_(cropped).jpg) Fuller with theLos Angeles Rams in 2020 | |||||||||||
| No. 29 – Atlanta Falcons | |||||||||||
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| Position | Safety | ||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | (1998-03-04)March 4, 1998 (age 27) Newark, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight | 203 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | Northern Valley Regional(Old Tappan, New Jersey) | ||||||||||
| College | Ohio State (2016–2019) | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2020: 6th round, 199th overall pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||||
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Jordan Fuller (born March 4, 1998) is an American professionalfootball safety for theAtlanta Falcons of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theOhio State Buckeyes, and was selected by theLos Angeles Rams in the sixth round of the2020 NFL draft.
Fuller was born to Bart Fuller and Cindy Mizelle on March 4, 1998.[1] His mother is a professional touring singer who has performed withBruce Springsteen, theRolling Stones,Whitney Houston andLuther Vandross, among others.[2] He grew up inNorwood, New Jersey and attendedNorthern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan. He played multiple positions for the Golden Knights and was named theGatorade Player of the Year for New Jersey and the State Player of the Year byNJ.com as a senior after rushing for 747 yards and 10 touchdowns, catching 33 passes for 886 yards and five touchdowns and throwing for 135 yards on offense and making 44 tackles and intercepting six passes on defense.[3]
Fuller played in all 13 of the Buckeyes games as a true freshman, playing mostly on special teams with 71 snaps played on defense and making 11 tackles.[4] Fuller was named Ohio State's starting safety going into his sophomore year, replacingMalik Hooker.[5] He finished the season with 70 tackles, including a team-leading 57 solo stops, two tackles for loss and two interceptions and was named third-teamAll-Big Ten Conference and was named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.[6][7]
Fuller was named a team captain going into his junior year.[8] He recorded 81 tackles, second highest on the team, with one interception, four passes broken up and two fumble recoveries.[9] He was named second-team All-Big Ten by the league's coaches and honorable mention by the media and was named an AcademicAll-American.[10][11] Fuller entered his senior season on theJim Thorpe Award andBronko Nagurski Trophy watchlists and was named a second-team preseason All-American by theAssociated Press.[12][13] Fuller was named a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Man of the Year award and theLott IMPACT Trophy and a finalist for theWilliam V. Campbell Trophy.[14] Fuller was named first-team All-Big Ten after finishing the season with 62 tackles, two interceptions, four pass break-ups, and recovered a fumble.[15]
NFL.com lead draft analystLance Zierlein projected that Fuller would be a seventh round pick or a priorityundrafted free agent.[16] NFL draft analyst Matt Miller ofBleacher Report had Fuller ranked as the 20th best safety prospect available in the 2020 NFL Draft.[17] NFL draft analysts projected him to be drafted as early as the fifth-round to possibly as late as the seventh-round of the 2020 NFL Draft.[18]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 2020 Draft Prospects: Jordan Fuller | |
| Inside the Draft: Jordan Fuller |
"He was one of my favorite guys in the draft. I tried to convey that as emotionally as I could. There are some scouts who are excellent presenters. … I’m more analytical, more introverted. So it was about being more firm. Yes, this guy is the top safety. Yes, I would take him. Yes, I love this guy. Yes, I want him (to be a Ram). A couple of years later, I’m the Midwest scout. … (Jordan) played a little as a freshman and then ended up starting three years at Ohio State. He is just so smart. Our (defensive backs) coaches —Ejiro Evero andAubrey Pleasant — those two are smart guys. They always talk about how you only have one chance to find the right angle, and that’s Jordan. He plays with excellent angles. He gets to the football. His range — he’s a big dude, he’s 6-foot-2 and he covers ground, eats up stripes — and he was just always in the right position all the time."[19]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft1+7⁄8 in (1.88 m) | 203 lb (92 kg) | 31 in (0.79 m) | 9 in (0.23 m) | 4.67 s | 1.62 s | 2.75 s | 4.27 s | 35.5 in (0.90 m) | 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m) | |||
| All values fromNFL Combine[20][21] | ||||||||||||
TheLos Angeles Rams selected Fuller in the sixth round (199th overall) of the2020 NFL draft. He was the 17th safety drafted in 2020.[22]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
| Rams select Jordan Fuller No. 199 | |
| Jordan Fuller called by Les Snead |
