.png) Oliver with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 | |||||||||
| No. 84 –Minnesota Vikings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1997-03-21)March 21, 1997 (age 28) Templeton, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 259 lb (117 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Paso Robles (Paso Robles, California) | ||||||||
| College: | San Jose State (2015–2018) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2019: 3rd round, 69th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||
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Josh Oliver (born March 21, 1997) is an American professionalfootballtight end for theMinnesota Vikings of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theSan Jose State Spartans.
Born inTempleton, California, Oliver attendedPaso Robles High School inPaso Robles, California.[1]
His uncle,Clancy Oliver, was an NFLdefensive back for thePittsburgh Steelers from 1969 to 1970 and then-St. Louis Cardinals in 1973, and second cousinDarren Oliver was aMajor League Baseball pitcher from 1993 to 2013, while his father Rene Oliver earned All-Western Football Conference first-team accolades as acornerback atCal Poly in1987 and1988.[2][1]
Josh Oliver played tight end,defensive end, andoutside linebacker on the football team andforward on the basketball team in high school, earning first-team all-county accolades from theSan Luis Obispo Tribune in both sports.[1]
During the 2014 season, Oliver compiled 453 receiving yards and seventouchdown catches in helping PRHS advance to theCIF Southern California Division III championship game.[3]
He was a high school and college teammate ofBailey Gaither, futureUnited States Football League wide receiver and return specialist.
Meanwhile, for his play at linebacker, Oliver was selected as the 2014CIF Southern Section Northern Division Defensive Player of the Year in January 2015.[4] He accumulated 13 sacks and two interceptions (returned for 28 yards) as a senior.
Initially listed as an "athlete" in much of the recruiting process, Oliver was announced as a tight end upon signing aNational Letter of Intent withSan Jose State, as then-positional coachDan Ferrigno commented he "[had] the tools to become an elite tight end."[5]
Oliver played at SJSU from 2015 to 2018.[6][7][8] During his career, he had 98 receptions for 1,067 yards and seven touchdowns, and was a Mountain West Conference All-Academic honoree in all four of his years.[9][10]
As a freshman, his blocking was reportedly recognized to be a significant contributing factor towardTyler Ervin breaking the program's single-season rushing yardage record.[11] He also emerged as a receiving threat, with his first collegiate touchdown catch coming during theSpartans'Cure Bowl victory over Georgia State.
Midway through the2018 season, Oliver won aJohn Mackey Award as the national tight end of the week after producing eight catches for 158 yards against Hawai'i on September 27 (setting a school single-game receiving yardage record by a tight end).[12]
He earned first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection and served as a team captain in 2018, during a season in which his 56 receptions ranked third amongFBS-level tight ends.[13][14] Oliver was invited to theSenior Bowl after the season.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft4+5⁄8 in (1.95 m) | 249 lb (113 kg) | 33+1⁄2 in (0.85 m) | 10+3⁄4 in (0.27 m) | 4.63 s | 1.66 s | 2.76 s | 4.47 s | 7.21 s | 34.0 in (0.86 m) | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) | 22 reps | |
| All values fromNFL Combine[15][16] | ||||||||||||
Oliver was drafted by theJacksonville Jaguars in the third round, 69th overall, of the2019 NFL draft.[17] He was placed oninjured reserve on November 18, 2019.[18]
Oliver had surgery on a broken bone in his foot and was placed on injured reserve again on August 20, 2020.[19]
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On March 18, 2021, Oliver was traded to theBaltimore Ravens in exchange for a conditional 2022 seventh-round selection.[20] He had nine receptions for 66 yards in 14 games in the 2021 season.[21]
In Week 3 of the 2022 season against theNew England Patriots, he caught his first career touchdown pass from a yard out from quarterbackLamar Jackson. He finished the game with two receptions for eight yards and the aforementioned touchdown in the 37–26 win.[22] In the 2022 season, he finished with 14 receptions for 149 yards and two touchdowns.[23] PerPro Football Focus, Oliver graded as the top run-blocking tight end in the NFL amongst the 53 tight ends who played at least 200 blocking snaps for the year.
On March 15, 2023, Oliver signed a three-year, $21 million contract with theMinnesota Vikings.[24] He finished the 2023 season with 22 receptions for 213 yards and two touchdowns.[25]
Oliver finished the 2024 season with 22 receptions for 258 yards and three touchdowns.[26]
