“I told you that ball would find you!”
This is what Terry McLaurin told Jaden Bradley after the undrafted wide receiver made a contested catch during 7-on-7 drills during last week’s OTA session. McLaurin had been working with him earlier in the day on his hand placement and releases, and the play caught the veteran’s attention.
That is not the only person that is paying attention to the undrafted wide receiver out of UNLV. Commanders Podcasters Reedee & Zee featured him headed into this week’s OTAs
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The buzz continued to grow as Lynnell Willingham added Jaden’s name (albeit with the wrong spelling) into his coverage of Tuesday’s open OTA session.
Why is Bradley drawing so much attention? Well, for one thing, at 6’3″ he literally stands out as one of the tallest wide receivers on the Commanders roster. For another, Bradley’s RAS score is superior to current WR2 favorite, and former first-round selection, Treylon Burks.
There are no readily available draft profiles on Bradley, so I will give readers my impressions based on the following highlight reel:
Jaden is a long-striding, big, physical wide receiver. His lack of agility is apparent in his routes, as they are not especially crisp or effective at generating separation. Bradley wins with body position and by fighting for the ball with strong hands. Jaden has deceptive speed if allowed to get up to the top end and tracks the ball very well. Contrary to his RAS notes, I think he could be effective in the short to intermediate if schemed open in the same way as Mark Bullock suggested for Treylon Burks. Bradley is big and fast enough to present problems in man coverage and can also find spaces in zone.
Why wasn’t Bradley more highly rated in the draft? He had almost non-existent production up until his senior year at UNLV.
| Receiving | Rushing | Scrimmage | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Y/G | Att | Yds | Y/A | TD | Y/G | Plays | Yds | Avg | TD | Awards |
| 2021* | Pitt | ACC | FR | WR | 12 | 9 | 129 | 14.3 | 0 | 10.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 9 | 129 | 14.3 | 0 | ||
| 2022* | Pitt | ACC | SO | WR | 6 | 10 | 130 | 13.0 | 2 | 21.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 10 | 130 | 13.0 | 2 | ||
| 2023 | Charlotte | American | JR | WR | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2024* | Nevada-Las Vegas | MWC | SR | WR | 14 | 9 | 173 | 19.2 | 1 | 12.4 | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 0.4 | 10 | 179 | 17.9 | 1 | |
| 2025* | Nevada-Las Vegas | MWC | SR | WR | 14 | 58 | 931 | 16.1 | 4 | 66.5 | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 0 | 1.1 | 59 | 946 | 16.0 | 4 | |
| Career | 48 | 86 | 1363 | 15.8 | 7 | 28.4 | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 0 | 0.4 | 88 | 1384 | 15.7 | 7 | |||||
| Charlotte (1 Yr) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Nevada-Las Vegas (2 Yrs) | 28 | 67 | 1104 | 16.5 | 5 | 39.4 | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 0 | 0.8 | 69 | 1125 | 16.3 | 5 | |||||
| Pitt (2 Yrs) | 18 | 19 | 259 | 13.6 | 2 | 14.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 19 | 259 | 13.6 | 2 | ||||||
So where did the change come from in his fifth year? A lot of that is credited to incoming head coach Dan Mullen challenging Bradley to buy in to what the coaches were teaching him. You can hear Jaden’s take on it here, but the one thing it proves is the wide receiver is coachable.
How does Jaden Bradley fit with the Commanders? Following the early release of Ja’Corey Brooks, Bradley looks to be in the mix as a big slot, possession receiver for David Blough’s offense.
The most promising part for Bradley’s roster chances? He is a monster on special teams. In Week 6 of the 2025 season, he blocked a punt and returned another one for a touchdown. In his senior year, Jaden also returned five kickoffs for 106 yards and one punt for 36 yards.
Bradley has a long way to go to prove himself at the NFL level, but the one thing that is clear is he will grab an opportunity when it presents itself.
