Jaelon Darden

Darden's an exciting and shifty player that should go on Day 3 of the NFL Draft, but has the potential to make an impact right away. He's not the most diverse route-runner, but he shows the tools and potential to develop off of the route tree he's used to at North Texas. Shows an excellent understanding of how to navigate traffic and also how to identify the soft spots in zones to help out his QB. Can be used as an underneath threat, but then also has the explosiveness to help stretch the field from the slot. Excellent agility. Undersized player, but keeps his frame clean through his burst. An angle-buster in the open field. Able to set up defenders extremely well and then accelerate to go around them. The competition level wasn't as high-end, but the traits translate. Incredibly shifty player. Good hands and good hand-eye coordination. Only one drop on tape and that was due to interference. Won't be the type of player to go over the middle and make difficult contested catches. Operates better in space and could struggle with tighter windows. Excellent RAC ability with his speed and acceleration. Can be used heavily on screens and allowed to pick up yardage after the catch frequently. Will struggle if he's asked to line up directly on the line of scrimmage repeatedly due to his smaller size. Shows good understanding of how to get defenders backpedaling quickly though when in tighter coverage off the line from the slot, but he'll be relegated to purely a slot or pre-snap motion role at the next level.Good ability to track and locate the ball deep downfield. Used occasionally on deep crossers, posts, slot fades, etc. and showed an excellent ability to adjust to the ball while it's in the air.Fantastic speed. Should run extremely well at his Pro Day and could even push the 4.3's. Overall, Darden's size and small school pedigree might push him down the draft board, but he has the potential to be a steal for a NFL team if he lands in the right offense that will give him an opportunity.

Jaelon Darden catches two passes during Buccaneers loss

WR Jaelon Darden caught two passes for 18 yards in the Buccaneers Week 2 preseason loss vs the Titans.

Fantasy Impact

Darden drew four targets in the game, but only caught two of them. The entire Bucs offense didn't look good, so this will be a game to forget. Darden is still a fine dynasty stash but his redraft value is nonexistent without injuries above him.