Most of the initial draft buzz around Iowa State pass catchers has been focused on Jayden Higgins, but Jaylin Noel was every bit as productive in 2024, and might be even more talented. Noel is a fantastic athlete who can stretch the field from the inside and is better than advertised at the catch point. There are a number of details he needs to clean up to be an impact player in the NFL, but he can help a variety of offenses right away.
Measurables
Height: 5’10’’, Weight: 194, Arm Length: 29.5’’, Hands: 8.75’’
Testing - Combine
40-Yard Dash: 4.39, 10-Yard Split: 1.51, Vertical: 41.5’’, Broad: 11’2’, 3-Cone: 6.82, Shuttle: 4.17, Bench: 23 Reps
Scouting Overview
The most compelling part of Jaylin Noel’s game is what he can do on vertical and in-breaking routes. Iowa State featured him on a bevy of posts, slants, and crossing routes, often tethered to RPO’s. When Noel has a clean runway, even the most athletic defenders in college football would struggle to stay with him. He tears through zone coverage on vertical patterns, and if a deep safety takes one false step, Noel will make him pay.
Noel can use a variety of route setups to send defenders the wrong way. The main ways he does this is with the use of head and shoulder fakes, as well as variations in his pacing. He can also execute a variety of footwork techniques at the top of his stems.
Noel could quickly become even more dangerous on crossing routes if he improves his stair-step technique. This is when players run routes in horizontal and vertical increments, rather than with one rounded trajectory. He can do a much better job of selling the vertical portion of his stair-step. This should be an easy fix, assuming Noel is dedicated to his craft.
The biggest blemish in Noel’s profile is his work against press coverage. He has the acceleration to win early, but he doesn’t have a very deep release package, nor does he execute them with the required level of precision. He should mostly be utilized in the slot, especially early in his career, but in today’s NFL, receivers need to have inside/outside flexibility. Fortunately, there’s nothing about the rest of Noel’s game that indicates he won’t be able to improve this with more time on task.
Noel’s pass catching is also a strength despite some physical limitations. He will have some of the shortest arms in the NFL, and he doesn’t have a very wide catch radius because of this. Still, he attacks the ball well in tight coverage, and can make some acrobatic catches due to his ridiculous leaping ability. He also tracks the ball incredibly well over his shoulder. Noel was routinely underthrown on deep balls, but does well to slow down, jump straight up, and hight point the football.
Unfortunately, Noel’s athleticism doesn’t show up as much when he has the ball in his hands. He often caught the ball in space, but didn’t make defenders miss as much as expected. Fans might see that he did 23 reps on the bench press at the combine and assume he’s a powerful player, but that impressive figure likely has more to do with his short arms than his pure strength. That’s not to say he’s weak, as he has fairly good contact balance. He does however, have great vision in the open field. His experience returning punts has given him excellent feel for how to set up blocks in space.
