{"id":277940,"date":"2026-04-22T07:30:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T11:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=277940"},"modified":"2026-04-22T19:49:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:49:07","slug":"justin-jefferson-2026-nfl-draft-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/04\/22\/justin-jefferson-2026-nfl-draft-profile\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin Jefferson 2026 NFL Draft Profile\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Justin Jefferson began college at the junior college ranks before blossoming into a solid middle inside linebacker at Alabama.<\/p>\n<h2>Justin Jefferson 2026 NFL Draft Profile<\/h2>\n<p>He began his career at Pearl River Community College before transferring to Alabama. Even though he played around the 225-pound mark, he still dominated at inside linebacker. This guy lacks the size teams ideally want at inside linebacker, but he makes up for it with his speed. In the weeks leading up to the draft, there has been considerable speculation on which teams might be targeting Jefferson as early as round 4. The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/falcons\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Atlanta Falcons<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/titans\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Tennessee Titans<\/a> both invited Jefferson for a Top 30 visit, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/cowboys\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Dallas Cowboys<\/a> have been reported by multiple sources as being highly interested in Jefferson.<\/p>\n<h3>PLAYER 2026 NFL Draft Overview<\/h3>\n<p>Position: Linebacker<\/p>\n<p>Height: 6\u20190 \u215c\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Weight: 223 pounds<\/p>\n<p>School: Alabama<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Justin Jefferson (not <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JJettas2?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@JJettas2<\/a> \ud83d\ude0f) runs a 4.58u<\/p>\n<p>2026 NFL Combine on <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nflnetwork?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@nflnetwork<\/a><br \/>Stream on <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NFLPlus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@NFLPlus<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/YZAVQAIquK\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/YZAVQAIquK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NFL (@NFL) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NFL\/status\/2027176077404127563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>2026 NFL Draft PLAYER Scouting Report<\/h3>\n<h3>Strengths<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>31 \u215e\u201d arm length, 77 \u00be\u201d wingspan are quality numbers for a linebacker<\/li>\n<li>4.53 40-yard dash is above average<\/li>\n<li>Jefferson\u2019s hips are flexible, and he can change directions quickly when matching up with running backs and tight ends out in space<\/li>\n<li>Vertical jump of 38.5\u201d and broad jump of 10\u20195\u201d are outstanding qualities at the linebacker position<\/li>\n<li>He has developed a dip and rip move on quarterbacks when left unchecked at the line<\/li>\n<li>Jefferson has the speed to hawk ball carriers from sideline to sideline, and the quickness to get in position to stop outside stretch zone plays<\/li>\n<li>He has played on over 300 special teams snaps in his career, a fact not lost on NFL teams looking for players ready to make a difference on punts and kickoffs.<\/li>\n<li>Justin finishes plays with physicality, keeping his legs moving throughout the contact.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Justin Jefferson is a LB prospect in the 2026 draft class. He scored a 9.23 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 269 out of 3460 LB from 1987 to 2026.<a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3u2Jl9QrJ3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/3u2Jl9QrJ3<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Yjg6J4eu2R\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/Yjg6J4eu2R<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; RAS.football (@MathBomb) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MathBomb\/status\/2041252548129030367?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Weaknesses<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Jefferson sometimes overpursues ball carriers, and his aggressive attack mode can cause him to be out of position when he takes poor angles<\/li>\n<li>As a smaller inside linebacker, he has struggled with offensive linemen getting to him on the second level.<\/li>\n<li>Needs to add bulk to better stack up to NFL linemen on the move.<\/li>\n<li>Although he is physical, he is susceptible to being lost in moving traffic.<\/li>\n<li>Rough around the edges in how to best understand his placement and assignments in zone coverage;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>NFL Comparison:<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2021\/04\/20\/jamien-sherwood-nfl-draft-profile\/\" target=\"_self\"> Jamien Sherwood<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/04\/21\/2025-nfl-draft-scouting-report-cody-simon\/\" target=\"_self\">Cody Simon<\/a>, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/prospects\/jack-sanborn\/32005341-4e04-7762-4775-97edb77192d7\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jack Sanborn<\/a><\/h3>\n<h3>Teams With Need At Position: <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/falcons\/\" target=\"_self\">Atlanta Falcons<\/a>\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/bills\/\" target=\"_self\">Buffalo Bills,<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/cowboys\/\" target=\"_self\">Dallas Cowboys<\/a>, \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/colts\/\" target=\"_self\">Indianapolis Colts<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/titans\/\" target=\"_self\">Tennessee Titans<\/a><\/h3>\n<h3>Projection:\u00a0 Rounds 5 or 6<\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Texans visited with Alabama LB Justin Jefferson. <\/p>\n<p>They\u2019ve been about these Bama guys lately  in recent drafts.  <\/p>\n<p>-85 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 3 sacks, 1 INT + FF last season. Ran a 4.57 at the combine too. <\/p>\n<p>Swarm incoming? \ud83d\udd25<a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iwVGtmyCQ9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/iwVGtmyCQ9<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; big ounce (@_bigounce) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_bigounce\/status\/2044866340717043810?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Bottom Line on Justin Jefferson<\/h3>\n<p>Justin Jefferson projects as a prototypical WILL linebacker for a 4-3 defense that prioritizes speed and space over physical dominance. While he may not be an every-down &#8220;thumper&#8221; in the box, his ability to cover, chase, and hit makes him an intriguing mid-round target. He has already drawn significant interest from teams like the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/cowboys\/\" target=\"_self\">Dallas Cowboys, <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/titans\/\" target=\"_self\">Tennessee Titans,<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/cowboys\/\" target=\"_self\"><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/falcons\/\" target=\"_self\">Atlanta Falcons<\/a>, with scouts seeing him as a potential &#8220;steal&#8221; in Rounds 5 or 6.\u00a0The team selecting Jefferson is going to be surprised at how quickly he impacts special teams the moment he enters training camp.<\/p>\n<p>Main Image: <span>\u00a9 Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is an NFL Draft profile of Alabama linebacker Justin Jefferson, projected to be selected in rounds 5-6 of the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4925,"featured_media":278302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1647,33760],"tags":[33533,6181],"class_list":["post-277940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-draft","category-profiles","tag-2026-nfl-draft","tag-justin-jefferson"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4925"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277940"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":278306,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277940\/revisions\/278306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}