Background

Jake Golday grew up in Arlington, Tennessee, and attended Arlington High School, where he was a high school teammate of future NFL running back Kenneth Walker III. He grew up in a basketball family; his parents and brother all played college basketball, and he nearly quit football after a bad experience with a coach in middle school before his mother, a former collegiate athlete, talked him into giving it one more year. Arlington's staff played to his strengths, lining him up at linebacker, defensive end, wide receiver, tight end, and even strong safety. He eventually quit basketball to focus on football and add weight to his frame. An unranked, zero-star recruit, he committed to Central Arkansas over Air Force and several Ohio Valley Conference schools after Memphis could only offer a preferred walk-on spot. Central Arkansas recruited him as a defensive end, and he played edge rusher for his first two seasons there. In 2023, they moved him to linebacker, and he then posted a team-high 84 tackles and 4.5 sacks, while he also rushed the passer in third-down packages. He transferred to Cincinnati as a three-star portal prospect and started 8 of 12 games in 2024, recording 58 tackles and 1.5 sacks. His 2025 season saw him tally 104 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 3 passes defended, a forced fumble, and First-Team All-Big 12 honors while playing a unique hybrid overhang role between the tackle and slot receiver. He was a regular on Bruce Feldman's "Freaks" list at The Athletic. He declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Physical Attributes

Golday is clearly a superb athlete, and shows so on tape, but I am not sure he shows that level of testing consistently. In a straight line, all the speed in the world shows up, and I am really impressed by his agility; he can turn on a dime, and that helps him recover off of play fakes. Not the strongest player, and will need to improve upon that to effect a game at the NFL level.

Data and Tape Analysis

If you are unfamiliar with my LB radar charts, you can find more information here

Golday shows a lot that he is a converted DE to LB. One way is that he is a phenomenal blitzer, especially off the edge. As a late blitzer, he closes quickly and forces the QB to make hot reads. Though that transition is not all rosy, and lets dive into some of those areas.

Golday looks lost in zone coverage. It does not appear that he has a feel for the space, or any occupants in it. There were too many times on film that he was overlapping zones with his teammates, and that he was the one at fault. The QB's eyes easily moved him, and QBs exploited this by throwing balls right past his ear in his position. In man coverage, his athleticism can shine, and he does not need to pay attention to the QB, which helps.

I like Golday's ability to navigate through messes in the run game. I mentioned earlier he lacks strength, so he has to rely on an ability to get around blockers and stay detached in order to make a play. He does that very well, but I am worried about just how well that will translate to the league.

Golday let's himself down with his tackling. He has the athleticism to close gaps and attack, but can mistime his wrap attempt or get blown off by the ball carrier. It comes back again to his strength and the fact that he is still learning the position.

The position he played for Cincy was a strange one, and I am also not sure how that translates to the NFL. It kind of worked like a big nickel, but he has nowhere near the coverage chops to work as that in the NFL. That means putting him back into the box, and I am not sure how well he projects there.

Grade and Outlook

Jake Golday will entice some teams with his versatility, athleticism, and newness to his position, but I take a slightly more pessimistic view than most. I am not sure how he will fit into an NFL defense because he seems to be a big nickel / linebacker hybrid that does not quite fit the requirements of either. I am still keeping him a little further up the board than I think he might be because I readily admit I am not as creative as NFL DCs.

Grade: 5.5 (3rd Rounder)