Former wide receiver at Utah State. 2024: 55 catches, 834 receiving yards, 6 TD.
6′0″ · 205 lb · Powder Springs, GA
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
Joined Utah State
Statement game9 rec · 211 yds · 2 TDat Boise State (FBS) · L 30-62
Top 0.1% receiving yards game since 2021.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Former wide receiver at Utah State. 2024: 55 catches, 834 receiving yards, 6 TD.
Jalen Royals
Moves the chains on third down. Jalen Royals has played for two head coaches in two seasons at Utah State. All-Mountain West in 2024 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. The receipt on tape: 211 rec yds, 9 receptions against Boise State, Week 6, 2024.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Two seasons at Utah State, 1,914 receiving yards, a first-team All-Conference season (2023) — drafted at #133 overall by Kansas City.
His career
He was winning awards before he was old enough to be a story.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST · 2ND TEAM
All-Mountain West 2nd team (2024)
Coaching lineage · 2023–2024
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Blake Anderson → Nate Dreiling. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · NFL
Kansas CityEntering 2nd NFL season
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
Elite: catch rate (91st percentile). Strength: epa / target (89th percentile). Concern: rush yards (23rd 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
2024 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 7.5 | 116 | 14.8 | 0.8 |
| Road3g | 8.3 | 123 | 14.1 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 7.3 | 108 | 14.0 | 0.8 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 11.0 | 188 | 17.1 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bronco Mendenhall
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2024
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Utah State | 55 | 834 | 15.2 | 6 | -- |
| 2023 | Utah State | 71 | 1,080 | 15.2 | 15 | -- |
| Career | 126 | 1,914 | 15.2 | 21 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Utah State | 1 | 3 | 184 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Utah State | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 1 | 3 | 184 | -- | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2024
W 36–14
5 rec · 77 yds · 1 TD
Dominant 22-point win at home against Robert Morris.
With B. Barnes — 198 yds · 2 TD · 1 INT · QBR 69.9 · 88 rush yds (5 car) · 1 TD · S. Kotsanlee — 45 AVG · 67 LONG · 4 NO
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Game log · Week-by-week
2024 season · 7 games
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 36-14vs Robert Morris | 5 | 77 | 15.4 | 1 | 30 | |
| Wk 2 | L 0-48@ USC | 6 | 47 | 7.8 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 3 | L 21-38vs Utah | 4 | 44 | 11.0 | 0 | 35 | |
| Wk 4 | L 29-45@ Temple | 10 | 112 | 11.2 | 1 | 26 | |
| Wk 6 | L 30-62@ Boise State | 9 | 211 | 23.4 | 2 | 75 | Season-high 211 yds |
| Wk 7 | L 34-50vs UNLV | 10 | 155 | 15.5 | 1 | 27 | 155-yard receiving day |
| Wk 8 | L 45-50vs New Mexico | 11 | 188 | 17.1 | 1 | 59 | 188-yard receiving day |
| Total | 55 | 834 | 14.5 | 6 | 75 |
Play style
Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Velus Jones Jr.’s 2021 season.
Matches Velus on
Through 2 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Josh Palmer’s path through Tennessee.
Colton Dowell
Matches Josh on
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Javon Tracy's sophomore season at Miami (OH) (2024).
Matches Javon on
Differs from Javon on
Player DNA