JACKSONVILLE – 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. "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.

A big part of that learning process were the veterans from whom McLeod learned – at linebacker with Foyesade Oluokun and Dennis Gardeck and in the defensive line room with ends Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker.

"Just taking all the knowledge they've given me … they encourage me, too," McLeod said. "They want to see me win or be successful, so they give me tips, and they also push me to my limit, too, just like the coaches."

Hines-Allen has seen McLeod apply those lessons firsthand, saying during minicamp he has seen McLeod "attacking everyday like a pro."

"He's taking care of his body," Hines-Allen said. "I'm not saying he's beating me in the training room every morning, but he's right next to me working on something. He's eating the right food, he's taking the right notes, he's asking the right questions and it's translating out here on the field."

Added Hines-Allen on Wednesday of minicamp, "There were a couple of good rushes he had today. I can't wait to look at them to kind of just see where he's at and to tell him, 'Hey, next time, once you set him up right here, what's your counter to that? Because you know he's going to overset you. He's going to do this.'

"He's taking those steps. I like Jalen. He plays the run really well. He's going to continue to grow and get better for us."

McLeod said pass rushing is "my favorite part of the game," and he has made sure to approach the art with an eye on how Hines-Allen, Walker and Gardeck pursue quarterbacks. He will look to put all of that into action when the Jaguars take the field in pads during training camp in late July and into August.

Until then, McLeod knows he can continue to learn. He said he is grateful for the return of the vast majority of the Jaguars' defensive staff, including defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile. After spending his rookie year as a student, McLeod can put those lessons into action now.

"Even though I was injured, I was still in meetings," McLeod said. "Everything I took in, everything I learned is [there], now I got to put it on tape. So having the same defensive coordinator, pretty much the whole defensive staff here, it's easier, so I should be able to go out there and play freely and play 100 percent."