#6Jalen Buckley

RB·Western Michigan·2025 2023

Jalen Buckley is a Explosive Back for Western Michigan. Jalen's 2025 season ranks in the 15th percentile nationally by opponent-adjusted EPA per play across 189 plays — a developing rate for the RB.

What projects, and what doesn't · RBs · held out 2019-2025

How well one season predicts the next, measured on seasons the model never trained on. 1.00 would be perfectly predictable; 0.00 means last year told us nothing.

Usage share (volume)0.52
Beats guessing the RB average by 18%. n=4,219 RB seasons
EPA per play (efficiency)0.10
Not projectable — we do not forecast this. n=3,575 RB seasons
Total EPA (value)0.41
Beats guessing the RB average by 9%. n=3,575 RB seasons

Across all positions, usage carries year to year at 0.47 and efficiency at 0.07. So Jalen Buckley's projection is a projection of opportunity — how much of the offense he runs through. How well he converts it is something this model does not claim to know a year in advance, and the number above is why.

2025 Production

Rushing

1003 Rush yards9 Rush TD179 Carries5.6 Yards/carry

Receiving

12 Receptions75 Rec yards1 Rec TD6.3 Yards/rec

Performance Analysis · 2025 · vs RB peers

Efficiency15
Volume62
Explosiveness52
Consistency0
Receiving48

Player type

Explosive Back

Elite per-carry efficiency — breaks big runs and creates chunk plays at a top rate while in a limited role.

Big-play threatHigh EPA per carryCapitalises on opportunities

Peer percentiles

Opponent-adjusted EPA (WEPA/play)15th %ile · below avg

Game-to-game consistency0th %ile · below avg

Key findings

▸Below-average efficiency vs RB peers — value comes through volume, not per-play impact.
▸High game-to-game variance — boom-or-bust profile.
▸Strong second-half surge — EPA/play improved 0.45 from the first to second half of the season.
▸Peak game: 0.52 EPA/play in Wk 15 vs Miami (OH) (SP+ -3).

NIL Market Tier· 2025

On3 valuation ↗

Starter

Meaningful starter. Local collective + position-group deals.

Tier is a model estimate based on position, school brand, performance rank, and usage — not a reported deal. NIL deals are private. For a real market valuation, see On3's NIL profile, which factors in social following and actual deal tracking.

Historical Comparables · RB · efficiency + volume + value

Players from 2013–2025 matched on EPA efficiency, play volume, and adjusted value tier — not just one metric.

Player	Team	Yr	Plays	WEPA/play	Line val	Total EPA
Saquon Barkley	Penn State	2016	288	0.340	3.9	97.9
Dalvin Cook	Florida State	2016	292	0.340	4.3	99.3
Breece Hall	Iowa State	2020	301	0.340	4.5	102.3
Hassan Haskins	Michigan	2021	280	0.380	4.8	106.4
James Flanders	Tulsa	2016	266	0.390	4.9	103.7

Comps are statistical — efficiency, volume, and value tier all factor in. Style and conference context differ.

Game Log · box score + EPA, week by week

EPA per play · x-axis: weekabove 0 = added points · below = lost

Wk	Opponent	Result	Opp SP+	Car	Rush Yds	Avg	Rush TD	Rec	Rec Yds	Rec TD	EPA/play
1	@Michigan State	L6-23	-3.4	9	21	2.3	0	4	7	0	-0.34
2	vsNorth Texas	L30-33	13.8	30	112	3.7	0	2	51	1	0.21
3	@Illinois	L0-38	12.9	6	13	2.2	0	—	—	—	-0.21
4	vsToledo	W14-13	6.0	11	21	1.9	0	1	-7	0	-0.55
6	@Massachusetts	W21-3	-36.6	12	60	5.0	0	1	6	0	-0.13
7	vsBall State	W42-0	-23.0	6	11	1.8	1	1	9	0	0.13
9	@Miami (OH)	L17-26	-3.4	10	45	4.5	0	—	—	—	0.17
10	vsCentral Michigan	W24-21	-8.8	14	68	4.9	1	—	—	—	0.34
12	vsOhio	W17-13	-4.0	14	82	5.9	1	1	-1	0	0.25
13	@Northern Illinois	W35-19	-16.7	24	133	5.5	2	—	—	—	0.30
14	@Eastern Michigan	W31-21	-14.7	16	70	4.4	1	1	8	0	0.10
15	vsMiami (OH)	W23-13	-3.4	19	193	10.2	2	1	2	0	0.52
20	vsKennesaw State	W41-6	-5.4	8	174	21.8	1	—	—	—	—

Usage & Situational · Pro

Snap-share proxy

Overall

21.8%

Passing plays

5.7%

Rushing plays

30.8%

Standard downs

25.9%

Passing downs

12.8%

EPA by down type

Standard downs: 0.17
Passing downs: 0.19
Pass / Rush EPA: -0.22 / 0.21

Usage = share of team plays (CFBD has no true snap counts).

Career · rolling EPA, game by game

Per-game EPA5-game avg

EPA per play · 2023 · 11 games

Chart shows per-game EPA (bars) and rolling 5-game average (line). Season breaks marked with dashed lines. Line value = est. points over replacement per game.