Conklin with theCleveland Browns in 2021 | |||||||
| No. 78 – Cleveland Browns | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Offensive tackle | ||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | (1994-08-17)August 17, 1994 (age 31) Plainwell, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||
| Weight | 308 lb (140 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | Plainwell (MI) | ||||||
| College | Michigan State (2012–2015) | ||||||
| NFL draft | 2016: 1st round, 8th overall pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2025 | |||||||
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Jonathan Jackson Conklin[1] (born August 17, 1994) is an American professionalfootballoffensive tackle for theCleveland Browns of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theMichigan State Spartans and was drafted by theTennessee Titans eighth overall in the2016 NFL draft. Conklin has been named a first-teamAll-Pro twice.
Conklin was born inPlainwell, Michigan on August 17, 1994, to Darren Conklin and Jennifer Jackson. He attendedPlainwell High School in Plainwell, where he played football under his father who was the head coach.[2] Conklin also played basketball in high school.
Conklin joined theMichigan State University football team as awalk-on player.[3][4]
After redshirting his first year, Conklin started 13 of 14 games at either right or leftoffensive tackle hisredshirt freshman year in 2013. As a sophomore, Conklin started all 13 games at left tackle.[5] He was selected as a 2015 First-teamAll-American (Sporting News,USA Today) as well as the 2015 First-teamAll-Big Ten Conference (coaches, media).[6]
During his career with the Spartans, Conklin started in 38 of his 39 career games (35 at left tackle and three at right tackle).[6] On January 6, 2016, Conklin announced that he would forgo his senior season and declare for the2016 NFL draft.[7]
Conklin was projected to be a top ten pick going into the 2016 NFL Draft by NFL draft experts and scouts after he had a successful junior year where he only gave up two sacks and was penalized twice. Conklin attended private workout of pre-draft visits with multiple teams, including theBuffalo Bills,San Diego Chargers,Pittsburgh Steelers,Tennessee Titans,New York Jets,Indianapolis Colts,Atlanta Falcons,Detroit Lions, andTampa Bay Buccaneers during his pre-draft process.[8]
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At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Conklin was projected to be a first round pick and was expected to among the first 15 players selected by NFL draft experts and scouts.[9] He was ranked as the third best offensive tackle prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com, NFL analystMike Mayock, andESPN analyst Jeff Legwold.[10][11] Conklin was ranked the fourth best offensive tackle bySports Illustrated.[12]
| 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 ft5+3⁄4 in (1.97 m) | 308 lb (140 kg) | 35 in (0.89 m) | 10+3⁄8 in (0.26 m) | 5.00 s | 1.76 s | 2.92 s | 4.57 s | 7.63 s | 30.0 in (0.76 m) | 8 ft 7 in (2.62 m) | 25 reps | |
| All values fromNFL Combine[13][14] | ||||||||||||
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The Titans selected Conklin in the first round (eighth overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft.[15] They traded their first (15th overall) and third round (76th overall) picks to theCleveland Browns in order to receive the eighth overall pick, as well as a sixth round pick (176th overall), to draft Conklin.[16] Conklin was the second offensive tackle drafted after the unexpected draft fall of top-ranked offensive tackleLaremy Tunsil.[17]
On May 26, 2016, Conklin signed a four-year, $15.89 millionrookie contract with $15.44 million guaranteed and asigning bonus of $9.76 million.[18]
Conklin enteredtraining camp slated as the starting right tackle, replacingByron Bell. Head coachMike Mularkey named Conklin the starting right tackle to begin the regular season. Conklin joined starting left tackleTaylor Lewan, offensive guardsQuinton Spain andChance Warmack, and centerBen Jones.[19]
Conklin made his professional regular season debut and first NFL start in the Titans' season-opening 25–16 loss to theMinnesota Vikings. On December 21, 2016, it was announced that Conklin was selected as an alternate for the2017 Pro Bowl.[20] He started in all 16 games during his rookie season in 2016 and was named First-teamAll-Pro.[21] Conklin was also named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.[22] He received an overall grade of 88.9 fromPro Football Focus (PFF), which was the fifth highest among all offensive linemen in 2016 and was the highest overall grade among all rookie offensive linemen.[23] The Titans' offensive line was ranked as the top offensive line in the league in 2016 by PFF.[24] The Titans finished 9–7 from a 3–13 record the previous season and narrowly missed the playoffs.

