Over the next few months, we’ll be breaking down all undrafted free agents signed by the Jets. We continue today with a look at wide receiver Malik McClain.
The 23-year old McClain is listed at 6’4” and 195 pounds and was undrafted out of Arizona State. He caught a career-high 31 passes last year after also having spent time at Florida State and Penn State.
Background
McClain transferred to the prestigious IMG Academy for the final season of his high school career before heading to Florida State as a four-star
recruit.
He had a promising freshman season that saw him start nine games and register 16 catches for 190 yards and two touchdowns to earn the FSU Newcomer of the Year award.
However, in 2022, his role didn’t develop as anticipated and he decided to enter the transfer portal after barely improving on the previous year’s numbers with 17 receptions, 206 yards and three scores.
He ended up at Penn State but again didn’t make as much impact as he hoped, ending the year with six catches for 71 yards and a score, so he once again entered the transfer portal.
McClain wasn’t getting any opportunities with Arizona State either, and had a few injury issues, so he opted to redshirt four games into the year, after having failed to record a catch.
However, he got an opportunity in the postseason when Jordyn Tyson got hurt and he was allowed to be activated without affecting his redshirt status. He had a 43-yard catch in the Big XII title game and a 42-yard touchdown catch on a gadget play in the team’s bowl game, although those were his only two catches of the season, on nine targets.
Returning for his redshirt senior year in 2025, McClain finally got some decent opportunities and had a breakout game with seven catches for 159 yards in an October loss to Houston. He ended the season with 31 catches for 441 yards and a touchdown.
McClain was not expected to be drafted and the Jets signed him to an undrafted free agent contract that included low guarantees, although it was the second-biggest guarantee that any of this year’s undrafted rookies got from the team.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of what McClain brings to the table, based on in-depth research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
McClain is tall with a big catch radius, but his listed weight of 195 is a concern because he would need to add to that. Encouragingly, he was up to 205 at his pro day.
His numbers at his pro day were excellent across the board, including a 4.47 in the 40-yard dash, 40-inch vertical and 136-inch broad jump. His agility numbers were also excellent and he posted 17 bench press reps.
Usage
McClain has primarily played as an outside receiver at the college level, typically lining up in the slot between 10 and 15 percent of the time.
He carried the ball once in college, for a six-yard gain.
Deep threat
McClain was targeted a lot down the field during his career, with mixed results. He did have some big plays but his overall success rate on downfield throws was pretty low.
He is clearly someone who can be a jump ball threat down the field with his size and athleticism.
Hands
McClain’s catch rate during his college career was just 46 percent, although this is dragged downwards by having a high percentage of deeper throws.
He has the ability to go up and get it on jump balls and fade routes, and displays good concentration.
He only had five dropped passes in his first four seasons but had six last year.
Routes
McClain still needs to prove his versatility as a route runner and clean up some of the fundamentals as he can be slow coming out of his breaks. However, he shows flashes of a foundation in some of his film.
Red zone
Despite having the size that should make him a good red zone threat, McClain hasn’t produced as much as you’d like to see in this area with just three touchdown catches in the past three years.
He fared a little better in his two seasons at FSU with five touchdowns on his 33 receptions for them.
After the catch
McClain doesn’t break a lot of tackles, but he has the ability to turn it upfield and the size to fall forward for a few extra yards or reach for the pylon or line-to-gain.
One thing McClain seems to have developed is a good stiff-arm in the open field.
He did not have a fumble during his college career.
Blocking
McClain is a physical blocker who shows good effort at times and makes good use of his size.
His consistency can let him down at times, though. He had two holding penalties and an illegal block in the back penalty in 2025, with one of the holding penalties negating a 75-yard touchdown pass.
Physicality
As noted, McClain shows physicality as a blocker, but perhaps needs to bulk up to be more effective when running routes, carrying the ball or competing at the catch-point.
His catch rate on contested catches during his college career was a disappointing 35 percent.
Special Teams
McClain made some good contributions on special teams during his career, as he rushed kicks and punts and was also employed as a blocker on the return unit.
He also covered kicks and punts with plenty of experience as a gunner. He had three special teams tackles in his career but also had several missed tackles and three penalties.
Instincts and Intelligence
Playing on three different college teams should prepare McClain well for the challenge of mastering a pro-style system. He worked hard at his film study in college.
He had one pre-snap penalty in 2025.
Attitude
McClain has obviously shown determination and perseverance to get opportunities with his constant transferring during college, and he recognized that he would need to be someone who led by example in his final season at Arizona State.
On-field discipline hasn’t been a concern, as he had just four offensive penalties in his first four seasons, although he had five last year, including three in one game.
Injuries
McClain was banged up in 2024, missing one game with an undisclosed injury before opting to redshirt. He also took some time off in the 2025 preseason due to minor injury concerns. However, he’s avoided anything serious in his career so far.
Scheme Fit
As noted, McClain will primarily play on the outside, where he will compete with the likes of Tim Patrick to bring a taller presence to the line-up. He reportedly already showed some good early chemistry with Cade Klubik, which bodes well for preseason.
During his college career, McClain was a teammate of current Jets Azareye’h Thomas at Florida State and Olu Fashanu at Penn State. He also played a season with Kiko Mauigoa at IMG Academy.
Conclusions
McClain reportedly made an early impression during the offseason program, but for someone in his position, the goal is likely to be to make enough of an impact in preseason to compel the team to keep him around and maybe give him a shot later in the year.
The recent injury to Quentin Skinner and release of Da’Quan Felton removes two of the other tall targets competing with McClain for a role from the mix, but the Tim Patrick signing puts another road block in his way.
Unless there’s an injury, or the team falls out of contention early, McClain is probably working towards being able to compete for a role next season, unless he can make a real impact in preseason. He has some areas that require refinement though, so that’s probably unlikely.
