Miami OL Jalen Rivers 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Jalen Rivers, OT, Miami (FL)

Height: 6'5
Weight: 325 pounds
DOB: N/A
Miami (FL)

Strengths

• Length: Jalen Rivers is a hulking mammoth of a man with a broad wingspan and vines for arms. He does an excellent job of using his length to keep rushers at bay and play long. 

• Play Strength: Rivers isn't quite the road grader of some other guards in this class, but he generates plenty of movement at the point of attack and drives defenders out of rushing lanes. His hands deliver jarring blows to defenders and oftentimes he sends rushers sprawling after uncorking and delivering a strike to them. 

• Use of hands: Rivers has over 2,000 snaps in his career, which shows in his technique. He consistently demonstrated accurate, well-timed, and independent hands that frustrated rushers throughout the season. It's difficult for rushers to get around him with his very good blend of technique paired with his length. 

• Anchor: As hard as it is to get around Rivers, it's just as hard to get through him. His size and power help him shut down the bull rush with ease. 

Weaknesses:

• Injury History: Rivers has had multiple season-ending injuries in his career. In 2021, he suffered a knee injury at the beginning of the season that ended his season. In 2022, it was a different midseason injury that forced him to miss the rest of that season. He was healthy all throughout 2023, but missed five games in 2024 with another injury. 

• Limited Athleticism: Rivers is a solid athlete, but I'm not sure how much upside he has. He plays tall, which says (to me) that he lacks a lot of bend in his lower half to play lower, and I do wonder how well he can handle true speed around the edge in the NFL. However, he more than makes up for it with a blend of other traits. 

Player Evaluation

Jalen Rivers is a fun evaluation who sets the tone often for the Hurricanes. I was pleasantly surprised to see a player as technically refined as he is, but that should be expected with his experience and the quality of coaches Miami has on the offensive line. 

He has played both tackle and guard in college and truthfully I could see an argument for him at either position in the NFL. He can start at tackle in the NFL in the right scheme, but I think his best position is probably inside at guard.  

His injury history is tough to gauge for him as a prospect, but his film is worthy of a quality draft selection. I'm excited to see what he can do at the Senior Bowl against other NFL quality pass rushers. 

Player Comparison

Trai Turner (Carolina Panthers)

This isn't a perfect comparison, as Rivers is bigger, but the two play similarly, with their ability to create displacement in the run game with good play strength, as well as being capable technicians despite limited athletic ability. 

A to Z Rankings

A to Z Consensus Big Board Ranking: N/A

A to Z Draft Grade: N/A

Draft Projection: N/A