Chargers 90-in-90: WR Jalen Guyton

Continuing down this road of 90-in-90 profiles, we’ve got second-year wide receiver Jalen Guyton on the docket for today.

Guyton was signed by the Chargers on October 23 last year before being promoted to the active roster on November 30. He spent the 2019 preseason with the Dallas Cowboys before being one of the final cuts on August 30.

Out of high school, Guyton initially committed to Notre Dame where he redshirted his only year on campus. He was dismissed for an “undisclosed reason” and promptly transferred away from South Bend.

Guyton ended up at North Texas where he has to sit out the 2016 due to NCAA transfer guidelines. During his first season of action for the Mean Green, Guyton was named a Second-Team All-CUSA honoree after catching 49 passes for 775 yards and nine touchdowns. As a junior in 2018, Guyton improved on most of his stats by collecting 54 catches for 805 yards and six touchdowns.

Although he had one more year of eligibility left, Guyton decided to forgo that and enter into the 2019 NFL Draft. At the school’s pro day, he was reportedly timed at 4.37 and 4.42 in the forty. Both would have been top-3 marks among receivers at that year’s NFL combine. He also jumped 37.5 inches in the vertical, 10’5 in the broad jump, and put up 13 reps on the bench press.

Guyton wound-up going undrafted and was originally signed by the Dallas Cowboys.

Basic Info

Height: 6’1
Weight: 212
College: North Texas
Experience: 1
Years with team: 1

Contract Status

“Jalen Guyton signed a 2 year, $1,080,000 contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, including an average annual salary of $540,000. In 2020, Guyton will earn a base salary of $675,000, while carrying a cap hit of $675,000.” - Spotrac.com

The Good

Right now, Guyton is the fastest player on the Chargers’ offense if his 40 time of 4.37 at UNT’s pro day is as real as we’d like it to be. At his size, he brings a size and speed combination that most teams would want in a receiver. He has the ability to threaten over the top which will cause defensive to cheat back a bit and cause Guyton to have a little more cushion on underneath crossers and comeback routes.

The Bad

During the Jaguars game last season, and some of the other contests later in the year, Guyton got to see some game time after being promoted at the end of November. The unfortunate part is he didn’t make the most of his opportunities. On a long ball thrown his way after beating his man vertical, he did a not so great job of tracking it and it fell incomplete. It looked pretty bad on the television so I know it certainly looked bad in person. It seemed like after that point the coaching staff took a step back with him for the remainder of the season.

Odds of making the roster/What to expect in 2020?

After the Chargers drafted a pair of receivers in this year’s draft, it’s going to be a much tougher road for Guyton to find a roster spot, nonetheless see meaningful snaps in 2020. I’ve long-stressed the need for some speed to be injected into this offense but the cards don’t look to be in his favor for him to make a Tyrell Williams-esque rise on the depth chart.

I think Guyton has the potential to make him a quality stash on the practice squad and he could end up binge a guy who develops nicely into a depth piece.

Fun Fact: Guyton was in the same recruiting class for Notre Dame that produced wide receivers Equanimeous St. Brown (Packers) and Miles Boykin (Ravens).