Why did this freak athlete Jets rookie WR go completely undrafted?

Your 2026 New York Jets Camp Countdown has officially reached the annual “how the hell did this guy go undrafted?” stage of the offseason.

That's right, Day 12 belongs to the Sun Devil Skyscraper, the Robin to Jordyn Tyson’s Batman, the man who once caught a touchdown pass from Cam Skattebo, and Quentin Skinner 2.0 himself. We are talking about Jets undrafted rookie wide receiver Malik McClain.

Because seriously, on paper, this dude looks like somebody who absolutely should have been drafted. At least if you only look at his physical traits.

McClain stands at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, ran a 4.47 40-yard dash, posted a 40-inch vertical, recorded an over 11-foot broad jump, and finished with a ridiculous 9.92 Relative Athletic Score.

So why exactly did nobody draft him? That's indeed the big question surrounding one of the most fascinating developmental players on the Jets roster.

Where Malik McClain stands entering Jets training camp

McClain enters training camp in a somewhat unique spot compared to the other undrafted receivers on the Jets roster. While players like Caullin Lacy, Jamaal Pritchett, and DT Sheffield are all fighting for undersized slot receiver and return specialist roles, McClain brings a completely different archetype to the table.

The Jets actually don't have a ton of size at wide receiver. Adonai Mitchell stands at 6-foot-2. Veteran Tim Patrick is 6-foot-5. Quentin Skinner is another tall developmental receiver at 6-foot-5. Beyond that, the Jets’ receiver room is mostly built around smaller or more compact players.

That gives McClain at least a somewhat unique opportunity to stand out. The obvious comparison here is Skinner.

Both players are tall, lanky, athletic receivers who spent time at major college programs without ever truly putting everything together from a production standpoint. Both are developmental projects. Both are likely competing for similar roster spots.

And if we're being honest, there is a real opening at the back end of this Jets receiver room. One of these guys could absolutely push for a roster spot with a strong summer.

Arian Smith currently projects as the Jets’ WR6, and while the top of the depth chart feels relatively secure, an impressive summer from someone like McClain could certainly put him in the mix for either a practice squad role or even a surprise 53-man roster spot.

At the very least, his size and athletic profile immediately make him somebody worth monitoring throughout training camp.

So why did Malik McClain go undrafted?

This is where things get a little complicated. Because again, from a pure traits perspective, McClain absolutely looks more than draftable.

He's a former four-star recruit who spent time at Florida State, Penn State, and Arizona State. If NFL teams drafted solely based on athleticism and physical tools, McClain probably would have comfortably been a top-50 pick.

The issue is that the production never matched the tools. McClain finished his five-year college career with just 72 catches and eight touchdowns. He never recorded more than 450 receiving yards in a single season. Even his “breakout” campaign at Arizona State last year only resulted in 31 catches for 441 yards and one touchdown.

And even that production came later in the year. McClain had just six catches through Arizona State’s first seven games before finally beginning to emerge after Jordyn Tyson got hurt. Once given a larger opportunity, McClain flashed the upside that made him intriguing in the first place.

He exploded for seven catches and 159 yards against Houston before later recording nine catches and a touchdown in Arizona State’s bowl game against Duke. The flashes were absolutely there. Unfortunately, the consistency never was.

McClain notably struggled with drops last season, finishing with an ugly drop rate north of 16 percent while hauling in just 37 percent of his contested catch opportunities. He committed five penalties and still looks extremely raw as a route runner overall.

That combination ultimately explains why a player with his physical gifts slipped completely out of the draft. He’s basically another Denzel Mims archetype, except the Jets signed him as an undrafted free agent instead of spending a top-60 pick on him.

McClain spent most of his college career being one of the most physically impressive players on the field without ever becoming one of the most reliable. Still, the upside is obvious.

You can't teach 6-foot-4 size with 4.47 speed and elite explosiveness. That combination alone is enough to earn players extra opportunities in the NFL.

What would make 2026 a success for Malik McClain

Success for McClain this year probably looks less like immediate production and more like survival. Making the practice squad would already qualify as a strong rookie season.

Flashing during preseason games, improving technically, and proving he belongs at the NFL level would all represent significant progress for a player this raw entering the league. After all, the Jets are clearly betting on traits here.

NFL teams make bets like this all the time. Coaches love developmental athletic projects, especially at wide receiver. All it takes is a couple of big preseason moments for somebody like McClain to suddenly become one of the more talked-about players in camp.

There's still a very long way to go before Malik McClain becomes an actual contributor in the NFL. But when you look like he does athletically, teams are always going to be willing to give you chances.

Previous editions of the Jets Camp Countdown series can be found below.

Recent 2026 Camp Countdown Breakdowns

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