Jalen Mayfield
![]() Mayfield in 2021 | |||||
No. 77 – Atlanta Falcons | |||||
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Position: | Offensive guard | ||||
Personal information | |||||
Born: | Grand Rapids, Michigan | May 23, 2000||||
Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||
Weight: | 320 lb (145 kg) | ||||
Career information | |||||
High school: | Catholic Central (Grand Rapids) | ||||
College: | Michigan (2018–2020) | ||||
NFL Draft: | 2021 / Round: 3 / Pick: 68 | ||||
Career history | |||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2021 | |||||
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Player stats at NFL.com |
Jalen Mayfield (born May 23, 2000) is an American football offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan, and was drafted by the Falcons in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Early life and high school[]
Mayfield grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and attended Catholic Central High School, where he was a four year starter at offensive tackle and defensive end for the football team.[1] Mayfield originally committed to play college football at Minnesota in February of this junior year, but eventually flipped his commitment to Michigan three months later.[2][3][4] As a senior, he was named The Grand Rapids Press Defensive Player of the Year after recording 96 tackles, 31 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, and 3 fumble recoveries and played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.[5][6]
College career[]
Mayfield played in three games at left tackle as a true freshman.[7] He was named the Wolverines' starting right tackle going into his sophomore year and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference after starting all 13 of Michigan's games.[8][9] Following the 2020 season, Mayfield announced that he would forgo his remaining years of college eligibility and enter the 2021 NFL Draft.[10]
Professional career[]
Mayfield was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round (68th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft.[11] He signed his four-year rookie contract with Atlanta on June 15, 2021.[12]
2021 season: Rookie year[]
Heading into his first NFL training camp, Mayfield competed with Kaleb McGary to be the Falcons' starting right tackle. Due to injuries suffered by offensive guards Josh Andrews and Matt Gono, however, Mayfield began taking first-team reps at left guard. At the conclusion of the NFL preseason, Mayfield was named the starting left guard for the Falcons.
Mayfield made his first career start and NFL debut in the Falcons' Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, playing in 90% of the team's offensive snaps. After this game, he would appear in every single offensive snap for the Falcons until Week 17, when an injury suffered late in the fourth quarter of the Falcons' loss to the Buffalo Bills kept him out of the Falcons' Week 18 season finale against the New Orleans Saints.
Overall, Mayfield finished his rookie season appearing in 16 games (16 starts) while finishing as the 75th-graded offensive lineman out of 80 eligible offensive linemen.
References[]
- ^ Wellner, Peter (May 23, 2017). "Catholic Central's Jalen Mayfield commits to Michigan: 'It felt like home'". MLive.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Minnesota lands 3-star OT Jalen Mayfield over Iowa, Michigan State". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Jalen Mayfield splats Gophers in paintball video announcing Michigan commitment". Star Tribune. May 24, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Zucker, Joseph (May 23, 2017). "4-Star OL Jalen Mayfield Flips to Michigan After Being Committed to Minnesota". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Kaminski, Steve (November 21, 2017). "Introducing the 2017 MLive Grand Rapids Press Dream Team Defense". MLive.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ Hutton, Jason (October 3, 2017). "Mayfield selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Game". Fox7Online.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Michigan's Jalen Mayfield in thick of right-tackle competition". Detroit Free Press. April 14, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ McCann, Aaron (August 16, 2019). "Time for Jalen Mayfield to prove himself on Michigan's OL". MLive.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Michigan's Jalen Mayfield debuts at No. 14 on Mel Kiper's first 2021 Big Board". The Detroit News. May 5, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- ^ "Jalen Mayfield declares for the 2021 NFL Draft". WolverineDigest. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ Conway, Kelsey (April 30, 2021). "Falcons select OL Jalen Mayfield in third round of NFL Draft". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
- ^ "Falcons Sign Five Draft Picks". Pro Football Rumors. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
External links[]
- 2000 births
- Living people
- American football offensive tackles
- American football offensive guards
- Players of American football from Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Michigan Wolverines football players
- Atlanta Falcons players