NFL Draft
2/13/25
6 min read
Jaylin Noel 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Iowa State Cyclones WR
Height: 5096 (verified)
Weight: 196lbs (verified)
Year: Senior
Pro Comparison: Sterling Shepard
Scouting Overview
Iowa State Cyclones wide receiver Jaylin Noel projects as a complementary pass catcher at the NFL level. He lacks some of the marquee physical traits to be a featured player in isolation as an X-receiver or playing a lift role as a traditional Z-receiver.
However, what he does offer is sharp route-running ability, alignment versatility in condensed formations, a surprisingly large catch radius, and the ability to keep the offense on schedule with a bevy of target opportunities.
Noel is a dense, well-built receiver who offers good contact balance through his route stems, although he is a modest vertical speed threat to stack on the vertical plane. He complements his pass game profile with an accomplished special teams career that should boost his touch opportunities and keep him on the field even in a situation with a deep wide receiver room.
2025 NFL Combine Results
| Position | Name | School | 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Split | Broad Jump | Vertical Jump | 3-Cone Drill | 20-Yard Shuttle | Bench Press |
| WR | Jaylin Noel | Iowa State | 4.39 | 1.51 | 134 | 41.5 | 6.82 | 4.17 | 23 |
Positives
- Is a consistent separator on routes that break on all kinds of angles
- Offers surprising body control and a large catch radius relative to his frame
- Special teams value with the ball in his hands in addition to likable skill set to serve as a primary slot receiver
Negatives
- Has had some frustrating drops (seven percent career drop rate per PFF), although he had his best season here in 2024
- Many of his successful stacks downfield came against safeties in the middle of the field
- Is not an overly twitchy or creative run-after-catch threat to maximize soft coverage targets from the slot
Background
Noel is from Kansas City, MO, and played high school football for Park Hill HS. There, he lettered in track & field and football — he was a sprinter (11.07s 100m) in addition to his play on the gridiron. Noel was ranked as a 3-star wide receiver recruit (247 Sports) coming out of Park Hill while also serving as the team’s returner. Noel chose Iowa State over offers from schools like Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
As a true freshman in 2021, Noel started three times with play in 13 contests and served as a complementary pass catcher and the team’s primary returner. By 2022, Noel was a primary starter and would go on to start eight times in 12 games that season and 11 games in 12 contests in 2023. He was named Second Team All-Big 12 for his play as a junior wide receiver in 2023.
2024 brought more success. For the second straight year, Noel was a co-captain for the program and posted career-best numbers in every receiving category. He was also named First Team All-Big 12 as a return specialist.
Noel finished his college career with a big game against the Miami Hurricanes in an upset win and then accepted an invitation to the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Tale Of The Tape
Noel is a detail-oriented player who precision and timing-based offenses are likely to love. This talent boasts a variety of route releases and breaks at the top of route stems. His ability to set up defenders and process coverage leverage on the fly allows him to find space and separation at a high degree of consistency.
As a pass catcher, Noel has been predominantly implemented as a slot receiver at Iowa State. Given his stature and initial explosiveness, this usage at the pro level will afford him a lot of early access and space to attack coverage. He is sharp on out-breaking patterns that break outside the numbers and tough across the middle of the field. Noel values the geometry of the game and does well in taking proper angles to maintain a throwing window for his quarterback at the catch point, as compared to drifting off the top of the break and surrendering real estate.
Noel has run a bevy of routes, including go’s, fades, outs, hitches, crosses, and posts. He offers variety in his field access, particularly when releasing in motion or from the slot. His frame is compact, and Noel offers quick feet, which can pose challenges for some corners if he’s drawing press coverage or contact in the first five yards. His second gear doesn’t scream “burner,” and you saw a lot of contested opportunities up the sideline when targeted outside the numbers.
Noel combats some of these elements of his game with how he works the catch point. Anatomically, he does not boast a large wingspan or reach outside of his frame. But Noel was an impactful player on the fringes of his catch radius and showcases high-end processing of the ball’s trajectory and timing, plus concentration and body control to adjust in contested opportunities when he can't create separation.
His game shines with how he snaps off stems and sets up defenders for a clean break at the top of the route.
Noel’s value as a slot receiver is boosted by some prolific numbers as a return man. He’s thickly built and able to absorb some high-speed collisions that returners are vulnerable to. Noel shows good initial vision, as well as field kicks and set-up blocks. This added element of his game could be a nice tiebreaker amid a crowded tier of Day 2 pass catchers.
After the catch, Noel has been successful with the ball in his hands as a “run to daylight” player. His ability to process creases after the catch is useful and aided by his return experience — allowing him to maximize available grass. He isn’t overly loose or creative in close quarters, so don’t expect too many rabbits to be pulled out of hats when a number of rallying defenders box him.
In the run game, Noel’s energy was largely invested in running tagged routes or spacing and pulling eyes from defensive backs away from the core. He has a likable squatty frame to play combative from the slot and create good initial pop on nickel defenders and safeties, but it wasn’t generally where his assignments cast him at Iowa State.
That leaves some projections about how he’ll handle run-game assignments if he lands in an offense that puts added pressure and focuses on dictating and claiming space within the core as a slot player.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Noel projects best as predominantly a slot receiver at the NFL level. He possesses the ability to stack the second level and utilize his route-running acumen to create separation against safeties. Noel offers good separation ability to most levels of the field and projects well into most NFL passing schemes as a result.
Grade: 77.00/100.00, Second Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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