Bolts From The Blue
Height: 5’11
Weight: 180 pounds
College: Georiga Tech
Experience: Rookie
Shelley was rated as a three-star prospect by ESPN and Rivals.com coming out of high school. He helped Langston Hughes High School to a 13-2 record and a region championship during his senior year in 2021. His team fell just short of winning a state title, as well.
That year, he hauled in 38 passes for 744 yards and 10 touchdowns on offense while picking off five passes and breaking up four more on defense. On special teams, Shelley returned both a kickoff and punt for touchdowns.
After committing to Georgia Tech, Shelley saw time in 20 games as a true freshman (2022), recording seven total tackles. In 2023, he played in 13 games with his first two career starts coming in the final two contests. Shelley recorded a career high 17 tackles and blocked a kick while breaking up one pass.
In 2024, Shelley played in 11 games with four more starts coming in the final four games of the year. He ended that year with 19 total tackles, five tackles for loss, and another blocked kick. The following year — his last year of eligibility — Shelley started seven games while playing in 11 total games. He ended the year with a career-high two interceptions and five pass breakups despite missing two games to injury.
Shelley put up some notable athletic numbers during the pre-draft process.
His 4.45 40 checks the box for long speed and his even better 10- and 20-yard splits are good signs that he can turn on the gas and go when needed.
Shelley did a lot of things for the Yellowjacket defense, playing both inside and outside corner. Undrafted guys always benefit from being able to contribute on special teams and Shelley was active in multiple ways Georgia Tech, including both covering kicks and returning them.
Shelley never quite held down a starting job for an entire season which creates some doubt in his ability to be a reliant player week-in and week-out in the pros. His production was unsurprisingly middling given his lack of consistent starts as he had just two picks and eight pass breakups across his four-year career.
He’ll have to go against lot of history to make an impact at the next level in any way outside of special teams.
Shelley joins a cornerback room that just added two other players at his position in their UDFA haul (Jerry Wilson, Avery Smith). Luckily for him, Wilson has already been placed on the reserve/injured list, making his path to a practice squad spot that much easier. Still, the likes of Eric Rogers — who stood out during last year’s preseason — will return from his injury that kept him out of action in 2025 this year, as well. Shelley’s got his work cut out for him and the best way to stick around this year will seemingly be...
