 O'Leary with the Buffalo Bills in 2015 | |||||||||
| No. 84, 83, 86 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1992-08-31)August 31, 1992 (age 32) North Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 252 lb (114 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | William T. Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Florida) | ||||||||
| College: | Florida State (2011–2014) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2015: 6th round, 194th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Nicklaus O'Leary (born August 31, 1992) is an American former professionalfootball player who was atight end in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theFlorida State Seminoles, earning consensusAll-American honors in 2014. He was selected by theBuffalo Bills in the sixth round of the2015 NFL draft.
Nicklaus O'Leary is one of five children of Bill and Nan (Nicklaus) O'Leary.[1][2] He attendedDwyer High School inPalm Beach Gardens, Florida, where he playedfootball andlacrosse.[1] He won state titles in both football and lacrosse. As a senior, he had 51 receptions for 875 yards and 12touchdowns.[3] Considered a four-star recruit byRivals.com, he was listed as the top-ranked tight end recruit in his class.[4]
As atrue freshman in 2011, O'Leary played in all 13 games with two starts. He finished the season with 12receptions for 164 yards and one touchdown. As a sophomore in 2012, he started 11 of 13 games, recording 21 receptions for 252 yards and three touchdowns. As a junior in 2013, he was aJohn Mackey Award finalist after recording 33 receptions for 557 yards with seven touchdowns.[5] After considering entering the2014 NFL draft, O'Leary returned to Florida State for his senior season.[6] During his senior season, he set Florida State's record for career receptions for a tight end.[7] He again was a finalist for the John Mackey Award, this time winning it.[8] He was also named a consensusAll-American.[9] O'Leary finished the season with 48 receptions for 618 yards and six touchdowns.[10] For his career, O'Leary had 114 receptions for 1,591 yards and 17 touchdowns.
| Season | Team | GP | Receiving | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | TD | |||
| 2011 | Florida State | 13 | 12 | 164 | 1 |
| 2012 | Florida State | 13 | 21 | 252 | 3 |
| 2013 | Florida State | 12 | 33 | 557 | 7 |
| 2014 | Florida State | 13 | 48 | 618 | 6 |
| Total | 51 | 114 | 1,591 | 17 | |
O'Leary was drafted by theBuffalo Bills in the sixth round (194th overall) of the2015 NFL draft.[11]
On September 8, 2015, the Bills cut O'Leary and re-signed him to thepractice squad two days later.[12] On December 8, 2015, he was promoted to the active roster afterMatthew Mulligan was cut.[13]
On November 12, 2017, in a 47–10 loss to theNew Orleans Saints, he caught his first career touchdown, a seven-yard pass from quarterbackNathan Peterman.[14]
On September 1, 2018, O'Leary was released by the Bills.[15]
On September 20, 2018, O'Leary was signed to theMiami Dolphins' practice squad.[16] He was promoted to the active roster on October 5, 2018.[17] He scored his first touchdown with the Dolphins in Week 6 against the Bears on a five-yard pass fromBrock Osweiler.[18] On December 1, 2018, O'Leary signed a one-year contract extension with the Dolphins through the 2019 season.[19]
On October 29, 2019, O’Leary was released by the Dolphins.
On November 18, 2019, O'Leary was signed by theJacksonville Jaguars.[20]
On April 6, 2020, O'Leary was signed by theLas Vegas Raiders.[21] He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list on May 28, 2020.[22] On June 23, 2020, it was revealed that O'Leary underwent a heart procedure because there was a 100% blockage in one artery adjacent with the heart. Some sources surfaced that O'Leary was retiring from football, but O'Leary still intended to play in 2021, regardless of his recent procedure.[23]
In 2023, O'Leary joined Florida State as a student assistant coach, working with the offense.[24]
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | R/G | Y/G | ||
| 2015 | BUF | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 37 | 37.0 | 37 | 0 | 0.3 | 9.3 |
| 2016 | BUF | 16 | 7 | 14 | 9 | 114 | 12.7 | 28 | 0 | 0.6 | 7.1 |
| 2017 | BUF | 15 | 5 | 32 | 22 | 322 | 14.6 | 32 | 2 | 1.5 | 21.5 |
| 2018 | MIA | 12 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 86 | 10.8 | 19 | 1 | 0.7 | 10.2 |
| 2019 | MIA | 7 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 37 | 9.3 | 19 | 0 | 0.6 | 5.3 |
| JAX | 5 | 3 | 13 | 9 | 72 | 8.0 | 15 | 1 | 1.8 | 14.4 | |
| Career | 59 | 24 | 77 | 53 | 668 | 12.6 | 37 | 4 | 0.8 | 11.3 | |
O'Leary's maternal grandfather is golfing legendJack Nicklaus.[25][26] Nick's father, Bill, was a highly recruited tight end who played at theUniversity of Georgia, and his mother, Nan, played volleyball at Georgia.[27]