Measurables
- 6‘4 Height
- 240 lb. Weight
2025 Stats
- 70 Solo Tackles
- 31 Assist Tackles
- 9 Missed Tackles (8.2%)
- 43 Run Stops
- 26/36 Catches Allowed (72.2%)
- 227 Receiving Yards Allowed (8.7 per Catch)
- 121 Yards After Catch Allowed (4.7 per Catch)
- 2 TDs Allowed
- 0 INTs
- 3 Pass Break Ups
- 107.1 Passer Rating Allowed
- 76.7 Coverage Grade
- 18 Pressures (80 Pass Rush Snaps)
- 5 QB Hits
- 4 Sacks
- 1 Forced Fumble
Awards/Accolades
- First Team All-Big 12
- Butkus Award Semi-Finalist
Strengths
- Bigger Linebacker but possesses excellent pursuit speed and explosiveness. Motor always runs hot and flies to the ball quickly. Was listed as # 48 on the Bruce Feldman Freaks List from the Athletic with reported 22.16 mph speed, 24 reps of 225 lbs. on the bench press, and a 4.24 second shuttle time that would have been the fastest in the 2025 Combine.
- Can lay the Hammer on his hits, powerful at contact. Reliable tackler with very rare misses and good technique to wrap up ball carriers.
- In Zone coverage he’s very reactive and strong acceleration to disrupt at catch point or stop underneath targets quickly.
- Fluid hips in man coverage, can get deep into his drops with a lot of speed and matches up well against tight ends.
- Sheds blockers well with his power profile and length. Tight ends blockers especially struggle to contain him, sheds them quickly.
- Versatile player, lined up as an Edge Rusher at Central Arkansas before shifting to hybrid role as offball LB, Nickel Corner, and Edge in Cincinnati’s defense.
Weaknesses
- Can drift in his zone too much in coverage.
- Can be faked out by QB’s eyes and pump fakes.
- Needs to learn to adjust to routes in coverage rather than just cover assigned zone.
- Needs to be a tick quicker in diagnosis, keeps his eyes in the backfield too long and can be caught on play action/misdirection on which hole to attack in the run game. Inexperience at Linebacker shows up in this regard.
- Biggest OL can give him problems in block shedding, needs to learn how to evade them or improve his lower leg strength for anchor against them.
Draft Projection
Round 2 Grade
Jake Golday is a fascinating ball of traits to work with. His athleticism is outstanding and his flashes of high level coverage play give hope that he can be a 3 down LB in the NFL. Blitz heavy Defensive Coordinators that are open to moving players around in their alignments will love Golday. The ability to have a player who can at any point be a devastating blitzer, a powerful block shedder in the the run game, or a Tight End eraser in coverage and can line up at a variety of spots is highly valuable. On my initial Big Board he was the 49th Ranked Prospect, and could be available for the Colts in the middle of Round 2.
Odds are that Golday can STILL grow into his frame more while maintaining his movement skills, making him even more devastating for blockers in the run game. But the biggest growth for Golday will need to be not physical but mental. He needs to sharpen his instincts with more play at offball Linebacker. But once the game slows down for him, he could be one of the better offball LBs in the NFL. Patience might be required, but until then he is still a highly versatile chess piece coordinators can use. Scouts will be watching him at the Shrine Bowl to see if he can diagnose quicker and see more reps of his man coverage skills, as he was primarily used in a zone heavy scheme at Cincinnati.
For the Colts who have Germaine Pratt as a Free Agent and Zaire Franklin as a possible trade/cut candidate for cap savings, Golday would make a lot of sense. Could lineup as a MIKE or as a WILL Linebacker, as he has started at both in Cincinnati. Most likely if the Colts keep either Pratt or Zaire, Golday would slide in at WILL with his better coverage skills and lack of experience being the green dot Linebacker calling things for the Defense. Still he is a high effort player on the field, and if he attacks the film room with similar intensity it could bode very well for his NFL future at either spot.
