Jaylen Watson
Iowa Hawkeyes
91
Elite

Jaylen Watson

Iowa HawkeyesContender
LCBDefenseElite
Projected Starter

Is Jaylen Watson starting?

Jaylen Watson is the projected starter at LCB for Iowa Hawkeyes.

Junior · #3 · 5'11", 187 lbs

See full Iowa Hawkeyes depth chart ›
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Depth at LCB · Iowa Hawkeyes

  1. 1391Jaylen WatsonStarter
  2. 2784Rashad Godfrey Jr.

Iowa Starting Lineup

Full Iowa depth chart ›

Top defensive backs in the Big Ten

Earl Little Jr.Ohio State · SSJamari SharpeIndiana · LCBSmith SnowdenMichigan · LCB

The Story

Elite-Tier Talent

A 3-star recruit out of Central Catholic, ranked #1,088 nationally coming out of high school. In 2025: 15 tackles, 0 INT, 1 PBU. That's 2% of the team's production at his spot — good for a 91 overall (Elite tier).

Recruit3★ · #1,088 Natl2-Yr Total20 tacklesTeam Share2%
Detroit, MI
Jersey
#3
Class
JR
Height
5'11"
Weight
187 lbs

Career Stats

SeasonTklINTPD
20251501
2024500

Regular-season totals from public sources. Derived splits (completion %, yards per carry, catch rate) aren't available in our current dataset.

Recruiting Profile

Stars
★★★☆☆3-star
Composite
0.8647
National Rank
#1088
High School
Central Catholic
Hometown
Toledo, OH

Why this rating?

On a 92-rated defense; 56th-percentile production (×0.97 for competition level) put them +2 vs unit starters → 91.

Team defense (SP+)
92
Rating basis
On-field stats
On-field production
Outperforms 56% of peers
Recruiting pedigree
Top 50% recruit
Strength of schedule
Faces easier competition — rating adjusted down (×0.97)
Depth-chart adjustment
+2 for role

2026 projection — based on SP+ (a respected team-efficiency metric; 2026 not published yet, using 2025), 2025 production, recruiting, and the 2026 transfer portal; capped to depth-chart order.

2026 Game Log

Oct 10WWASHTKL 2
TKL
2
SOLO
1
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
1

Final W 41-24

Oct 3LOSUTKL 6
TKL
6
SOLO
6
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
2

Final L 31-14

Sep 26WMICHTKL 3
TKL
3
SOLO
2
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
3

Final W 20-19

Sep 19WUNITKL 1
TKL
1
SOLO
1
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final W 55-0

Sep 12WISUTKL 5
TKL
5
SOLO
2
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
1

Final W 16-13

Jaylen Watson's 2026 game-by-game stat log.

The People's Ratings

Is our 91 OVR fair?
91
Elite
Vote to see what thousands of fans think

Team Role

15 tkl · 1 PD · 0 INT
Usage / Involvement17%
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Overall ratings blend team strength (SP+), on-field production, and recruiting. Higher = more impactful.