Jalen Huskey S Maryland |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
| Jersey: #22 ROLE: Zone Slot/Nickel Safety | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated: 03/22/2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draft Year: 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FORTY time: 4.55 seconds (56%*) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jersey: #22 | |
| ROLE: Zone Slot/Nickel Safety | |
| Last Updated: 03/22/2026 | |
| Draft Year: 2026 | |
| Forty time: 4.55 seconds (56%*) | |
| Overall Rating: | 79.8 / 100 | |
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| Average rating of opposition Offense player has faced | ||
| Offense Rating: |
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76% |
| Click the links below to view how player ranks vs other prospects. | ||
| QB Rating When targeted: | 58.3 | |
| Tackling: |
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82% |
| Run Defense: |
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86% |
| Coverage: |
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85% |
| Zone: |
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77% |
| Man/Press: |
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88% |
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DRAFT PROJECTION:
UDFA
Overall Rank:
#250
Position rank:
#50 (DB)
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| College Games: 42 College Snaps: 1973 | ||
ESPN RATING: 71/100
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247 RATING: 82/100
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RIVALS RATING: 5.3 (87%)
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| Player Comparison* (Similarity level) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Brad Hawkins - Michigan |
|
91% |
| Kitan Oladapo - Oregon State |
|
84% |
| Josh Proctor - Ohio State |
|
82% |
Drafted: ROUND: 3 - Pick Number: 100 (JAX)
Draft Profile: Bio
Jalen Huskey played both cornerback and wide receiver at Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where he helped the team finish 14-0 and win a state title in 2021. He drew modest recruiting attention, landing as a two-to-three star prospect depending on the service, and signed with Bowling Green. After a redshirt-level role as a true freshman in 2022, he locked down the starting cornerback spot in 2023 and posted 52 tackles, four interceptions, and six pass breakups across 12 starts, earning First Team All-MAC honors.Huskey transferred to Maryland ahead of the 2024 season and moved to safety under head coach Mike Locksley, who had recruited him out of high school. The position switch came with growing pains, but he still started 11 of 12 games and picked off three passes. As a senior in 2025, everything clicked. He finished with 72 tackles, four interceptions, and a Second Team All-Big Ten selection from both media and coaches. Maryland named him its Defensive Player of the Year, and he received invitations to the Shrine Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine.
Scouting Report: Strengths
- Eleven interceptions over his last three seasons speak to genuine ball skills and route recognition, not just volume opportunity.
- Reads the quarterback's eyes in zone and triggers downhill with clean timing on breaking routes.
- Corner background shows up when asked to match slot receivers or tight ends in man coverage.
- Willing run defender who uses active hands to stack and shed blocks near the line of scrimmage.
- Arrives under control in the alley, wraps up consistently, and limits yards after contact.
- Vocal leader who was voted permanent team captain and drew praise from scouts at the Shrine Bowl.
- Steady year-over-year improvement at Maryland, particularly from his junior to senior season in coverage.
- Good length at 6-1 helps him contest catch points and disrupt throwing windows over the middle.
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
- Below-average straight-line speed shows up when asked to carry vertical routes deep.
- Hip transitions are stiff, and quicker receivers can eat up his cushion on breaks.
- Gave up too many completions as a junior before tightening up his coverage as a senior.
- Pursuit angles widen against outside runs, and he lacks the recovery burst to correct them.
- Light frame raises concerns about holding up against bigger ball carriers in the box.
Scouting Report: Summary
Huskey needs a two-high defense that asks its safeties to read and react rather than run with people. He processes quickly, gets to his landmarks, and finds the football. Eleven interceptions in three years happened because he sees throws developing before most safeties at his level, not because he can close on the ball with explosive athleticism. Put him in a split-safety shell that uses pattern-matching zone concepts and he will be in position more often than not. Ask him to play single-high and carry vertical routes by himself, and you are going to have problems by Week 3.What separates Huskey from other day-three safeties is the corner background. He can line up over a slot receiver or a tight end on third down and hold his own in man coverage, which is a genuine second skill set and not just a coach's talking point. That matters at the back end of a roster where every player needs to wear multiple hats. But there are hard limits here. He is not covering anyone with real speed on the outside, and his weight is going to be an issue absorbing contact from bigger runners when he is asked to fill the box.
The early role is special teams and a dime-package rotation. If he sticks, it will be because a defensive coordinator trusts him to quarterback the back end of the secondary on early downs and then slide into the slot on passing situations. Huskey's physical tools cap what he can become, but the ball production and the way he handled the jump from MAC corner to Big Ten safety in two years tell you he figures things out. Whether that is enough to hold a 53-man spot comes down to how much a staff values what he does between the ears over what he does not do with his legs.
Jalen Huskey percentiles vs other Safetys (NFL Combine historically - higher value represents better perfomance)
How other scouting services rate Jalen Huskey (Overall Rank)
All Scouts AverageOverall Rank
237.6
All Scouts AveragePosition Rank
56.0
*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.