Jack
Kelly.
Jack
Kelly.
BYU· 6'2"· 240 lb· 4.57s 40
R6 · #193 · New York Giants"Blitz-first stack linebacker with a pass rusher's engine — 31.5 career sacks from off-ball alignments across two levels, and an evaluation that came down to whether that pressure production could survive being asked to play honest, wrap-up run defense on early downs."Pre-draft read
This downhill stack linebacker leverages small advantages to finish plays. He times the snap, threading interior gaps with short-area burst. He applies legitimate play strength at the point of attack, arriving with weight behind his pads on inside runs. His pressure production stems from individual timing, not scheme. He lacks a consistent disengagement move, limiting effectiveness playing through traffic on early downs.
In coverage, he demonstrates the range to carry tight ends and has hands for punch-outs at the catch point. He took snaps over the slot and out wide as a senior. However, he reads late against zone concepts, over-runs pursuit tracks, and prefers to hit through ball carriers rather than reliably wrap and secure.
The Giants run a traditional 3-4 two-gap scheme, with varied sub-packages and heavy reliance on pressure to affect the passing game.
Year 1 he's a sub-package blitzer, special teams ace, and run-down situational player; his ceiling is as a starter who creates pressure and plays in the box before being subbed out on obvious passing downs.
He would not fit in a 4-3 Cover-2 scheme where the linebackers are asked to read and react in coverage a lot and not blitz as often.
Kelly fits the blitz-heavy scheme well and adds depth at linebacker with immediate special teams value, but his coverage and tackling limitations make him a developmental project for an every-down role.
JACK KELLY HIGHLIGHTS | BYU FOOTBALL
Official BYU career highlight reel: interior blitz finishes, downhill run fits and forced fumbles.
Jack Kelly Regular Season Highlights | 2025 Big 12 Football
First-team All-Big 12 senior season in full: 10 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss from off-ball alignments.
Jack Kelly Highlights | BYU Linebacker | 2026 NFL Draft Tape
Draft-cycle cutup used to evaluate his pass-rush timing, coverage snaps over the slot and tackling habits.
Jack Kelly projects as a sub-package pressure player and special teams contributor, offering teams a blitz-first stack linebacker. His value lies in his ability to time interior rushes and generate pressure, a specific skill set that can immediately impact a defensive scheme, while also providing core special teams value given his extensive experience and production in that phase.
He began his college career as a three-star recruit at Weber State, where he excelled with 10.5 sacks and four forced fumbles as a sophomore, earning first-team All-Big Sky honors. This performance led to a four-star transfer to BYU where he became a two-year captain, earning Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year in 2024 and first-team All-Big 12 in 2025. He accumulated 31.5 career sacks and 42.5 tackles for loss over 53 games, sustaining disruption across both FCS and Power Four levels.
Evaluators consistently noted his 6'1 5/8" height with 31 1/8-inch arms, a career missed-tackle rate near 18.5 percent, and coverage reads that lagged his athletic ability. Two shoulder injuries in October 2025 affected his late-season performance. Despite these concerns, he was generally projected within the 140-230 range and was ultimately drafted 193rd overall, a bet on his rush timing, special teams upside, and leadership qualities.
- 01
Interior Blitz Timing
— He effectively reads protection, picks his gap late, and gets skinny through with pressure production.
- 02
Short-Area Burst
— His 4.19 short shuttle and 1.61 ten-yard split confirm his short-area burst and closing speed to finish plays.
- 03
Play Strength
— He possesses legitimate play strength at 240 pounds, holding up on contact and stopping downhill runs reliably.
- 04
Alignment Versatility
— He took snaps on the defensive line, at stack linebacker, and over the slot, offering valuable defensive flexibility.
- 05
Ball Disruption
— He consistently produced ball disruption, recording nine forced fumbles, three recoveries, and two interceptions.
- 01
Tackling Reliability
— His career missed-tackle rate near 18.5 percent indicates a tendency to hit through rather than wrap and secure.
- 02
Block Deconstruction
— He struggles to disengage from offensive linemen once blocked, often getting carried out of plays without a counter.
- 03
Coverage Eyes
— He reads late against zone concepts, over-runs pursuit tracks, and prefers to hit through ball carriers.
- 04
Inconsistent Pursuit Angles
— He over-runs tracks when chasing sideline to sideline and occasionally second-guesses angles late in plays.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.57sp50
- Vertical
- 37inp50
- Broad jump
- 125inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.12sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.19sp50
- Bench
- 19repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Weber State | 13 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Weber State | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | BYU | 13 | 50 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | BYU | 12 | 52 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | — | 49 | 106 | 15.5 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Honors
- First-team All-Big 12 (2025)
- Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year (2024)
- Big 12 Defensive Transfer of the Year (2024)
- BYU team captain (2024, 2025)
- First-team All-Big Sky (2023)
- Big Sky Player of the Week, twice (2023)
- Senior Bowl invitee (2026)
The realistic outcome is a core special-teams player who takes 200-350 defensive snaps a year in sub packages and third-down pressure looks.
The ceiling case is a long-levered, blitz-heavy linebacker who becomes a defensive coordinator toy on pressure downs and eventually earns every-down snaps.
The floor is a roster-bubble linebacker whose tackling and coverage eyes never clean up enough to earn defensive snaps beyond emergencies.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
New York took Kelly in the sixth round as a linebacker room addition with an obvious first job: cover kicks. He logged more than 400 special-teams snaps across five units in college and scored on one of them, and that is the fastest route to a game-day helmet for a Day 3 linebacker. The defensive plan is narrower and more interesting — he arrives as a pressure specialist in sub packages, a role that asks him to do the one thing he is genuinely excellent at, timing an interior blitz, without immediately exposing the parts of his game that scared boards off. What travels on day one is the burst through a gap and the play strength in the hole. What has to be coached is everything after contact: wrapping instead of thudding, using his hands to escape a guard, and keeping his eyes on his coverage assignment instead of the quarterback.
The evaluation was honest about the shape of the bet. Nobody drafted Kelly expecting a three-down starter in year one; the tape showed a linebacker whose best position skill — rushing the passer — is the least-used part of an off-ball job description, and whose worst habits show up on the down-and-distance where linebackers earn their snaps. His arc argues for patience: a three-star recruit who became an FCS sack leader, then a four-star transfer, then a first-team all-conference player in the Big 12, improving each time the level rose. But the flags are technique and processing rather than athleticism, and technique flags at 23 years old with 2,400 career defensive snaps are the kind that stick unless the coaching takes hold quickly. His career will be decided by whether the missed tackles come down, because everything else about the profile — the frame, the burst, the versatility, the leadership — already belongs in an NFL locker room.