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Report: Virginia TE Jelani Woods Had Recent Work Out with Colts Ahead of the NFL Draft

Virginia Tech v Virginia Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Indianapolis Colts had a recent work out with Virginia tight end Jelani Woods ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft:

The super athletic 6’7”, 259 pound tight end (with a long 34 1/8” arms) caught 44 receptions for 598 receiving yards (13.6 ypr. avg.) and 8 touchdown receptions as a senior for the Cavaliers in 2021—earning First-Team All-ACC honors. He transferred to Charlottesville after three seasons at Oklahoma State, where he was primarily utilized as an in-line blocker.

He is a little older for a prospect, as he’ll be 24 years old as a rookie in 2022.

At his sheer size, Woods ran a 4.61 forty time and had 24 bench press reps at the recent NFL Combine.

Did I mention that Woods is athletic too?

Here’s what else they’re saying on Woods:

While not as explosive as he tests, Woods is a big bodied, huge catch radius tight end with some quickness that can work the middle of the field, as well as split the seam. He has good, but maybe not great hands. Woods won’t necessarily ‘wow’ you after the catch, but he’s difficult to bring down at his size and should be a plus red zone target for his NFL team.

He’ll need to further develop his route running, and while he’s certainly a willing and tough blocker in the trenches, his technique could use additional refinement. Woods won’t outrun many defensive backs, but he’s deceptively quick for his size and uses his body well for extra positioning. He also isn’t much fun to bring down in the open field for smaller DBs once he gets a full head of steam.

Woods is certainly much further along in his football development than Mo Alie-Cox was coming out of VCU as a converted basketball standout—and as a raw, project NFL tight end, but a quicker MAC (currently) may be a good Woods’ pro comparison at the next level once he fully hits his stride.

The Colts could use another tight end in the mix, as longtime veteran tight end Jack Doyle retired, and Woods definitely has some qualities Indianapolis covets at the position—after all, this is the same NFL franchise that just signed Alie-Cox to a multi-year contract extension.

Woods projects to be a late ‘Day 2’ or early ‘Day 3’ draft pick right now and is a prospect to watch for the still tight end needy Colts.