2024 Exclusive Sneak Peek: Jaylen Wright, RB Tennessee
Welcome to the Exclusive Sneak Peek: Jaylen Wright, a 3-star running back recruit out of Durham, North Carolina. Though his playing career was cut short at Southern Durham High School was cut short due to COVID-19, Wright did enough to commit to the University of Tennessee.
As a Volunteer, Wright was limited to starting his freshman season. However, he ended up dominating touches toward the end of that year and moved into a prominent role in his sophomore and junior seasons. Even while splitting touches, Wright has proven to become the superior threat out of the Tennessee backfield. And, in his final two collegiate seasons, he ran the ball 283 times for 1888 yards and 14 touchdowns. But, even more impressive is the 6.7 yards per carry he accumulated. In 2023, he finished third in the nation in yards per carry behind only quarterback and Heisman winner Jayden Daniels and West Virginia RB Jahiem White.
Wright will likely be a sought-after commodity in the NFL Draft as a prospect with supreme upside due to his elite speed.
Measurables
Height: 5’11” (57th-percentile)
Weight: 210 lbs (41st-percentile)
Age: 20.9
Class: Junior
NCAA Statistics
| Rushing | Receiving | Scrimmage | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Plays | Yds | Avg | TD |
| *2021 | Tennessee | SEC | FR | RB | 9 | 85 | 409 | 4.8 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 3.7 | 0 | 91 | 431 | 4.7 | 4 |
| *2022 | Tennessee | SEC | SO | 13 | 146 | 875 | 6.0 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 0 | 148 | 883 | 6.0 | 10 | |
| *2023 | Tennessee | SEC | JR | RB | 12 | 137 | 1013 | 7.4 | 4 | 22 | 141 | 6.4 | 0 | 159 | 1154 | 7.3 | 4 |
| Career | Tennessee | 368 | 2297 | 6.2 | 18 | 30 | 171 | 5.7 | 0 | 398 | 2468 | 6.2 | 18 | ||||
Scouting Reports
Strengths
- Elite speedster and home-run threat.
- Patient, letting blocks develop before bursting through the open hole.
- Rarely goes down on first contact.
- Good pass protector.
- Good outlet in the passing game.
Weaknesses
- Unlikely to sustain a heavy workload in the NFL.
- Will struggle to block NFL rushers given his size.
- Doesn’t always demonstrate elite quickness when turning upfield.
Pre-Draft Analysis
Expected Draft Capital: Late Round 3
Ideal Landing Spot: Green Bay Packers
Much has been made of the fact that AJ Dillon is likely to leave Green Bay in free agency this offseason. Many have placed a big-bodied veteran or rookie in the Packer’s backfield as a result to replace the gigantic hole Dillon will leave behind. Instead, why not solidify the RB room by taking the heir apparent to Aaron Jones?
For the Packers, a do-it-all back that can spell Jones is what they need. And, aside from the idea of preserving Jones by sparing him goal line and short yardage work, we know that he’s capable in those areas. Instead, sparing Jones endless passing down work could also be the ticket to some longevity for him, while also adding a home run threat out of the backfield, making the Packer’s offense truly multi-dimensional.
Wright’s value will always be best in a timeshare situation at first. Given that’s his experience in college anyway, evaluating the workload he’s able to handle while also utilizing his skill set immediately gets him the necessary in-game experience to progress to the next level. And we know Wright can handle pass protection duties well enough, so seeing if they have a true replacement for Jones without the pressure of it needing to work right away is a plus for both the team and the player.
Check out The Fantasy Football Universe video breakdown of Jaylen Wright below.
