Taking a look at a Jets receiver/returner prospect
The New York Jets recently signed former South Alabama wide receiver Jamaal Pritchett as an undrafted free agent. Today we break Pritchett down in detail.
The 22-year old Pritchett is listed at 5’8” and 175 pounds. He was a first team all-Sun Belt selection last season after posting a thousand-yard season. He also played one season at Tuskegee.
Background
Pritchett began his college career at Tuskegee, where he caught 27 passes for 488 yards and three touchdowns in nine games in 2021. That included two hundred-yard games.
He was then able to walk on at South Alabama, although he had just two catches in eight games in the 2022 season.
In 2023, he started earning regular playing time on offense and eventually started 10 of 13 games. He ended the season with 883 yards and eight touchdowns on 57 catches and was named as an all-Sun Belt honorable mention at the end of the year.
2024 saw Pritchett take his game to a new level, as he earned all-Sun Belt first team honors by catching 91 passes for 1,127 yards and nine touchdowns. He also contributed well as a punt returner.
Pritchett wasn’t invited to the scouting combine but did participate in Senior Bowl week. However, he was not selected in the draft in April.
After Pritchett went undrafted, the Jets signed him to an undrafted free agency deal with $107,500 guaranteed.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what Pritchett brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Pritchett is undersized but you would expect him to have good speed, explosiveness and agility numbers based on his film. His pro day numbers were disappointing, though. While his 40-yard dash was clocked at 4.44, which is solid, the rest of his numbers were below average across the board. It appears likely that he plays faster than his timed speed, but those numbers probably hurt his chances of being drafted.
Usage
With his lack of size, you’d expect Pritchett to be limited to a slot-only role at the NFL level and he did play in the slot more than three-quarters of the time in 2024. However, he was exclusively an outside receiver at Tuskegee and also played more outside than in the slot in 2023 with the Jaguars.
He only had one carry in his college career, but a lot of his catches were pop passes on jet sweep motion.
Deep threat
Pritchett has had good success getting behind the defense for deep balls and is a viable big play threat. He had 10 different games with at least one 35-yard catch over the past two seasons.
The most impressive thing about Pritchett when he runs deep is how early he tracks and locates the ball. This enables him to maintain his balance in a strong position to contest.
Routes
Pritchett has a reputation as a smooth route runner, and looked good in one-on-one drills at the Senior Bowl.
However, he didn’t necessarily get to impress too often in that area with South Alabama, instead using his pure speed to get open on crossers and underneath stuff.
His releases are clean and he gets separation on his breaks, but he doesn’t use as much in the way of deception as you might expect, perhaps because his quickness means he didn’t need to at that level.
Hands
Pritchett’s catch rate improved from 67 percent in his first year as a starter at South Alabama to 77 percent last year. However, that’s likely more to do with a role change than a sign his hands are becoming increasingly reliable. He caught 39 passes behind the line of scrimmage in 2024, but just 14 in 2023.
In any case, his hands have been pretty reliable anyway, with just six dropped passes in over 200 targets over the past two seasons. He can have lapses of focus though.
Despite only posting a 30.5-inch vertical at his pro day, Pritchett has shown some ability to go up and get it in contested catch situations.
He is also capable of laying out for diving catches and has good concentration to hang onto balls he doesn’t bring in cleanly.
Red zone
While you wouldn’t consider someone who is 5’8” to be a traditional red zone threat, Pritchett had 17 touchdowns over the past two seasons. Although many of these were longer plays, a handful of them did come from in the red zone.
His quickness could make him a good option to get separation in tight situations and he could also be a jet sweep option.
After the catch
Pritchett’s abilities after the catch are probably the most exciting and impressive part of his film. He led the nation in yards after the catch with 759 in 2024. He also almost led the nation in missed tackles forced, ending up just one below Luther Burden.
On screens and dump-offs, he has an innate ability to cut back and make the first man miss with his upfield momentum established immediately. He’s also surprisingly difficult to bring down, often falling forward at the end of a run.
Pritchett did not have a fumble on offense in his college career.
Blocking
Despite average run blocking grades from analysis sites such as Pro Football Focus, Pritchett shows a willingness to get his hands dirty as a blocker, whether in terms of carrying out a planned assignment or reacting on a downfield play.
When blocking in conventional situations, his lack of size will be detrimental to his chances of success at the NFL level, as he’ll usually be tasked with blocking someone bigger than him. However, he does make a good effort in terms of staying on his block.
Pritchett wouldn’t often have a blocking assignment on a receiver screen, because he was usually the recipient of such passes, but he will crash down on a linebacker on a running back screen from time to time.
He had one holding penalty in 2024.
Physicality
As has already been alluded to, Pritchett has some physicality to his game despite a lack of size, giving effort as a blocker and fighting for yards as a ball carrier.
When running routes, he will lean on or across his man before an inside break at times. In addition, his record on contested catches is solid as he is competitive at the catch point and not afraid to go over the middle and catch the ball in traffic.
Working at his strength so he can get off press coverage and not be re-routed by stronger defenders will be essential to his success at the pro level.
Special Teams
Pritchett doesn’t have a ton of return game experience, but what he has shown as a punt returner so far is enticing.
He averaged over 15 yards per return on 12 returns last season, which included a spectacular touchdown.
Prior to that, he had only returned nine punts (four at Tuskegee and five in his first two seasons with the Jaguars) but, again, his record was solid in a small sample size with a 13.7 yards per return average.
He did have two muffs last year, though, and his record as a kickoff returner is underwhelming (four returns for 40 yards).
Aside from the return contributions, he has played a few snaps in kick and punt coverage, but didn’t do enough of this to generate any production.
Instincts and Intelligence
Pritchett displays outstanding vision and patience with the ball in his hands, be that on offense or special teams. He follows his blockers and has a knack for finding the path of least resistance in tight quarters.
He also impresses with his ability to find the soft spot in zone coverage and come back to the football when plays are extended.
Pritchett had two pre-snap penalties, both for illegal shifts, in 2024.
Attitude
Pritchett is competitive, with a strong work ethic and no doubt brings the same chip on his shoulder that any prospect who began their career at a small school and then had to walk on would.
He claims to possess good character and bring positive energy to the locker room and practice field.
Pritchett’s cousin is Nehemiah Pritchett, who was a fifth round pick last season and remains on the Seahawks roster.
Injuries
Pritchett hasn’t missed any significant time due to injuries in his career so far, although he did opt out of this year’s bowl game to prepare for the draft.
He was knocked out of a game against LSU in 2024 due to a head injury, but passed through concussion protocol and was back in the line-up for the next game.
Scheme Fit
As noted earlier, Pritchett’s size probably means he’s going to be considered as a slot option at the NFL despite the fact he’s also played outside. His best route to the roster is of course the return game, though.
Conclusions
When the Jets picked up Pritchett, the initial conclusions were that he would be someone who would compete with Xavier Gipson, both for his punt return role and reps in the slot.
However, watching his film, his ability to create and produce after the catch is reminiscent of what Malachi Corley was billed to be. Therefore, if Pritchett can impress on offense in camp and preseason, it may be Corley rather than (or perhaps in addition to) Gipson who will need to watch his back.
Quentin Skinner got about twice as much guaranteed money as Pritchett, so may have the better chance of making it than the other two undrafted receivers. However, a practice squad spot for Pritchett is more than plausible and if he can make some noise in the return game in preseason, the Jets will have a decision to make.