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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:
Virginia TE Jelani Woods — who tested off the charts at 6-foot-7, 275 pounds — is in New York on a “Top 30” visit with the #Giants today before visiting the #Falcons on Wednesday, per source. He’s met with 20 teams since the combine, including recent #Colts and #Bills workouts.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 18, 2022
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?
Jelani Woods is a TE prospect in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 10 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 1 out of 998 TE from 1987 to 2022.
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 6, 2022
This bests an all time score that held for more than 20 years.https://t.co/U4Ysrmq76y #RAS pic.twitter.com/3vULs3gPQU
Here’s what else they’re saying on Woods:
.@UVAFootball tight end Jelani Woods is one of the best in this class.
— Eric Galko (@EricGalko) April 13, 2022
Consistently ranked in the top-4 among teams. And as high as #1.
Special athlete (10.0 RAS), experienced blocker, and makes plays like this (⬇️). Highest upside of any TE in the class. #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/WISn86fwWa
#Virginia TE Jelani Woods
— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) April 14, 2022
Physical tools at 6-foot-7, 259 — with 4.61 speed.
Upside prospect as a Y TE. Work the seams, in-breakers — and force DBs to tackle in the open field. Red zone matchups here, too. Long frame + catch radius inside the 10 yard line. @NFLMatchup pic.twitter.com/DgT7EU1Irk
Virginia TE Jelani Woods crushed his bench press with 24 reps.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) March 3, 2022
Wrote this about #Virginia TE Jelani Woods following the East-West Shrine Bowl where he had a great week. 24 reps on the bench press, running a 4.61 forty at 6’7”, 253 pounds is impressive.
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) March 3, 2022
A prospect that’s continued to rise. pic.twitter.com/ebNnQOVMir
Some of #MyGuys (favorites) in this draft class:
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) March 12, 2022
• RB James Cook
• WR Khalil Shakir
• TE Jelani Woods
• OT Charles Cross
• IOL Zion Johnson
• IOL Cole Strange
• LB Channing Tindall
• NCB Marcus Jones
• SAF Jalen Pitre
The Jelani Woods experience pic.twitter.com/isUNDZI9Xl
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) March 25, 2022
watching the virginia offense is bewildering: There's Jelani Woods, who is somehow a bigger human being than Mo Alie-Cox and wears #0, a 6-foot-4 WR who wears #99 (ffs) and takes handoffs from the backfield. and their QB is left handed
— Danny Kelly (@DannyBKelly) April 13, 2022
I knew during an initial watch of the Virginia offense that things got interesting but love seeing all different types of variations. Motion the right tackle to the slot and Jelani Woods steps in & holds his own on this block. Brings his pad level down some & displays active feet pic.twitter.com/DdF9fqcgD6
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) April 18, 2022
Jelani Woods plays with terrific energy. Fired up after this first down and moves well for a player of his size. pic.twitter.com/u2TfjiMR7E
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) April 18, 2022
Jelani Woods up the seam, bounces off two tacklers and scores the TD. pic.twitter.com/D7JkpcuOk0
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) April 18, 2022
First TE finalized: Jelani Woods.
— Ian Cummings (@ian_cummings_9) April 9, 2022
He's massive, athletic. Super physical, too. Love that part of his game. Can clean up catching technique, but has strong hands.
He's very much a lumbering mover in space, and not a natural separator. But I like him late Day 2/early Day 3. pic.twitter.com/l2sft3MfZI
Virginia TE Jelani Woods would be such a good fit for the #Packers to replace Marcedes Lewis as the Y-TE
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) March 23, 2022
Remember he was at Oklahoma St for 3yrs before UVA. And his life was similar to Lewis in GB - all blocking and pass pro! Rarely given any looks or targets so he transferred pic.twitter.com/IfW1E3fGYa
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.
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