**JACKSONVILLE** – [Jalen McLeod](/team/players-roster/jalen-mcleod/)'s wait is over and that's good.
He's ready for his second NFL season, which in a very real sense will be his first NFL season. For the Jaguars' linebacker, that means an opportunity to implement lessons learned during a rookie season spent injured, watching and waiting.
> "I'm very excited," McLeod said.
McLeod, a sixth-round selection by the Jaguars in the 2025 NFL Draft – No. 194 overall – from Auburn University, spent his rookie season on the Reserve/Injured list with an ankle injury sustained in training camp.
He learned as he watched. He also liked what he saw.
"The energy, you could feel it from the sideline," McLeod said during the Jaguars' recent three-day mandatory veteran minicamp at the [Miller Electric Center](https://www.jaguars.com/millerelectriccenter). "You could feel the stadium rocking, everything. So, me adding on with my talents and adding on to the team – I'm ready.
> "I'm ready and I'm excited."
While McLeod did not make his official debut last season, he said he was still able to use his rookie season to grow other areas of his game.
> "The main thing I learned was how to be a pro – how to make your own schedule, how to take care of your body, how to just follow footsteps of everybody that has been here for five-plus, six-plus years," McLeod said. "That was the main thing I consumed."
McLeod called the season "like a developmental year," saying it helped him focus on how to prepare himself and work on his technique and details.