Former wide receiver at Michigan State. 2021: 37 catches, 695 receiving yards, 6 TD.
6′0″ · 185 lb · Palmdale, CA
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
WR recruit
No. 750 nationally · Signed with Michigan State
Statement game5 rec · 221 yds · 3 TDat Rutgers (FBS) · W 31-13
Top 0.1% receiving yards game since 2021.
Yeah let’s not get Reed or Nailor the ball in spacer/CFB game thread · ▲ 6His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Former wide receiver at Michigan State. 2021: 37 catches, 695 receiving yards, 6 TD.
Jalen Nailor
Beats you over the top. Jalen Nailor has been at Michigan State through two head coaches in four seasons. 2021 brought the first one: Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. The receipt: 221 rec yds, 5 receptions against Rutgers — Week 6, 2021.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Four seasons at Michigan State, 1,454 receiving yards — drafted at #191 overall by Minnesota.
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2018–2021
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Mark Dantonio → Mel Tucker. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · NFL
MinnesotaEntering 5th NFL season
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
Elite: yards / catch (95th percentile). Strength: yards / catch (94th percentile). Concern: catch rate (15th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Season trend
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 4.0 | 60.5 | 14.9 | 0.2 |
| Road4g | 3.8 | 86.2 | 20.1 | 1.2 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 3.9 | 73.1 | 17.7 | 0.9 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 4.0 | 75.0 | 18.8 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Pat Fitzgerald
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2021
Earning real snaps in the rotation without a starting job.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Three-star recruit. Now #122 at the position.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Michigan State | 37 | 695 | 18.8 | 6 | -- |
| 2020 | Michigan State | 26 | 515 | 19.8 | 4 | -- |
| 2019 | Michigan State | 15 | 106 | 7.1 | 0 | -- |
| 2018 | Michigan State | 8 | 138 | 17.2 | 2 | -- |
| Career | 86 | 1,454 | 16.9 | 12 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Michigan State | 1 | -3 | 81 | -- | -- |
| 2020 | Michigan State | 2 | 11 | 21 | 18 | -- |
| 2019 | Michigan State | 5 | 27 | 77 | 17 | -- |
| 2018 | Michigan State | 10 | 126 | -- | 14 | -- |
| Career | 18 | 161 | 179 | 49 | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 9 · 2021
W 37–33
vs Michigan
4 rec · 75 yds
Edged out Michigan at home in a shootout.
With B. Baringer — 1 SOLO · 1 TOT · 55 AVG · K. Walker — 197 rush yds (23 car) · 5 TD
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 8 games
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 38-21@ Northwestern | 2 | 20 | 10.0 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 2 | W 42-14vs Youngstown State | 4 | 39 | 9.8 | 1 | 16 | |
| Wk 3 | W 38-17@ Miami | 4 | 82 | 20.5 | 2 | 39 | 2 TD catches |
| Wk 4 | W 23-20vs Nebraska | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Wk 5 | W 48-31vs Western Kentucky | 8 | 128 | 16.0 | 0 | 43 | |
| Wk 6 | W 31-13@ Rutgers | 5 | 221 | 44.2 | 3 | 65 | Season-high 221 yds |
| Wk 7 | W 20-15@ Indiana | 4 | 22 | 5.5 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 9 | W 37-33vs Michigan | 4 | 75 | 18.8 | 0 | 40 | |
| Total | 31 | 587 | 17.8 | 6 | 65 |
Play style
Stretches the field vertically. Every snap is a potential big play.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Stretches the field vertically. Every snap is a potential big play.
His 2021 production profile sits closest to Tyler Scott’s 2021 season.
Matches Tyler on
Differs from Tyler on
Through 2 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Dennis Houston’s path through Western Illinois.
Matches Dennis on
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Micahi Danzy's senior season at Florida State (2025).
Matches Micahi on
Differs from Micahi on
Player DNA