NFL Draft Prospect Series: Jhajuan Seales

The 2017 NFL Draft begins this Thursday, April 27th. Multiple former Oklahoma State players are hoping to hear their names called this weekend. We’re breaking down the draft profiles of each one through out the week leading up to round one of the draft.

We’ve already looked at Chris Carson, Jordan Sterns, and Ashton Lampkin.

Today we break down the profile of Jhajuan Seales.

Jhajuan Seales

There’s no doubt that Cowboy fans loved watching Seales play on Saturdays. Now let’s talk about the prospect of seeing Seales suit up on Sundays. The 6’0, 205 pound receiver out of Port Arthur, Texas is looking to make that a reality.

Seales’ career at Oklahoma State has been a rocky one, from falling asleep in a Whataburger drive through, to a DUI arrest one day after the homecoming parade crash, Seales career has been one chance after another.

When Marcell Ateman missed this past season Seales stepped up with that next chance and had one of the best seasons since his freshman year. Seales made his last year as a Cowboy count. Unfortunately, he’s just not quite there when it comes to receivers. While he will definitely be on NFL teams’ radars as an undrafted free agent, he just doesn’t quite have what it takes to compete against other receivers in the draft. Add to the fact that he didn’t get a combine invite, and you have a really hard time having your name called in Philadelphia this weekend.

This season Seales had four touchdowns and 615 receiving yards, which isn’t an awful season considering he was competing for carries with a Mr. James Washington.

At Oklahoma State’s pro day, Seales put up some decent numbers:

4.47 40-yard dash
41 1/2-inch vertical
10-foot-3-inch broad jump
4.29-second short shuttle
7.26-second three-cone
20 reps on benchpress,

Now let’s see what the NFL.com scouts had to say:

STRENGTHS

Solid combination of size and speed. Has decent play strength that shows up when working the middle of the field. Possesses strong hands with ability to make contested catches. His 41.5-inch vertical leap allows him to climb way up the ladder to snare passes, but he can sink and scoop the low ones as well. Has body control for in-air adjustments to the throw. Plays with good feet and concentration near the sideline. Created separation out of his stems on post routes. Ball tracking is a plus

WEAKNESSES

Routes will need work. Straight-liner who rarely gets much sink into route breaks for sharp cuts. Has a tendency to give away out-breaking routes with early leans. Will have to prove he can beat press as a pro. Showed some issues getting clean releases when corners were under his chin. Needs work as a blocker as he wasn't asked to do it much in their scheme.

While his receiving numbers are solid but not great, Bleacher Report does call Seales one of the best-kept-secrets of the draft prospects, primarily for big-plays and big blocks.

All of that aside, he did make some really solid plays for the Cowboys during his career, as evidenced in his highlight video:

With his pro day numbers I wouldn’t be surprised if he was on of the first guys picked up as an undrafted free agent.