Photo: Tennessee Titans, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons²

Jalen McLeod

Linebacker, Jacksonville Jaguars · #35.

Player facts

Team: Jacksonville Jaguars
Position: Linebacker
Number: 35
Born: Jun 5, 2002 (age 24)
Birthplace: Washington, DC, USA
Height: 6' 1"
Weight: 236 lbs
College: Auburn
Experience: 2 seasons
Status: Active

Stats

2026 Defense

	TOT	SOLO	AST	SACK	FF	FR	YDS	INT	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	PD	STF	STFYDS	KB
Regular Season	6	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career	6	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Recent games

			Tackles				Fumbles		Interceptions
Date	Opponent	Result	TOT	SOLO	AST	SACK	FF	FR	INT	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG	PD	KB
Sun, Oct 11	vs PHI	W 19-17	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Oct 4	@ CIN	W 22-17	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Sep 27	vs NE	W 35-6	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Sun, Sep 20	@ DEN	L 20-13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0

Last 4 games. Click a game for its box score.

About

Jalen McLeod (born June 5, 2002) is an American professional football outside linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Appalachian State Mountaineers and Auburn Tigers. He was selected by the Jaguars in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft.

From Wikipedia’s article on Jalen McLeod, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.¹

Background

Early life

McLeod attended Friendship Collegiate Academy in Washington, D.C., where he was an honorable mention all-metro selection after making 60 tackles and 10 sacks as a senior; he helped the team to the District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletic Association championship in both 2018 and 2019. An outside linebacker, he was ranked a three-star prospect, the 1,640th-best player nationally and the 68th-best recruit at his position by 247Sports. He received relatively little attention as a recruit – having no offers from Power Five teams – and committed to play college football for the Appalachian State Mountaineers, one of only two NCAA Division I FBS programs to give an offer.

College career

McLeod appeared in five games, one as a starter, as a true freshman in 2020, posting nine tackles and two sacks. He then played in all 14 games in 2021 and recorded 26 tackles, a sack, and three tackles-for-loss (TFLs). As a junior in 2022, he posted 41 tackles, six sacks, 7.5 TFLs and two forced fumbles, with both of his forced fumbles coming in an upset win over Texas A&M. He was selected third-team All-Sun Belt Conference (SBC) for his 2022 performance.

McLeod opted to transfer following the 2022 season, concluding his stint with the Mountaineers having made 76 tackles, 12.5 TFLs and three forced fumbles in 30 games played. He ended up transferring to the Auburn Tigers for the 2023 season. With the Tigers that year, he totaled 50 tackles, 10.5 TFLs and 5.5 sacks. As a senior in 2024, he recorded 57 tackles and a team-leading 14 TFLs and eight sacks. He was invited to the 2025 Senior Bowl.

From Wikipedia’s article on Jalen McLeod, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article.¹