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The 2024 NFL Draft is getting close, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.
Here's our report on Jaylon Carlies.
Jaylon Carlies 2024 NFL COMBINE RESULTS
- Height: 6-foot-3
- Weight: 227 pounds
- 40-yard dash: 4.5 seconds
- 10-yard split: 1.54 seconds
- 20-yard shuttle: N/A
- Vertical jump: 32.5"
- Broad jump: 10' 5"
- Arm length: 34 ¼"
Jaylon Carlies 2024 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT
STRENGTHS
- Outstanding size and length for safety position with back end and box versatility. Smooth and rangy movement.
- Easy fluid pedal as back-end safety with comfortable transition and change of direction. Controlled movement.
- Flipped his hips and opened his stride smoothly on back end. Covered ground easily with his size and length.
- Executed speed turns in back end coverage with smooth fluidity. Effectively matched vertical routes in phase.
- Has length and movement traits to match up man-to-man to tight end both attached and detached, especially in the red zone.
- Played downhill from back end in the run game with aggression and physicality. Took on blocks with some force.
- Run game snaps in the box where he was physical and strong attacking offensive linemen. Played off blocks and made tackles.
- When aligned in the box or in an overhang alignment, shot gaps with timing and burst, making tackles in the run game.
- Good tackler playing downhill in the run game. Came to balance and squared up with body control and balance.
WEAKNESSES
- Much more of a straight-line, linear athlete than a loose, change-of-direction athlete. Transitions can be sticky.
- Little tight in his hips with his long yet compact frame. At times, had a negative impact on the change of direction.
- Got stuck at times in both man and zone coverage transitions when reacting to routes.
- At times, from back end safety, he took poor angles reacting downhill in run game. Too narrow with slow vision.
- Needs to play with more discipline with his eyes. Too often in the wrong place, negatively affecting responsibilities.
NFL TRANSITION
Carlies may be one of the most intriguing defensive players in the 2024 draft class with his highly desirable combination of size and athleticism, which was reflected in his strong athletic testing measurables but also showed up consistently on his tape.
Carlies is a big, linear athlete with some explosive straight-line burst and acceleration, and there were snaps where he showed outstanding closing speed and force into tackles. While he does not possess higher-level transition and change of direction, there were many examples throughout his tape where he showed he could flip his hips, open his stride on the back end and plant and drive on routes in front of him.
Carlies has extensive experience as a versatile safety playing on the back end, in the box and as an overhang defender. He had multiple responsibilities in zone coverage and matched up man-to-man on tight ends and running backs.
In an NFL where big nickel is becoming more prevalent, Carlies' physical and athletic traits profile may well fit that personnel package (think: Dan Quinn with his heavy emphasis on big nickel with the Dallas Cowboys and now as the head coach of the Washington Commanders).
I believe Carlies can play a more conventional safety position, especially for defenses whose foundational structure is quarters (think: the way Brandon Jones was deployed with the Miami Dolphins in 2021 and 2022 or how Kam Curl was deployed with the Commanders in recent years).
OTHER NOTES
Carlies came out of Florida as a 3-star recruit and made spot starts at safety in his freshman season (2020). He ended his Missouri career with 40 starts.
In 2022, Carlies was a versatile safety playing on the back end both in split safety shells and as the post safety addition both aligned in the box and as an overhang defender. There were nickel snaps where he played the linebacker position and snaps where he matched up man-to-man on the tight end.
In 2023, Carlies again played both on the back end — and had snaps at post, in the box and as an overhang defender. There were also snaps where he matched man-to-man on the tight end, even when the tight end was detached from the formation. Carlies was the middle-hole defender in some Cover 2 snaps, and he was both an underneath hook-to-curl defender and a flat defender in Cover 3. He was also deployed as an edge blitzer at times and showed the downhill burst to blow up running backs
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