Jah Joyner is a prototypical defensive end prospect with all the traits to maintain a long NFL career. Joyner will have a chance at the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine to stand out in an exceptionally deep 2025 NFL Draft edge rusher class.
While the stats don’t jump off the page with Joyner, his strong frame, long arms, and athleticism project well to the NFL at a position where uncoachable physical traits are in high demand.
As a 5th year player Joyner is an experienced player who should be ready to contribute in the NFL early in his career.
Read on to see BNB Football’s complete Jah Joyner scouting report, which includes his strengths, weaknesses, production, and measurables.
Prospect: Jah Joyner
School: Minnesota
Position: Edge Rusher
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 265
Class: Redshirt Senior (5th Year)
Jah Joyner NFL Draft Profile Overview
Jah Joyner was a star defensive end for Danbury High School in Danbury, Connecticut, earning a dozen offers and being tabbed the #1 HS recruit in Connecticut by 247Sports.
After an initial commitment to Boston College, Joyner flipped his commitment to the University of Minnesota following the firing of BC’s head coach, Steve Addazio.
Jah Joyner barely saw the field his first two seasons at Minnesota while sitting behind future NFL defensive ends Boye Mafe and Esezi Otomewo.
He became a full time contributor in 2022, where he stood out in a weak group of pass rushers thanks to his frame and twitchiness. Playing time was still limited, but he started to flash.
By 2023 he Jah had solidified himself not only as a starter, but an All-Conference caliber player. He was near the top of all of college football in pass rush win rate, without exiting his rushing lanes and continuing to play within the system.
Joyner’s 7.5 sacks might not seem like a lot, but the Gophers defensive system and schedule (against run-first Big Ten West teams) don’t make it easy to tally up a ton of sacks. The mark was the highest for a Gopher defender since Carter Coughlin in 2018.
The sacks also seemed especially timely for Joyner, who came up with multiple strip sacks and also seemed to generate pressures late in games.
2024 wasn’t as big of a production explosion as Joyner had hoped for, largely due to an increase in double teams and chips. The Gophers consistently deployed Joyner as bait to draw double teams and open up lanes for safeties like Jack Henderson to make their way into the backfield for a sack instead.
Despite seeing a decrease in sacks, Joyner showed his experience and craftiness by batting down 7 passes over the course of the season, an exceptionally high number for a defensive lineman. He also almost doubled his tackle count and significantly cut down on the missed tackles which kept him from superstardom in his junior year.
When you watch Joyner rush the passer, he consistently wins. He has a stellar rip move, enough speed and bend to get around the edge, and a strong core to maintain optimal balance through twists.
Hand usage is solid when fighting blocks, and he has enough strength to win with a bull rush.
Jah Joyner College Stats
In 43 career college games, Jah Joyner accumulated 66 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, 9 passes defended, and 4 fumbles forced.
| YEAR | GAMES | TACKLES | TFLs | SACKS | PD | FF |
| 2024 | 12 | 32 | 5.5 | 4.5 | 7 | 2 |
| 2023 | 13 | 18 | 8 | 7.5 | 1 | 2 |
| 2022 | 12 | 15 | 3 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
TFLs = Tackles for loss
PD = Passes Defended
FF = Fumbles Forced
Accolades
- All-BIG10 Honorable Mention x2
- Academic All-BIG10 x2
Strengths
- Prototypical NFL defensive end traits
- Fast and under control
- Decent vision into the backfield
- Solid bend around the edge
- Consistently wins as a pass rusher
- Always looking for the strip sack
- High football IQ
Weaknesses
- Too many missed tackles
- Can get pushed off his spot as a run defender
- Doesn’t play with powerful hands
Grade
4th-5th Round
While his tape doesn’t pop quite as much as the Day 1 prospects at the top of the draft, the physical traits will be too much to pass up when it comes to drafting Jah Joyner.
Defensive end is one of the few positions where physical traits are non-negotiable. Joyner’s combination of size, athleticism, football IQ, and experience will be too much for NFL teams to pass on, making it likely that Joyner won’t last very long on Day 3 of the draft.
With a good Senior Bowl or Combine, he’s the type of player who could even work himself into the end of Day 2.
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Thank you for reading our Jah Joyner NFL Draft Scouting Report. If you have anything to add, please leave in below in the comments. Best of luck to Jah in his NFL career.
