Jalen Tolbert

Jalen Curtis Tolbert (born February 27, 1999) is an American professional football wide receiver and return specialist for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Alabama Jaguars and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Early life Tolbert was born on February 27, 1999, in Mobile, Alabama. He attended McGill–Toolen Catholic High School, where he played baseball, basketball, and football. Tolbert did not become a starter until his senior year, where he finished the season with 37 receptions for 696 yards and nine touchdowns. He was rated a two-star recruit and initially committed to play college football at Jacksonville State, before choosing to attend the University of South Alabama.

College career Tolbert redshirted his true freshman season with the Jaguars after suffering a knee injury in preseason training camp. In the 2019 season, he entered the starting lineup as a redshirt sophomore and finished the season with 27 receptions for 521 yards (leading the conference with 19.3 yards per reception) and six touchdowns. Against Arkansas State, he set a school record with 252 yards on ten receptions and three touchdowns. In 2021, he was again named first-team All-Sun Belt and the conference's Offensive Player of the Year (South Alabama's first) after surpassing his own school records and leading the conference in receptions (82), receiving yards (1,474) and yards per reception (18.0), while scoring eight touchdowns.

College statistics Year Team GP Receiving Rec Yds Avg TD 2017 South Alabama 0 2018 South Alabama 5 5 60 12.0 0 2019 South Alabama 12 27 521 19.3 6 2020 South Alabama 11 64 1,085 17.0 8 2021 South Alabama 12 82 1,474 18.0 8Career 40 171 3,140 17.6 22

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys Tolbert was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round (88th overall) of the 2022 NFL draft. He was acquired to help ease the impact of losing Amari Cooper in a trade and to lessen the load from the injured Michael Gallup. As a rookie, the jump to the NFL combined with being asked to play inside and outside at wide receiver, proved to be too much and he struggled. He appeared in only eight games with one start and tallied 2 receptions for 12 yards. He was declared inactive in the first 2 contests of the season and in both playoff games.

In 2023, he was the team's fourth receiver behind CeeDee Lamb, Brandin Cooks and Gallup. He appeared in 17 games with 6 starts, posting 22 receptions for 268 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 special teams tackles. In Week 4 against the New England Patriots, he had 4 receptions for 55 yards and one special team tackle. In Week 9 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Tolbert scored his first career touchdown on a seven-yard reception and also had 32-yard reception. In Week 16 against the Miami Dolphins, he had 2 receptions for 51 yards, including a 45-yard catch.

In 2024, he became a starter at wide receiver opposite Lamb, recording 17 games with 15 starts, 49 receptions (third on the team), 610 receiving yards (second on the team) and 7 receiving touchdowns (led the team). In Week 5 against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football, he had the highlight of his Cowboys career, when he caught the game-winning touchdown on a 4-yard pass with 20 seconds remaining in a 20–17 road victory, to go along with 7 catches for 87 yards. In the season finale against the Washington Commanders, he had 4 receptions for 98 yards.

In 2025, he appeared to be ready for a bigger jump, only to take a back seat after the acquisition of George Pickens and being passed on the depth chart by second-year player Ryan Flournoy. In Week 4 against the Green Bay Packers, he had a 34-yard critical reception in overtime, that put the ball at Green Bay's 5-yard line, resulting in a field goal for the lead, with the Packers later taking possession and ending the game with a 40–40 tie. Although he started 8 games, Tolbert was mostly an afterthought in the passing game, registering 18 receptions for 203 yards and one touchdown, only making 8 catches after the fourth game of the season. He was declared inactive in 4 of the Cowboys final 6 contests.

Miami Dolphins On March 16, 2026, Tolbert signed a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins.

Professional statistics

Regular season Legend Bold Career high

Year Team Games Receiving Fumbles GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost 2022 DAL 8 1 2 12 6.0 8 0 0 0 2023 DAL 17 6 22 268 12.1 45 2 1 0 2024 DAL 17 15 49 610 12.4 48 7 0 0 2025 DAL 13 8 18 203 11.3 35 1 0 0 Career 55 30 91 1,093 12.0 48 10 1 0

Postseason

Legend Bold Career high

Year Team Games Receiving Fumbles GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost 2023 DAL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0