There’s a numbers game to play in the 2025 NFL Draft, but with his scouting report, California running back Jaydn Ott might just have the tools to beat the odds.
Where does Ott rank in the early months of the 2025 cycle, and can he be an early-round pick?
Jaydn Ott’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 5’10 5/8″
- Weight: 208 pounds
- Position: Running Back
- School: California
- Current Year: Junior
The 2025 NFL Draft RB class is chock-full of dynamic athletes, but Ott has few challengers as one of the most explosive runners in the group.
A standout performer from Norco High School, Ott has quickly delivered on his four-star recruiting billing with the Golden Bears.
Almost immediately, Ott made an impact as a true freshman, amassing 897 yards and eight touchdowns on 170 carries, while also catching 46 passes for 345 yards and three additional scores.
In his very first career CFB game, Ott racked up over 100 rushing yards and a receiving TD. Just three weeks later, he erupted for 274 yards and three TDs on 19 carries against Arizona. Those showings would be premonitions of his play in 2023.
As a true sophomore in 2023, Ott accumulated 246 carries for 1,315 yards and 12 TDs, while adding 25 catches for 169 yards and two TDs through the air. And entering his first season of NFL Draft eligibility, he has his sights set even higher in Berkeley.
Ott’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Uniquely built runner with good natural leverage, compact mass, and a long-strider gait.
- Powerful knee drive amounts to elite explosive capacity and instant acceleration.
- Has the explosiveness and long-strider speed to stretch runs on the vertical plane.
- Has elite throttle freedom and lateral burst, which he can use to escape contact threats.
- Able to use his throttle freedom and flexibility to get skinny through narrow lanes.
- Shows off high-level vision and adaptability behind the line, intuitively processing paths.
- Patient, disciplined runner who can use his lateral energy to quickly flow to gaps.
- Has efficient setup footwork, and can quickly identify interior gap opportunities.
- Able to gather short screens and swings beyond his frame and reset feet for RAC.
- Has the versatility to be used as a receiving threat off motions and in bunched sets.
- Flashes above-average contact balance, absorbing hits with his compact midsection.
- Has a degree of willing physicality, and can finish forward with energetic leg churn.
- As a pass blocker, has at least shown he can process stunts and square up rushers.
- Competent three-down RB who also shows willingness as a lead blocker on options.
- Has utility as a kick returner and scored a 100-yard touchdown in 2023.
Weaknesses
- Despite great long speed, doesn’t quite have elite breakaway pace.
- At times runs with his pad level too high in space, inhibiting leg drive amidst contact.
- High pad level can allow defenders into his frame too easily when triggering on gaps.
- On occasion, high-hipped frame can snag tight redirections and impact creation range.
- Doesn’t have the hip flexibility to make sharp, acute-angle redirections consistently.
- Lacks elite bend when pressing vertical, at times requiring gather steps to adjust angles.
- At times, can be prone to wasted motion when surveying secondary interior lanes.
- Sometimes diverts inside to congestion when he has space to bounce outside on runs.
- Doesn’t have the high-end mass to bowl through successive tackle attempts.
- Has room to further expand his route tree, but middling hip fluidity constricts upside.
- At times works himself too far upright and lurches as a pass protector, losing leverage.
- Doesn’t have great take-on strength, synergy, or consistency in pass protection.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Entering the 2025 NFL Draft cycle, Ott grades out as an early Day 3 prospect. He has the upside to potentially challenge for top-100 capital next April and will be particularly coveted by teams that value quick processing and vertical explosiveness.
Ott is a unique runner. He is built with natural leverage and compact mass that supplements his contact balance.
But along with that natural running leverage, Ott also has impressive long-strider explosiveness and speed, which he can use to surge through gaps and stretch vertical creases.
Ott’s speed is made more potent by his throttle freedom, efficient setup footwork, and high-level vision and discernment behind the line of scrimmage. He can quickly process primary and secondary holes, and he can adapt to cutbacks at a moment’s notice.
While Ott is a superb vertical runner, he does have some limitations in the ground game. He often runs with a high pad level and doesn’t have high-end mass, which puts a cap on his tackle-breaking ability. Additionally, his high-hipped frame yields moderate stiffness, which can limit his creative freedom.
Having said all this, Ott has the ability to be a quality stable back in schemes more attuned to gap, duo, and inside zone runs, and he has the speed to operate in wide zone as well.
Ott can be a vertical catalyst on the ground, with the passing upside to be a strong rotational three-down back.
