Jack Kelly

The Player

Kelly is a rangy sideline-to-sideline run defender and a productive pass rusher with good size and upside. He possesses outstanding timed speed and a good motor. He’s quick enough to beat blockers to the point of attack and shoot gaps. He’s built well and has explosive power when he plays downhill. He slips blocks using his quick hands and feet and flashes good stopping power. 

He’s overaggressive and can overrun plays. He gets caught out of his gap while trying to slip blocks. He can shoot his hands and get off blocks, but his arm length is below average. He can get engulfed at times and also has difficulty bringing ballcarriers to the ground. He misses too many tackles and could take better angles. He led BYU with 10 sacks in 2025.  

He bends and closes well when rushing off the edge or when rushing from depth. He’s relentless and has active hands and good change of direction. He flashes good speed to power when taking on offensive linemen, and he can overpower running backs. He excels at spying quarterbacks. He matches up well with backs underneath and closes well in pursuit of passes thrown in front of him, although he’s not as effective at turning and running. His angles and reaction times while playing in zone could be better. He’s covered kickoffs and punts. A two-year captain, he was named first-team All–Big 12 last season. He began his college career at Weber State before transferring to BYU in 2024.  

The Draft

Kelly is a top-10 off-ball linebacker in this draft and a mid-round prospect. BYU hasn’t had a linebacker drafted since 2019. 

The Projection 

Kelly could be used as a situational linebacker with pass rush capabilities and also as a special teams contributor as he develops early in his career. Zack Baun, a 2020 third-round pick, is an imperfect but optimistic comp. Baun is longer and played on the edge more in college, but he had 12.5 sacks in his final season at Wisconsin and has developed into one of the best off-ball linebackers in the NFL.