2022 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Jalen Pitre

2022 NFL Draft Player Previews - Choose Player 2022 NFL Draft Player Previews - Home Adam Anderson, OLB, Georgia Calvin Austin, WR, Memphis Tyler Badie, RB, Missouri Amaré Barno, OLB, Virginia Tech Andrew Booth, CB, Clemson David Bell, WR, Purdue Nik Bonitto, OLB, Oklahoma Jaquan Brisker, S, Penn State Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas Zachary Carter, DE, Florida Leo Chenal, LB, Wisconsin Lewis Cine, S, Georgia Damone Clark, LB, LSU Micheal Clemons, DE, Texas A&M Bryan Cook, S, Cincinnati James Cook, RB, Georgia Yusuf Corker, S, Kentucky Matt Corral, QB, Ole Miss Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State Nick Cross, S, Maryland Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State Greg Dulcich, TE, UCLA Arnold Ebiketie, DE, Penn State Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida Ikem Ekwonu, OT, N.C. State Martin Emerson, CB, Mississippi State Kingsley Enagbare, DE, South Carolina Daniel Faalele, OT, Minnesota Luke Fortner, C, Kentucky Ahmad 'Sauce' Gardner, CB, Cincinnati Luke Goedeke, G, Central Michigan Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington Kenyon Green, G, Texas A&M Breece Hall, RB, Iowa State Logan Hall, DE, Houston Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame Christian Harris, LB, Alabama Daxton Hill, S, Michigan Chasen Hines, G, LSU Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan Ed Ingram, G, LSU Drake Jackson, DE, USC Jermaine Johnson, DE, Florida State Zion Johnson, G, Boston College Travis Jones, DT, Connecticut Kerby Joseph, S, Illinois Cam Jurgens, C, Nebraska George Karlaftis, DE, Purdue Darian Kinnard, OT, Kentucky Charlie Kolar, TE, Iowa State DeMarvin Leal, DT, Texas A&M Isaiah Likely, TE, Coastal Carolina Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah Drake London, WR, USC Abraham Lucas, OT, Washington State Boye Mafe, DE, Minnesota Phidarian Mathis, DT, Alabama Trey McBride, TE, Colorado State Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington Verone McKinley, S, Oregon John Metchie, WR, Alabama Skyy Moore, WR, Western Michigan Chad Muma, LB, Wyoming David Ojabo, DE, Michigan Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State Cade Otton, TE, Washington Evan Neal, OT, Alabama Josh Paschal, DE, Kentucky Trevor Penning, OT, Northern Iowa Nick Petit-Frere, OT, Ohio State George Pickens, WR, Georgia Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh Alec Pierce, WR, Cincinnati Dameon Pierce, RB, Florida Jalen Pitre, S, Baylor Brock Purdy, QB, Iowa State Bernhard Raimann, OT, Central Michigan Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati John Ridgeway, DT, Arkansas Brian Robinson, RB, Alabama Wan'Dale Robinson, WR, Kentucky Justyn Ross, WR, Clemson Jeremy Ruckert, TE, Ohio State Jamaree Salyer, G, Georgia Tyler Smith, OT, Tulsa Isaiah Spiller, RB, Texas A&M Derek Stingley, CB, LSU Kayvon Thibodeaux, DE, Oregon Cameron Thomas, DE, San Diego State Tyquan Thornton, WR, Baylor Kenneth Walker, RB, Michigan State Rasheed Walker, OT, Penn State Quay Walker, LB, Georgia Travon Walker, DE, Georgia Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State Zamir White, RB, Georgia Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama Malik Willis, QB, Liberty Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State Perrion Winfrey, DT, Oklahoma Tariq Woolen, CB, UTSA Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia Jalen Wydermyer, TE, Texas A&M

Jalen Pitre, 5-10/196 Safety Baylor

Jalen Pitre Scouting Report
By Charlie Campbell

Strengths:

Very instinctive

Good ball skills

Soft hands to reel in interceptions

Plays the ball well to avoid penalties and smack passes away

Intelligent

Anticipates well

Good in zone coverage in short part of the field

Good tackler

Fearless defender

Gritty playmaker

Has a real presence

Dangerous blitzer

Leader

Football character

Reads a quarterback’s eyes

Not a gambler

Anticipates well for firing to flat or coming downhill

Willing run defender

Weaknesses:

Undersized

Could have a hard time avoiding injury in the NFL

Too small to be a strong safety, eighth man in the box

Lacks size to tackle NFL running backs

Tightly wound

Too stiff to play man coverage on slot receivers

Too small to play man coverage on tight ends

Lacks the speed and range to be a deep free safety

Summary: After serving as a backup for three seasons, Pitre started flashing ability in the shortened 2020 season with 60 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions and two passes defended. Pitre the came through with a lot of splash plays for the Bears as a senior, recording 75 tackles, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, two interceptions and seven passes broken up. He is intelligent and has instincts to stay around the ball.

In pass coverage, Pitre is limited because of his size. He does not have the speed or length to be a deep free safety who can play the single-high role and lock down the deep part of the field. Along with being undersized, Pitre is stiff and not fluid in pass coverage. Hence, he is not a fit to play slot cornerback to run with slot receivers or cover tight ends in man coverage. Pitre is going to have problems running with pro wide outs and preventing separation. What he does best is blitz and play slot zone coverage in the short portion of the field. Team sources say Pitre is almost best as an extremely undersized linebacker.



