Indianapolis Colts select Jaylon Carlies in fifth round of 2024 NFL Draft

The Indianapolis Colts have selected Missouri Tigers safety Jaylon Carlies in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, using the No. 151 overall pick.

Jaylon Carlies spent four seasons at Missouri, starting with the 2020 season. Immediately, he made his impact felt on the field for the Tigers.

While at Missouri, Carlies played in 48 games for the Tigers. During that time, he made 220 total tackles. Among those tackles, 11.5 were tackles for a loss and 3.0 were sacks. He also forced three fumbles. On top of that, he had nine interceptions and nine passes defended. He has also returned kicks at times.

Jaylon Carlies played high school football at West Orange (Florida), where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 954 overall recruit in the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

In 2022, Carlies was recognized as a member of the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll.

The 2023 season was an excellent one for the Missouri Tigers, going 11-2 on the season and beating Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. That came after Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz went 17-19 in his first three seasons running the program.

At the NFL Combine, Jaylon Carlies ran a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash. He also had a 1.54 in the 10-yard split, a 32.5-inch vertical jump, and was able to put up 20 reps on the bench press.

What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Jaylon Carlies

Ahead of the NFL Draft, analyst Lance Zierlein broke down what he sees from Jaylon Carlies on NFL.com.

When looking at Carlies, Zierlein says that he expects him to need to change position from safety to linebacker and that he has issues in coverage. However, he’s stronger closer to the line of scrimmage.

“Carlies likely needs to make the transition from safety to linebacker to have an opportunity in the NFL. He’s very tight in his hips and plays with a debilitating lack of change of direction that causes problems for him in coverage and as an open-field tackler,” Zierlein wrote.

“As a linear mover, he needs to be able to play forward and near the line, where he’s less likely to make mistakes with his angles of pursuit. Carlies has pretty good ball skills but will have a hard time sticking with pass-catching tight ends, so it could be challenging for teams to lock in on a role for him.”