Jalen Jelks (born August 3, 1996) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

who is currently a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Early years

Jelks attended

Desert Vista High School Desert Vista High School is a public high school located in the Ahwatukee area of Phoenix, Arizona. Opened in 1996, it is the second Tempe Union High School District (TUHSD) school in Ahwatukee and serves approximately 3,000 students. Academic ...

. He played football in only 3 years. As a senior, he was a two-way starter at defensive line and left tackle. He registered 72 tackles (12 for loss), 10 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and one blocked field goal, while receiving All-state honors. He finished his high school career with 113 tackles (17 for loss), 15 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries. A 3-star recruit, Jelks committed to play football at

over offers from

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, among others.

College career

Jelks accepted a football scholarship from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. After redshirting for a year, he appeared in 11 games as a backup

, collecting 9 tackles (6 in the final three games) and 3 sacks as a freshman. As a sophomore in a reserve role, he contributed with 31 tackles (4 for loss), 2 sacks and 2 pass breakups in 8 games. As a junior, he started all 13 games, recording 59 tackles 6.5 sacks (led the team), 15 tackles for loss (led the team) and 7 pass breakups. He had 9 tackles in the 2017 Las Vegas Bowl. He was put on the watchlist for the

Chuck Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and professional Ame ...

during the season. He was named to the All-Pac-12 second-team, Pro Football Focus first-team All-Pac-12 and the Phil Steele second-team All-Pac-12 Conference. Despite speculation that he could declare for the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

, Jelks announced that he would return to Oregon. As a senior in 12 starts, he registered 57 tackles (7.5 for loss) and 3.5 sacks.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Jelks was selected by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

in the seventh round (241st overall) of the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

. He was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on August 30. On August 16, 2020, he was released to make room for the signing of

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Everson Griffen Everson Griffen (born December 22, 1987) is an American football defensive end who is a free agent. A graduate of Agua Fria High School, Griffen attended and played college football at USC. He was selected by the Vikings in the fourth round of ...

Carolina Panthers

On August 17, 2020, Jelks was claimed off waivers by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. He was waived on September 5.

Cleveland Browns

Jelks was signed to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

' practice squad on September 22, 2020. He was released on October 26.

Washington Football Team

On November 16, 2020, Jelks signed to the practice squad of the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

. He signed a reserve/futures contract on January 11, 2021. Jelks was waived by Washington with a injury designation on July 27, 2021, and reverted to injured reserve after clearing waivers. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

References

External links

*
Oregon Ducks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jelks, Jalen 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Phoenix, Arizona American football defensive ends Oregon Ducks football players Dallas Cowboys players Carolina Panthers players Cleveland Browns players Washington Football Team players