Mularkey retained Conklin and Taylor Lewan as the starting offensive tackles in 2017. Conklin started all 16 games at right tackle in 2017 and received an overall grade of 81.8 from PFF.[25] His grade ranked 12th among all offensive tackles in 2017.[26]
The Titans finished second in theAFC South with a 9–7 record in 2017 and earned a playoff berth for the first time since 2008. On January 6, 2018, Conklin started in his first career playoff game as the Titans narrowly defeated theKansas City Chiefs 22–21 in the AFC Wildcard Game. Conklin tore hisACL during a 35–14 road loss to theNew England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round.[27]
On January 15, 2018, the Titans announced their decision to fire Mularkey.[28] Five days later, the Titans announced their decision to hire theHouston Texans' defensive coordinatorMike Vrabel as their new head coach.[29] On January 26, it was reported that Conklin's surgery to repair historn ACL had successfully been completed.[30] Offensive coordinatorMatt LaFleur retained the starting offensive line, that also included starting left tackleTaylor Lewan, offensive guardsQuinton Spain andJosh Kline, and center Ben Jones.[31]
Conklin missed the first three games of the season in order to recover from his ACL injury. Conklin suffered an injury during the 28–14 Week 9 victory against theDallas Cowboys. He soon entered concussion protocol.[32] Conklin would not play the next week against the Patriots. However, he did return for the Week 11 game against the Colts.[33] Conklin then suffered a knee injury three weeks later against theJacksonville Jaguars and was placed oninjured reserve on December 11.[34] The Titans finished 9–7 for the third consecutive year.
On May 1, 2019, the Titans declined the fifth-year option on Conklin's contract, making him a free agent in 2020.[35]
Conklin started all 16 games for the Titans in 2019, helpingDerrick Henry win the NFL rushing yards title. The Titans finished 9–7 for the fourth consecutive year and qualified for the playoffs as the #6-seed in the AFC. In the playoffs, the Titans won upsets over the Patriots and theBaltimore Ravens, with Conklin blocking for Henry as he ran for nearly 200 yards in each game before losing the AFC Championship Game to eventual Super Bowl championsKansas City Chiefs with Conklin starting all three playoff games.
On March 20, 2020, Conklin signed a three-year, $42 million contract with theCleveland Browns.[36] He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on November 18,[37] and activated three days later.[38] Conklin was named to the2020 All-Pro Team, along with three of his teammates: defensive endMyles Garrett and guardsJoel Bitonio andWyatt Teller.[39][40]
On November 6, 2021, Conklin was placed on injured reserve with an elbow injury.[41] He was activated on November 27.[42] The next day, a Week 12Sunday Night Football matchup against the Ravens, Conklin suffered a right knee injury putting him out of the game. It was later revealed that Conklin tore his patellar tendon and was placed on season ending injured reserve.[43]
On December 23, 2022, Conklin signed a four-year, $60 million contract extension with the Browns through the 2026 season.[44]
In Week 1 of the 2023 season, Conklin suffered a torn ACL and MCL and was placed on season-ending injured reserve on September 12, 2023.[45]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Offense | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Snaps | Pct | Holding | False start | Decl/Pen | Acpt/Pen | ||||
| 2016 | TEN | 16 | 16 | 1,061 | 100% | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2017 | TEN | 16 | 16 | 1,021 | 100% | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2018 | TEN | 9 | 9 | 498 | 90% | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2019 | TEN | 16 | 16 | 933 | 94% | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2020 | CLE | 15 | 15 | 1,002 | 100% | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2021 | CLE | 7 | 7 | 361 | 77% | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2022 | CLE | 14 | 14 | 914 | 95% | 4 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2023 | CLE | 1 | 1 | 22 | 30% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2024 | CLE | 12 | 12 | 817 | 97% | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Career | 106 | 106 | 6,629 | – | 14 | 10 | 8 | 32 | |||
Conklin resides with his wife, Caitlyn Riley, and their daughter.[46]