From now until the 2024 NFL Draft takes place, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Southern Illinois S PJ Jules.
#4 PJ JULES/S SOUTHERN ILLINOIS – 5117, 203 POUNDS. (SENIOR)
MEASUREMENTS
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| PJ Jules | 5117/203 | 9 1/4″ | 32″ | 77 1/4′ |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| N/A | N/A | 4.32 | N/A | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| 10’2″ | 34.5″ | 19 |
*Pro Day Numbers (pulled hamstring running 40)
THE GOOD
– Good size and strength for the safety and nickel position
– Power and pop when he hits guys
– Defenses didn’t want to test him much in zone coverage situations
– Sits and stays low in his backpedal in man coverage
– Able to mirror and stay in phase with slot receivers and tight ends well
– Explosive athlete who is more an accelerator than a long-speed cover guy
– Comes downhill in a hurry to hit
– Really good field awareness to know when to pass off or pursue receivers
– Shows good range as a deep safety
– Able to track the ball well in the air, getting off the hash and making attempts on the sideline
– Opportunistic player who looks to capitalize on plays in front of him
– Has versatility and position flexibility to match up in all areas of the secondary
THE BAD
– Age is a concern, with him being a pretty old rookie to start
– Playing with more discipline in coverage situations
– Can be overly aggressive in run support that causes over-pursuit
– Tends to stare at the quarterback too often, which causes him to lose receivers
– Some hip tightness at the top of routes
– Trouble bending, often rounds his breaks
– Misses way too many tackles because of reckless nature (21 in past 2 yrs.)
– Often comes down out of control, leading to poor leverage
– Looks to be a secure wrap tackler, but his blow delivery suffers greatly
BIO
– Born 5/18/98 (25 years old)
– 2,361 total snaps (833 slot CB, 797 outside CB, 421 SS, 157 EDGE, 153 FS)
– 405 special teams snaps (129 FG Block, 120 kick coverage, 78 punt return, 44 kick return, 34 punt coverage) with 11 tackles
– 34 starts and appeared in 47 games over five years at Southern Illinois
– Career: 233 total tackles, six sacks, 27 missed tackles, 27 PDs, 6 TDs allowed, 1 INT, 88 QB rating allowed, 15 penalties
– 2023 season: 96 total tackles, 0.5 sacks, 11 PDs, 1 TD allowed, 88.2 QB rating allowed, four penalties
– 2024 Shrine Bowl participant
– 2023 first-team All FCS
– 2023 Bruce Feldman’s Freak List (#84) squatting 610 lbs., benching 395 lbs., a broad jump of 10 ft. 7in., and a vertical jump of 38 in.
– 2022 2nd-Team All-MVFC
– 2021 Honorable mention All-MVFC
– Three-star HS recruit by 247sports who received offers from Florida Atlantic and Syracuse
– Totaled 132 tackles his senior year
– Participated in track and field in HS
TAPE BREAKDOWN
PJ Jules is a defensive back who has played everywhere in the secondary for the Southern Illinois team over his 5-year career there. He has experience playing on the boundary, in the slot, in the box, and as a deep safety. He can do this because of his explosiveness and speed as an athlete. He was on Bruce Feldman’s ‘Freak List’ for a reason. Jules is also a very instinctual and intelligent player who knows when and how to be around the football. With 11 pass breakups this past year, he was one of the best defensive backs in the FCS at forcing incompletions to receivers because of his range to cover in the flat, sideline-to-sideline, or deep in space.
He is listed as a safety but often played as a nickel this past year. He possesses good size with the arm length to be disruptive to receivers high-pointing the ball or trying to track it in. Jules uses his instincts to make plays on the ball and will gamble to make a breakup, which can inherently cause him to be beaten. He has good hip fluidity to change directions and come out of breaks. He shows quick feet to break on the ball to disrupt a play or provide a quick rush on a blitz. He’s a solid tackler in space but can be prone to making too many leaping tackles. There are also times when he doesn’t take the best angle in the open field to wrap up guys, as seen below.
He is #4 for Southern Illinois in all of the following clips:
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) April 4, 2024
In man coverage, he is able to mirror and stay in phase with most receivers in the short and intermediate areas of the field. He is solid against vertical routes in coverage and is able to keep up with receivers who aren’t overly speed merchants. Watch him stay low in his backpedal and keep up stride-for-stride to mirror this twitchy, fast slot WR of Idaho University in their bowl game matchup.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) April 4, 2024
He keeps a tactical distance from the receiver in zone coverage between lateral exchanges, using his acceleration and burst to fly to the ball. Jules tends to keep his eyes on the quarterback or the receiver and reacts to their movements. This is an area of difficulty where he can be baited by double moves, hitches, and play action. He plays with good functional strength and doesn’t often get pushed around by others. Jules will often come down to the line of scrimmage to hover in the flat and make quarterbacks hesitate to utilize the screen game or the middle of the field because of his range to cover.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) April 4, 2024
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) April 4, 2024
Jules knows how to pursue running backs and get off of blocks to shed guys. He is often around the ball and knows how to be patient when flowing down the offensive line or disengaging from receivers to make a tackle. He also comes down toward the line of scrimmage with great acceleration to deliver big body blows. This is where you see his power and strength come into play when he can get momentum to hit ball carriers.
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) April 4, 2024
— Jim Hester (@Jh86Guy) April 4, 2024
Additionally, he is an integral special teams player in all phases of coverage and blocking. His biggest areas of improvement must come with having more discipline and consistency in coverage and tackling. In zone coverage, he often gets stacked because of his gambling tendencies and lack of respect for deep routes, as he depends too much on his recovery speed to catch up to the receiver. In man coverage, when his back is to the ball, he is prone to drawing penalties, as he struggles when chasing the receiver and making a timed decision to react. He relies too much on his arms to tackle and will need to improve on driving through guys when trying to compete at the next level. He also tends to try and run around blockers and has issues disengaging at the point of contact.
CONCLUSION
PJ Jules is a prospect who could be a very versatile defensive back for a team and brings special teams value. He is a jack-of-all-trades who can play just about anywhere but truly fits best as a box safety who can play the big nickel/hybrid role. Jules unfortunately got injured during his pro day or we could’ve hopefully seen his athleticism that translated from watching film of him because he’s all over the field at the FCS level.
His age and ability to play at a high level in coverage are the biggest concerns for him that will probably cause him to fall in the draft, but he would be a nice backup to start that may find a role if he continues to develop his tackling technique, ability to flip his hips out of breaks, and learning when to take calculated chances instead of constantly going for the big play.
His player profile reminds me a lot of Kurt Coleman, who played for multiple teams and had a 10-year career in the NFL. His ball skills and explosiveness could appeal to teams looking for a depth piece in their defensive back room, but a big question with him is how much room is there to grow with him at this age after he’s played at a level of competition that will be a big jump in the NFL.
Projection: UDFA
Depot Draft Grade: 6.2 – Backup/Special Teamer (Sixth/Seventh Round)
Games Watched: at Idaho (2023), at Northern Illinois (2023), at Northwestern (2022), vs Northern Iowa (2022)
