani Woods is a good tight end and is a massive target for quarterbacks. Standing at 6’7”, he makes himself a great target for the quarterback to throw into the corner of the endzone. His size, combined with his speed, also makes him very desirable to throw down the seam.
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He has the ability to speed down the field with his long strides and has a natural route-running ability. Woods is a receiving threat at all three levels. As a ball carrier, his size causes defenders to bounce off of him and he has the elusiveness to make defenders miss in space. At Oklahoma State, he was mainly used as an inline blocking tight end and was able to make an impact in the running game. He also has the speed to reach the block and can do a decent job holding his own.
Weaknesses
Jelani Woods' route running abilities are natural but struggles with more advanced route running and quickly breaking out of his routes. He also has a tendency to telegraph where he is going with short routes, due to his inability to change his pad level. Despite defenders bouncing off of Woods, he is unlikely to put his shoulder down and fight for extra yards.
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His reliability as a sure catcher is another area of concern. In college, he had around a 10% career drop rate, which is embarrassing for a player of his caliber. As a blocker, he needs to have better technique and needs to be more deliberate with his hand placement. His lower body strength poses an issue with his ability to sustain blocks in the NFL as well.
Trait-Based Projection
Jelani Woods is a good tight end with good receiving skills and good blocking skills. At Oklahoma State, he was more of an inline blocking tight end. Compared to his time at Virginia, where he was more of a receiving tight end. Woods has experience playing mainly as a blocking tight end and mainly as a receiving tight end but has not yet had the opportunity to combine the two just yet.
In the NFL, he will most likely thrive as more of a receiving tight end that occasionally stays home in order to block first. But once he can develop more as a two-way tight end, Woods will eventually be able to be an all-around tight end that is desirable to stay on the field for a game situation. However, Woods is still versatile enough to be drafted to more of a pro-style offense and be used mainly for blocking or to more of a spread-style offense and be used mainly for receiving.