Despite getting interest from more than a dozen NFL franchises, former Jackson State football star wide receiver Malachi Wideman did not get selected in the NFL Supplemental Draft.
Wideman nor former Purdue wide receiver Milton Wright were picked in Tuesday’s proceedings. Both players are now eligible to be signed as free agents.
Malachi Wideman started his career at the University of Tennessee in 2020. He was rated as a four-star prospect by 247, ESPN and Rivals in the 2020 class. He played in six games as a reserve at UT before hitting the transfer portal following the summer, latching on with Jackson State football.
The 2021 season was a breakout campaign for Wideman. He tied for the SWAC lead in touchdown receptions with 12 while catching 34 passes for 540 yards as one of Shedeur Sanders’ big-play targets during that 11-2 season as the team won the SWAC title and made it all the way to the Celebration Bowl.
He also played on the basketball squad that season, contributing several highlight-reel dunks.
The 2022 season was not nearly as productive, as Malachi Wideman played just six games and caught only three passes. A 29 yard touchdown catch against Grambling State was his lone score of the season.
Wideman’s former coach, Deion Sanders, said he had spoken with a team about him recently.
“I’m not going to tell you the team, but it’s a team who just called me yesterday about Malachi, and I told him the truth about Malachi, (He’s) a Florida boy, so you know he’s one of my favorites,” Sanders told Thee Pregame Show. “There are certain things that Malachi has to work on as a young man to develop himself to being a professional. A lot of these guys think when you go pro, you go pro. So you got to be a pro before you’re pro. You don’t get to the pros and say, I’m a pro. Malachi just has to work on some personal things that constitutes that he’s a pro even before he makes it to the pro.”