2025 NFL Draft

2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Miami (Fla.) OL Jalen Rivers

Jalen Rivers Scouting Report

From now until the 2025 NFL Draft, 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, down to Day 3 selections and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Miami (Fla.) offensive lineman Jalen Rivers.

#64 JALEN RIVERS/OL MIAMI (FLA.) – 6052, 331 POUNDS. (RS JUNIOR)

MEASUREMENTS

Player Ht/Wt Hand Size Arm Length Wingspan
Jalen Rivers 6052/331 10 1/8 35 83 1/2
40-Yard Dash 10-Yard Dash Short Shuttle 3-Cone
N/A N/A N/A N/A
Broad Jump Vertical Bench Press
N/A N/A N/A

THE GOOD

– Densely built with size and length
– Good play strength
– Meat hook grips that stay attached
– Anchors and absorbs power really well
– Aptitude to pick up and pass off stunts and twists
– Very patient in his pass sets
– Pushes and drives guys off the line of scrimmage in the run game
– Combo and drive blocking
– Mauls offensive linemen and torques them right from the start
– Able to strike with heavy hands and seal guys
– Positional flexibility to flip between left tackle and guard mid-game
– High football intelligence and awareness
– Team captain
– Incredible character and toughness, according to coaches and teammates

THE BAD

– Below-average foot speed
– Lateral agility is lacking, looks lumbering in space
– Consistency with leg drive in his run blocking
– Doesn’t have the range to get out on reach blocks
– May be limited to playing guard due to lack of athleticism
– Plays with high pad level too frequently
– Oversets at times as a tackle, which can cause him to lose ground on the edge
– Difficulty getting to pocket depth at tackle
– Significant injury history 

BIO

– 22 years old and born in Portsmouth, Va.
– Attended Oak Leaf High School in Orange Park, Fla.
– At the age 5, he and his family relocated to Middelburg, Fla. in May 2008
– 1,451 total snaps (1,248 LT, 1,009 LG, 24 RT)
– 169 special teams snaps (169 FG kick)
– Appeared in 33 games with 30 starts (20 LT, 10 LG) in five years at Miami
– Suffered season-ending knee injury early in 2021; suffered different midseason injury in 2022 that forced him to miss the rest of that season; and missed five games in 2024 with undisclosed injury
– Career: 41 pressures allowed (9 hits, 21 hurries), 7 sacks allowed, 4 penalties
– 2024 season: 9 pressures allowed (1 hit, 7 hurries), 1 sack allowed, 3 penalties, PFF grades of 78.8 pass blocking (68.8 true pass set blocking), 65.8 run blocking (56.4 zone blocking, 67.4 gap blocking)
– 2025 Senior Bowl participant
– 2024 Honorable mention All-ACC
– 2023 Second-team All-ACC selection
– Four-star OT recruit by 247Sports out of high school
– Florida state champ in shot put
– Played center and power forward on his HS basketball team
– Competed on HS weightlifting team
– Nominated to participate at the Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders in Boston
– Volunteered as a camp counselor at a summer basketball camp for underprivileged youth

TAPE BREAKDOWN

Jalen Rivers was a productive offensive lineman at Miami where he was a three-year starter at left tackle and guard, with seven starts at left tackle in 2024. Rivers started every game at left tackle in the 2023 season, but this past season he also came in at guard in most games. He has the versatility to play both positions because of his big frame, power, long arms, huge hands, and modest athletic ability. Miami ran mostly a power run game system where he could use his physical advantages to impose his will on others. He was also a big reason that Cam Ward was able to take so many chances this year because of his remarkable recovery skills and ability to wall off guys with his size.

He is No. 64 for Miami in all of the following clips:

Rivers uses his mass, strength and strike placement to quickly win leverage at the point of attack. When I watched him play left tackle, he showed below average foot speed and athleticism to get his hips opened up enough to find edge rushers. His balance and technique are what saved him from not giving up more quarterback pressures and hits than he did. Rivers is able to stall bull rushes and long arms really well with his great anchor and contact balance.

When guys get into his shoulders quickly or his soft edges, he’s able to reset and counter to find his way back to center. He shows great hand and grip strength to latch, move guys, and swipe away defensive linemen when they try to manipulate his body away from the play.

I really like his initial punch that lands heavy and can create some separation for himself to extend his long wingspan. His striking power and accuracy are impressive for a left tackle and show even more significance as a guard where his strength and girth can really displace people more easily in pass protection.

Strength and length are the traits that win the day for him as a run blocker. He knows how to use his long arms and strong push skills to move guys south in a hurry if he gets going. Rivers showed his best work in this department as a guard where his below average foot speed and lateral agility didn’t have to come into play as much. The guy just knows how to seal the deal at the wall of the trenches to torque defenders out of the gaps and on the perimeter.

He is good at drive blocking on double-teams and he’s able to climb vertically to the second level. If he gets his hands on you first, it’s basically a done deal that you’re going backwards or sideways. He knows how to stone guys at the line of scrimmage, as evidenced by Braden Fiske in 2023 at Florida State.

Although a common theme with Rivers is his ability to recover (which is an essential skill to have as an offensive lineman), he tends to play too high with his pad level as a run blocker. This can allow shorter, quicker defensive tackles to get underneath and blow by him. He has to work on being more consistent at not being so upright out of his stance. Another area I’d like to see him get better is getting his hands up more quickly instead of waiting for the action to play out. There were too many times where guys would get their hands on him at the snap and he would have to reset and hope his mass and wingspan could redirect their force in the opposite direction.

CONCLUSION

I really like the traits he has at his disposal and the trajectory for Rivers as a prospect if his previous injury doesn’t limit him from showcasing his abilities. I do think that his strengths would be most optimally used at a guard where he can play in any scheme because he’s more than athletic enough to thrive there in gap, power, or zone, but I have a hard time seeing him sticking at left tackle in the NFL due to his lack of foot speed against edge rushers. He may get a shot at right tackle, but his best position would be at guard.

Kelechi Osemele is a player he plays and is built a lot like who also came from a college background where he was an offensive tackle. He’s a tick below the athlete that Osemele is, but he has all the other skills to succeed in the NFL as a guard. He can play tackle if you need him to, but I have a hard time seeing him being successful long-term there. Rivers played well at the Senior Bowl, and he fits a lot of the offensive linemen checkmarks that the Steelers look for (versatility, length, strength, experience, and intelligence). I could see Pittsburgh potentially being interested in him, depending on free agency and what other positions it addresses in the draft.

Projection: Day 3
Depot Draft Grade: 7.7 MED – Third Round (High-Level Backup/Potential Starter)
Games Watched: at Iowa State (2024), vs Florida State (2024), vs Texas A&M (2023), at North Carolina (2023)

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