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Jalen McKenzie NFL Draft Profile
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Jalen McKenzie Scouting ReportJalen is infinitely coachable and athleticially gifted with the ideal frame, physique, weight distribution. He has the knee bend and hand strength to be molded into a special blocker. He dips his shoulder and moves his feet to get outside leverage when needed. He is strong and low coming out of his stance. McKenzie is effective in short yardage situations. He has the feet to adjust when he anticipates what is coming. He is effective trapping and bends at the knees with adequate core strength to absorb the bull rush. He can clear a path at the second level if he hits the target. Jalen is quick footed with smooth movement skills to cover a large area. Rangy with above average lateral ability. He bursts off the snap and sets up quickly with little wasted motion. He has the agility, technique, and size to contribute early in his professional career. Quick, active hands to latch on to defenders.
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Areas for ImprovementJalen is a short area blocker with limited range and doesn't consistently get to the second level. He will play undisciplined at times, especially in space. Lacks a finishing attitude. He is very raw technique, playing with inconsistent hand placement fails to sustain blocks. McKenzie flashes the ability to move his man with his hands, but is not yet consistent in this area. He will punch at smaller defenders instead of latching on and is more of a mauler than mover in the running game. He can improve maintaining outside leverage when doubling the nose. Ducks his head and gets too upright, causing him to fall off second-level blocks. He ha adequate initial burst should be far better and isn't good enough to consistently hold out elite pass rushers.
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Jalen McKenzie Career at Southern CaliforniaJalen McKenzie made 2016 Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Prep Star All-West Region, USA Today All-California second team, Cal-Hi Sports All-State second team, Max Preps All-NorCal second team, San Jose Mercury News All-Bay Area first team and San Francisco Chronicle All-Metro second team as a senior offensive and defensive lineman at Clayton Valley High in Concord (Calif.). Bishop O’Dowd won the 2016 state Class 5-AA title. McKenzie redshirted as a backup first-year offensive tackle at USC in 2017. He enrolled at USC in the fall of 2017 and was awarded a scholarship at USC by virtue of an NCAA rule known as “blueshirting” (it allows a non-recruited student-athlete to receive athletic financial aid after beginning practice and have that student-athlete count towards the next year’s signing class if the school has reached its NCAA-maximum aid limit for the current year). McKenzie appeared in all 12 games offensive tackle and on special teams as a redshirt freshman in 2018, even starting twice (California, UCLA). McKenzie started all of his 2019 sophomore season, 11 games at right offensive guard and twice (Colorado, Iowa) at right offensive tackle. He made a tackle against Oregon and returned a short kickoff for 4 yards at California. McKenzie started for his second season on the offensive line, this time at right tackle, as a junior in 2020. He started all 6 games in 2020. He was also available to play guard. He was named to 2020 All-Pac-12 honorable mention and Phil Steele All-Pac-12 third team. The veteran McKenzie returns for his third season starting on the offensive line as a senior in 2021. |
Jalen McKenzie NFL Draft Player ProfileHe's the younger brother of Tennessee DT Khalil McKenzie and will be recruited at the national level as well. He's a physical player but what stands out most is his explosiveness off the snap. He can explode out of his stance and is a punishing blocker at the point of attack. He's a true road grader and has the physicality to play early in college. He's coming off a knee injury that shortened his junior season but if healthy, he's a no brainer as a high Div I prospect.
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