Nyjalik Kelly (born October 29, 2004)[1] is an American football linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes and UCF Knights.
| No. 47 – Green Bay Packers | |
|---|---|
| Position | Linebacker |
| Roster status | Active |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 29, 2004 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 263 lb (119 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Dillard (Fort Lauderdale) |
| College | Miami (FL) (2022–2023) UCF (2024–2025) |
| NFL draft | 2026: undrafted |
| Career history | |
| |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Early life
editKelly is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.[2] He attended Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale where he played football as a defensive end.[3] As a sophomore, he won the district championship and was named honorable mention All-Broward.[4] He helped Dillard go undefeated in 2020 while recording 13 sacks and 21 tackles for loss (TFLs), then was named the Broward 8A-6A Football Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2021 when he recorded 58 tackles, 12 sacks and 20 TFLs.[5] Kelly participated at the All-American Bowl at the end of his high school career.[5] He was ranked a four-star recruit and one of the top 100 prospects nationally in the class of 2022.[6] He initially committed to play college football for the Florida State Seminoles before de-committing.[7] He later signed to play for the Miami Hurricanes.[8]
College career
editAs a true freshman at Miami in 2022, Kelly appeared in all 12 games and posted 11 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, four sacks and 15 pressures.[9][10] He was limited by injuries in 2023 and recorded only eight tackles while starting three games.[11] After the 2023 season, Kelly entered the NCAA transfer portal and transferred to the UCF Knights.[11] In his first year with the Knights, he totaled 53 tackles, 5.5 sacks and three forced fumbles while earning honorable mention All-Big 12 Conference honors.[12] In 2025, he posted 46 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, two forced fumbles and an interception while earning honorable mention All-Big 12 honors for a second time.[13] Kelly declared for the 2026 NFL draft and was invited to the 2026 Senior Bowl.[13][14]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 5+3⁄8 in (1.97 m) | 256 lb (116 kg) | 35+1⁄8 in (0.89 m) | 10+3⁄8 in (0.26 m) | 6 ft 10+1⁄2 in (2.10 m) | 4.86 s | 1.71 s | 2.84 s | 4.76 s | 7.62 s | 37.0 in (0.94 m) | 9 ft 11 in (3.02 m) | |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[15][16] | ||||||||||||
Kelly was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Green Bay Packers after the conclusion of the 2026 NFL draft.[17]
References
edit- ↑ "Nyjalik Kelly DE/EDGE UCF NFL Draft Profile". nfldraftbuzz.com. Retrieved March 28, 2026.
- ↑ "Nyjalik Kelly". UCF Knights.
- ↑ Santucci, Jon (October 22, 2021). "Football recruiting: Dillard 2022 DL Nyjalik Kelly prefers to stay in Florida for college". The Palm Beach Post.
- ↑ "Nyjalik Kelly". Miami Hurricanes.
- 1 2 McPherson, Jordan (January 26, 2022). "Dillard's Nyjalik Kelly is Broward 8A-6A Football Defensive Player of the Year". Miami Herald.
- ↑ Wilson, David (August 18, 2022). "'Freak of nature': What Miami's veteran D-linemen are saying about freshman Nyjalik Kelly". Miami Herald.
- ↑ Weiler, Curt (April 20, 2021). "2022 four-star defensive end Nyjalik Kelly decommits from Florida State". Tallahassee Democrat.
- ↑ Smarr, Emilee (December 15, 2021). "Recruiting: With Nyjalik Kelly, Mario Cristobal lands first major recruit at Miami". Daytona Beach News-Journal.
- ↑ Jackson, Barry (April 9, 2024). "UM loses Nyjalik Kelly to portal. All of Cristobal's initial top 100 recruits are now gone". Miami Herald.
- ↑ Lichtenstein, Adam (April 9, 2024). "Hurricanes defensive lineman and ex-Dillard star Nyjalik Kelly enters transfer portal". Sun Sentinel.
- 1 2 Samra, Steve (April 23, 2024). "Miami transfer EDGE Nyjalik Kelly commits to UCF". On3.com.
- ↑ Londergan, Joe (July 28, 2025). "Four UCF Players Named To 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl 1000". 247Sports.
- 1 2 Turner, Bryson (January 16, 2026). "UCF EDGE Declares For NFL Draft". Sports Illustrated.
- ↑ Perkins, Chris (January 28, 2026). "BC players issue scouting report on Dolphins' Hafley from Senior Bowl; practice observations". Sun Sentinel.
- ↑ Reuter, Chad; Zierlein, Lance. "Nyjalik Kelly Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
- ↑ "Nyjalik Kelly College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
- ↑ "Packers sign 5 draft picks, 10 rookie free agents". Packers.com. May 1, 2026. Retrieved May 13, 2026.