"Going into the draft, we really felt strongly about needing a third safety at minimum. Lot of scrutiny put on that position. I think from the very beginning, Jordan was a guy who stood out. When you play in that type of (single-safety) scheme, that player is very valuable. It’s kind of thatEarl Thomas role inSeattle that he made famous. There’s a lot of trust put in that player. So Jordan is a guy who stood out by his features (and) length, and he has a really dynamic play style. He’s always in his stance, always in good position. Plays the game with a lot of intensity. The guy is always running to the football at a high speed. He takes really good angles. And the way we play, our defense, we are looking for safeties who can play in the deep part of the field. We are not looking for strong safeties because we view those guys as linebackers. We want guys who can operate in the deep part of the field. He’s an ideal scheme fit for us.”[19]
On July 28, 2020, the Los Angeles Rams signed Fuller to a four–year,$3.46 millionrookiecontract that included an initialsigning bonus of $170,712.[23]
Throughout training camp, he competed againstNick Scott and fellow rookieTerrell Burgess to be the starting free safety after it became available following an injury toTaylor Rapp andEric Weddle choosing to opt out and skip the season due toCOVID-19. Head coachSean McVay named Fuller the starting free safety to begin the season and paired him withJohn Johnson.[24]
On September 13, 2020, Fuller made his professional regular season debut and earned his first career start during the Los Angeles Rams' home-opener against theDallas Cowboys and made a team-high eight combined tackles (five solo) as they won 20–17.[25] The following week, he collected a season-high nine combined tackles (five solo) during a 37–19 win at thePhiladelphia Eagles in Week 2. In Week 3, Fuller exited during the first quarter of a 32–35 loss at theBuffalo Bills after injuring his shoulder and was subsequently inactive for the Rams' 17–9 victory against theNew York Giants in Week 4. On October 13, 2020, the Rams officially placed him oninjured reserve due to his shoulder injury and he was inactive for three games (Weeks 6–8).[26] On November 14, 2020, the Rams removed him from injured reserve and added him back to their active roster.[27] On November 23, 2020, Fuller made four solo tackles, tied his season-high of two pass deflections, and set a career-high with two interceptions to secure a 27–24 win at theTampa Bay Buccaneers onMonday Night Football. He had the first interception of his career on a pass attempt thrown byTom Brady to wide receiverChris Godwin during the third quarter and returned it for 37–yards.[28] The following week, he made four combined tackles (one solo), made a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass byNick Mullens to wide receiverDeebo Samuel as the Rams lost 20–23 against theSan Francisco 49ers in Week 12. He finished his rookie season with a total of 60 combined tackles (43 solo), five pass deflections, and three interceptions in 12 games and 12 starts.[29] He earned an overall grade of 65.6 from Pro Football Focus as a rookie in 2020.[30]
The Los Angeles Rams finished the2020 NFL season second in theNFC West with a 10–6 record to clinch a Wildcard berth. On January 9, 2021, Fuller earned a start in his first career postseason game and recorded seven combined tackles (four solo) during a 30–20 victory at theSeattle Seahawks in the NFC Wild-card Game. The following week, he recorded five combined tackles (three solo) as the Rams lost 18–32 at theGreen Bay Packers in the Divisional Round to be eliminated from the playoffs.
On January 21, 2021, theLos Angeles Rams announced the hiring ofRaheem Morris as the defensive coordinator following the departure ofBrandon Staley, who accepted a head coaching position with theLos Angeles Chargers.[31] During training camp, Fuller competed in an open competition against Taylor Rapp, John Johnson III, Nick Scott, Terrell Burgess, Jovan Grant, Troy Warner, andParis Ford for a starting position at either safety role.[32] Head coach Sean McVay named Fuller the starting strong safety to begin the season and paired him with free safety Taylor Rapp.[33]
In Week 6, he collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (eight solo) as the Rams won 38–11 at theNew York Giants. On November 28, 2021, Fuller made seven combined tackles (three solo) and set a season-high with two pass deflections during a 28–36 loss at theGreen Bay Packers.[34] On December 15, 2021, the Rams officially placed him on theCOVID-19/reserve list, subsequently making him inactive for a 20–10 win against theSeattle Seahawks in Week 15. On December 24, 2021, the Rams removed Fuller from the COVID-19/reserve list and added him back to the active roster.[35] On January 2, 2022, Fuller made six combined tackles (three solo), a pass deflection, and had his only interception of the season on a pass byTyler Huntley to wide receiverMarquise Brown during a 20–19 win at theBaltimore Ravens.[34] He finished the season with a career-high 113 combined tackles (63 solo), four pass deflections, and one interception in 16 games and 16 starts.[34] He received an overall grade of 74.3 fromPro Football Focus, which ranked 20th among all safeties in 2021 and was a career-high overall grade for Fuller.[30]
On January 12, 2022, the Rams officially placed him on injured reserve due to an ankle injury he suffered during a 24–27 overtime loss against theSan Francisco 49ers in Week 18. The Los Angeles Rams finished the2021 NFL season a top the NFC West with a 12–5 record, clinching a playoff berth. In his absence, the Rams went on to defeat theArizona Cardinals 34–11 in the Wild-Card Game, won 30–27 at theTampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional Round, and defeated the San Francisco 49ers 20–17 during the NFC Championship Game. On February 13, 2022, the Los Angeles Rams defeated theCincinnati Bengals 23–20 to winSuper Bowl LVI, earning Fuller his first and only careerSuper Bowl ring.[36]