In run defense, Pitre is willing to tackle, and he shows solid form to take legs out from underneath ball-carriers to get them on the ground. Pitre is too small, however, to be a strong safety and serve as the eighth man in the box. Near the line of scrimmage, he will have problems defending downhill runs coming straight at him. Pitre does show good recognition skills and anticipates well, so he is valuable to chase down ball-carriers and make tackles in space. Pitre is a willing run defender, but his size presents significant limitations for the NFL.

Sources from three different teams said they had Pitre with late-round grades and a projection of being a future backup and special teams player, but there is a lot of media hype about Pitre, so perhaps there are some teams out there that value him higher. Some sources think Pitre would be a big reach, but given the hype. they think someone might take him in the second or third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.



Player Comparison: Tyrann Mathieu. Pitre is a unique player, and thereby he is hard to compare. His style of play is similar to Mathieu’s in that Pitre is dangerous in underneath zone, can blitz, and make some splash plays while being undersized. Mathieu, however, can do a lot of things that Pitre can’t. Mathieu is more instinctive, tougher in run defense, and has the ability to play man coverage on slot receivers or tight ends. Pitre can’t do those things, so in the NFL, Pitre might be a poor man’s version of Mathieu.

2022 NFL Draft Player Previews - Choose Player 2022 NFL Draft Player Previews - Home Adam Anderson, OLB, Georgia Calvin Austin, WR, Memphis Tyler Badie, RB, Missouri Amaré Barno, OLB, Virginia Tech Andrew Booth, CB, Clemson David Bell, WR, Purdue Nik Bonitto, OLB, Oklahoma Jaquan Brisker, S, Penn State Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas Zachary Carter, DE, Florida Leo Chenal, LB, Wisconsin Lewis Cine, S, Georgia Damone Clark, LB, LSU Micheal Clemons, DE, Texas A&M Bryan Cook, S, Cincinnati James Cook, RB, Georgia Yusuf Corker, S, Kentucky Matt Corral, QB, Ole Miss Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State Nick Cross, S, Maryland Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia Nakobe Dean, LB, Georgia Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State Greg Dulcich, TE, UCLA Arnold Ebiketie, DE, Penn State Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida Ikem Ekwonu, OT, N.C. State Martin Emerson, CB, Mississippi State Kingsley Enagbare, DE, South Carolina Daniel Faalele, OT, Minnesota Luke Fortner, C, Kentucky Ahmad 'Sauce' Gardner, CB, Cincinnati Luke Goedeke, G, Central Michigan Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington Kenyon Green, G, Texas A&M Breece Hall, RB, Iowa State Logan Hall, DE, Houston Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame Christian Harris, LB, Alabama Daxton Hill, S, Michigan Chasen Hines, G, LSU Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan Ed Ingram, G, LSU Drake Jackson, DE, USC Jermaine Johnson, DE, Florida State Zion Johnson, G, Boston College Travis Jones, DT, Connecticut Kerby Joseph, S, Illinois Cam Jurgens, C, Nebraska George Karlaftis, DE, Purdue Darian Kinnard, OT, Kentucky Charlie Kolar, TE, Iowa State DeMarvin Leal, DT, Texas A&M Isaiah Likely, TE, Coastal Carolina Tyler Linderbaum, C, Iowa Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah Drake London, WR, USC Abraham Lucas, OT, Washington State Boye Mafe, DE, Minnesota Phidarian Mathis, DT, Alabama Trey McBride, TE, Colorado State Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington Verone McKinley, S, Oregon John Metchie, WR, Alabama Skyy Moore, WR, Western Michigan Chad Muma, LB, Wyoming David Ojabo, DE, Michigan Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State Cade Otton, TE, Washington Evan Neal, OT, Alabama Josh Paschal, DE, Kentucky Trevor Penning, OT, Northern Iowa Nick Petit-Frere, OT, Ohio State George Pickens, WR, Georgia Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh Alec Pierce, WR, Cincinnati Dameon Pierce, RB, Florida Jalen Pitre, S, Baylor Brock Purdy, QB, Iowa State Bernhard Raimann, OT, Central Michigan Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati John Ridgeway, DT, Arkansas Brian Robinson, RB, Alabama Wan'Dale Robinson, WR, Kentucky Justyn Ross, WR, Clemson Jeremy Ruckert, TE, Ohio State Jamaree Salyer, G, Georgia Tyler Smith, OT, Tulsa Isaiah Spiller, RB, Texas A&M Derek Stingley, CB, LSU Kayvon Thibodeaux, DE, Oregon Cameron Thomas, DE, San Diego State Tyquan Thornton, WR, Baylor Kenneth Walker, RB, Michigan State Rasheed Walker, OT, Penn State Quay Walker, LB, Georgia Travon Walker, DE, Georgia Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State Zamir White, RB, Georgia Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama Malik Willis, QB, Liberty Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State Perrion Winfrey, DT, Oklahoma Tariq Woolen, CB, UTSA Devonte Wyatt, DT, Georgia Jalen Wydermyer, TE, Texas A&M

RELATED LINKS:


2022 NFL Mock Draft: Charlie’s | Walt’s


2022 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings


2022 NFL Draft Scouting Reports








NFL Picks - Nov. 20


2025 NFL Mock Draft - Nov. 20


NFL Power Rankings - Nov. 19


Fantasy Football Rankings - Sept. 4