Nyjalik Kelly picked a good time to make his case.
With NFL roster cuts looming Sunday, the former UCF EDGE turned in the kind of preseason performance that gets noticed in a hurry for Green Bay against the Arizona Cardinals on Friday night. Kelly filled the stat sheet with an interception, a sack, two tackles for loss, four pressures and a pass breakup, giving the Packers plenty to think about heading into the final decisions.
The interception was the kind of snap that can swing a preseason game and a roster battle at the same time. Kelly burst off the line, dropped into a hard flat on the right sideline and reached out for the grab. His teammates swarmed him after the play, and Kelly capped the moment with a Lambeau Leap.
He wasn’t done there. Later, with Green Bay clinging to a one-point lead, Kelly worked around the edge against Arizona’s left tackle and chased down Kedon Slovis for a sack. It was Kelly’s second straight game with a sack, another strong marker in a preseason that has kept him on the radar.
Kelly’s showing comes as several former UCF players have used the preseason to try to carve out NFL jobs. First-round pick Malachi Lawrence was the most notable Knight to land with an NFL team, but a number of other former UCF players signed as undrafted free agents after the draft. Kelly, who played opposite Lawrence on UCF’s defensive line, has been one of the most active of that group in Green Bay.
He’s also been building toward this moment for a while. Kelly recently signed a contract with the Packers worth upwards of $250,000, and at minimum he is set to stick around on the practice squad. He also has Jaden Nixon, another former Knights running back, alongside him in Green Bay.
At UCF, Kelly put together a productive career with 12.5 sacks and more than 100 tackles. His senior season stood out in particular: three sacks, 46 tackles and an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. He also led the team with eight quarterback hurries.
Kelly’s playmaking showed up in more than one way in college. He forced a team-high two fumbles, and both of those - against N.C.
A&T and West Virginia - were returned for touchdowns. He also picked off the only interception of his career.
Before heading to the draft, Kelly had been exploring the possibility of a medical redshirt because of missed time earlier in his career, but he ultimately chose to move on and posted a message to Knight Nation.
"I have been blessed and fortunate over the past two seasons, to have played for Coach Frost and the entire Knights Coaching Staff. Thank you for the amazing opportunity to be a part of Knight Nation," Kelly wrote.
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Tabansi, who arrived with a reputation as one of the MACs better offensive linemen, sounds bought in on the direction and the work required to make it happen. For UCF, the appeal is obvious: if the protection holds and the new pieces click, the Knights could have a passing identity that keeps defenses on edge and gives fans a different kind of reason to pay attention this fall. [Read more 🡒]