Jake Golday OLB Cincinnati |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
| Jersey: #11 PLAY STYLE: COVERAGE LB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated: 03/04/2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draft Year: 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FORTY time: 4.62 seconds (71%*) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl Invite: Shrine Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jersey: #11 | |
| PLAY STYLE: COVERAGE LB | |
| Last Updated: 03/04/2026 | |
| Draft Year: 2026 | |
| Forty time: 4.62 seconds (71%*) | |
| Bowl Invite: Shrine Bowl | |
| Overall Rating: | 84.9 / 100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Average rating of opposition Offense player has faced | ||
| Offense Rating: |
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72% |
| Click the links below to view how player ranks vs other prospects. | ||
| Tackling: |
|
86% |
| Pass Rush: |
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64% |
| Run Defense: |
|
93% |
| Coverage: |
|
82% |
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DRAFT PROJECTION:
2nd - Late
Overall Rank:
#61
Position rank:
#9 (LB)
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| College Games: 38 College Snaps: 1752 | ||
| Player Comparison* (Similarity level) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Noah Taylor - Virginia |
|
57% |
| Carson Wells - Colorado |
|
55% |
| Adam Anderson - Georgia |
|
55% |
Drafted: ROUND: 2 - Pick Number: 51 (MIN)
Draft Profile: Bio
Jake Golday arrived at Central Arkansas in 2021 without a single recruiting star, out of Arlington High School in Tennessee. Both parents and a brother played college basketball, but the football recruiting world overlooked him entirely. He redshirted his first year as a defensive end, then rotated into the lineup in 2022 with 37 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss. His 2023 season changed the conversation: 84 tackles, 7.0 TFLs, 4.5 sacks, and Second Team All-UAC honors, capped by a 14-tackle game at Austin Peay in the finale.Golday transferred to Cincinnati and jumped from FCS to the Big 12 in 2024. He started eight games, finished second on the Bearcats with 58 tackles and seven tackles for loss, and turned heads with a six-tackle, 2.5-TFL, 1.5-sack performance at UCF that included a forced fumble and recovery. That earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week and honorable mention All-Big 12 recognition. His 2025 campaign produced 105 tackles, 6.0 TFLs, and 3.5 sacks across eleven games, earning another All-Big 12 nod and a spot on Bruce Feldman's "Freaks" list, where his short shuttle of 4.25 seconds would have topped every linebacker at the 2025 combine.
Scouting Report: Strengths
- Rare size-speed combination at 6-4 and 239 pounds with a 39-inch vertical and 10-foot-5 broad jump.
- Covers ground sideline to sideline with rangy strides; backside pursuit is a real weapon at his size.
- Gets hands on blockers early and keeps his chest clean; run defense tape against climbing linemen is impressive.
- Consistent wrap-up tackler with a 10.5% missed tackle rate across five college seasons at two programs.
- UCF game showed his full toolkit: forced fumble, recovery, 1.5 sacks, and relentless effort on every snap.
- Defensive end background provides a rush toolkit with gap-shooting ability and timing off the snap count.
- Drops into zone coverage with fluid hips and carries routes deeper than most 240-pound linebackers can manage.
- Motor runs the same in the fourth quarter as the first; that consistency translates directly to special teams value.
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
- Zone awareness lags behind the physical tools; gets manipulated by route combinations and drifts off landmarks too often.
- Half-step slow diagnosing run action despite the speed, leaving him late to the fit point against misdirection.
- Pulling guards on gap schemes displace him too easily; play strength at the point of attack needs real improvement.
- Only one full season of traditional off-ball linebacker work at a competitive level raises processing concerns.
- Pass rush production is thin for someone with 585 career edge snaps; lacks counters when his bull rush stalls.
Scouting Report: Summary
With Golday, teams are buying the body, the speed, and the trajectory more than a finished product. The gap between his run defense and his pass rush is the most telling thing on film. Against the run he fits gaps with force and sets edges with authority. As a rusher he becomes predictable, leaning on effort and a bull rush that NFL tackles will handle. That split says a lot about where he is developmentally. The growth from his first Cincinnati season to his second was real, but projecting him as a three-down player right now gets ahead of the tape.His best early fit is at weakside linebacker in a 4-3 where he can flow to the ball, use his range in pursuit, and lean into run defense without being asked to generate consistent pressure. His comfort in the slot from Cincinnati's 3-3-5 gives coordinators flexibility in sub-packages, and special teams is his immediate NFL path. The speed, physicality, and motor should make him one of the better kick-coverage players in this class from day one.
Zone awareness needs significant improvement before a coordinator trusts him on passing downs, and play strength against power has to develop or NFL offensive lines will move him off his spot. But the raw materials are there, and Golday has earned every opportunity through work and competitiveness. The floor is a quality special teamer and situational run defender. The ceiling is higher than most linebackers in this class can reach, but it requires patience and a real development plan from the team that drafts him.
Jake Golday percentiles vs other Outside Linebackers (NFL Combine historically - higher value represents better perfomance)
How other scouting services rate Jake Golday (Overall Rank)
All Scouts AverageOverall Rank
56.4
All Scouts AveragePosition Rank
8.0
*Percentile Ranking in Player's Position Group (NFL Combine Historical Data): This percentile reflects how a player's specific statistics rank
in comparison to historical performances at the NFL Combine, specifically within their position group. A higher percentile indicates a better performance.
For instance, being in the 90th percentile for a particular stat means the player outperformed 90% of their peers in that category.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.