During training camp, he competed for a role as a starting safety against Taylor Rapp and Nick Scott. Head coach Sean McVay named Fuller a backup safety to start the season, behind starting safeties Nick Scott with Taylor Rapp.[37]
In Week 2, Fuller collected a season-high eight combined tackles (six solo) during a 31–17 win against theAtlanta Falcons. He was inactive during a 20–12 win at theArizona Cardinals in Week 3 due to a hamstring injury. On October 8, 2022, the Los Angeles Rams officially placed Fuller on injured reserve due to his hamstring injury.[38] He finished the2022 NFL season with 12 combined tackles (nine solo) in three games and one start and was inactive for the last 13 games (Weeks 5–18) of the season.[39]
Throughout training camp, Fuller competed to be a starting safety againstRuss Yeast andQuentin Lake following the departures ofTaylor Rapp andNick Scott. Head coach Sean McVay named him the starting strong safety to begin the season and paired him with free safety Russ Yeast.[40]
On October 8, 2023, he racked up a career-high 12 combined tackles (seven solo) and broke up a pass as the Rams lost 14–23 to thePhiladelphia Eagles.[41] In Week 12, Fuller made three combined tackles (two solo) and set a career-high with four pass deflections during a 37–14 victory at theArizona Cardinals.[41] On December 21, 2023, Fuller recorded two solo tackles, made one pass deflection, and intercepted a pass thrown byDerek Carr to wide receiverJuwan Johnson as the Rams defeated theNew Orleans Saints 30–22.[41] The following week, he recorded eight combined tackles (seven solo), made a pass deflection, and tied his career-high of three interceptions on a pass thrown byTyrod Taylor to wide receiverDarius Slayton during a 26–25 win at theNew York Giants in Week 17. He started all 17 games for the first time in his career and had a total of 91 combined tackles (63 solo), eight pass deflections, and tied his career-high of three interceptions.[41] He received an overall grade of 67.9 fromPro Football Focus.[42]
On March 15, 2024, theCarolina Panthers signed Fuller to a one–year, $3.25 million contract that includes $3.05 million guaranteed upon signing and an initial signing bonus of $1.93 million.[23] It reunited him with defensive coordinatorEjiro Evero, who previously coached him as theLos Angeles Rams safeties coach and pass game coordinator (2017–2021), and also reunited him with former Rams' teammateNick Scott (2019–2022).[43][44]
He entered training camp slated as thede facto starting free safety following the departure ofVonn Bell. Head coachDave Canales named him the starting free safety to begin the season and paired him with strong safetyXavier Woods.[45]
On September 8, 2024, Fuller made his debut with the Carolina Panthers in their season-opener at theNew Orleans Saints and made seven combined tackles (four solo) as they lost 10–47. On September 24, 2024, the Panthers officially placed him on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury.[46] On November 9, 2024, the Panthers removed Fuller from injured reserve and placed him back onto the active roster after he missed six consecutive games (Weeks 4-9).[47] In Week 15, Fuller collected a season-high nine combined tackles (four solo) as the Panthers lost 14–30 against theDallas Cowboys. He was inactive as a healthy scratch for two games (Weeks 16-17).[48] He finished the2024 NFL season with a total of 54 combined tackles (28 solo) and one pass deflection in nine games and nine starts.[49] He received an overall grade of 53.8 fromPro Football Focus, which ranked 135th among 170 qualifying safeties in 2024.
On March 20, 2025, theAtlanta Falcons signed Fuller to a one-year, $1.33 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $80,000.[50][23] Fuller suffered a knee injury in Atlanta's Week 2 game against theMinnesota Vikings, a malady that caused him to be placed on injured reserve on September 13.[51] He was activated on October 25, ahead of the team's Week 8 matchup against theMiami Dolphins.[52]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackling | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | FF | FR | Yds | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | ||
| 2020 | LAR | 12 | 12 | 60 | 42 | 18 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 45 | 15.0 | 37 | 0 | 5 |
| 2021 | LAR | 16 | 16 | 113 | 63 | 50 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 34 | 34.0 | 34 | 0 | 4 |
| 2022 | LAR | 3 | 1 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | LAR | 17 | 17 | 94 | 61 | 33 | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 39 | 13.0 | 21 | 0 | 8 |
| Career | 48 | 46 | 279 | 175 | 104 | 0.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 118 | 16.8 | 37 | 0 | 17 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackling | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | FF | FR | Yds | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | ||
| 2020 | LAR | 2 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 2 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Fuller's older brother,Devin Fuller, playedcollege football atUCLA and spent two seasons with theAtlanta Falcons.[53] He is the nephew of comedianSinbad.[54]
