 Payton with the Cleveland Browns in 2016 | |||||||
| No. 84 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | (1993-09-01)September 1, 1993 (age 31) Torrance, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 209 lb (95 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Oaks Christian School (Westlake Village, California) | ||||||
| College: | UCLA | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 2016: 5th round, 154th pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Jordan Joseph Payton (born September 1, 1993)[1] is an American former professionalfootball player who was awide receiver for theCleveland Browns in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theUCLA Bruins, ending his career as the school's leader in careerreceptions. Payton was selected by the Browns in the fifth round of the2016 NFL draft.
Payton was born inTorrance, California, inLos Angeles County to Kathy and Jerry Payton,[1] who playedlinebacker atCrenshaw High.[2] Payton played catch as a youngster with older brother Michael, who later playedcollege football atOregon State. As an eight-year-old playingPop Warner football, Payton was a backuplineman when his mother convinced the coach to play him atwide receiver during a game which they were trailing athalftime. On his first play, he caught a deep pass for atouchdown.[3]
Payton grew up inSanta Monica, California, but attended high school inWestlake Village atOaks Christian School.[4] As a sophomore, he had 45receptions for 1,088 yards for a 24.5-yard average and 18 touchdowns. He also played atdefensive back and had 30tackles and threeinterceptions.[2] He had two games with 10 or more receptions as a junior, and finished the year with a team-leading 61 receptions for 840 yards and 9 touchdowns.[5] In his senior year, he caught 61 throws for 769 yards and 10 touchdowns.[6]
Payton verbally committed to three other colleges before ending up withUCLA. As a junior, he committed to play college football withUSC, but the school was subsequently hit byNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sanctions, and CoachPete Carroll left for theNational Football League (NFL). A senior in 2012, Payton was then set to play forCalifornia, but changed his commitment afterTosh Lupoi, one of the top recruiters in the nation, left the school forWashington.[7][8] Payton announced on national television onESPNU that he had decided to go to Washington, but he changed his mind again and settled on UCLA the following day.[8] He took a chance on Bruins coachJim Mora, who was hired only months earlier, and a program that USC had recently shutout 50–0.[9] Payton was ranked No. 15 in the nation at wide receiver by bothScout.com andRivals.com, and No. 29 by ESPNU.[8]
Payton started 10 games as a sophomore in2013 and ranked third on the team with 38 receptions and 440 yards. He did not put up extraordinary numbers, matching his freshman touchdown total of one.[10]
As a junior in2014, Jordan broke out in the season opener with eight catches for 98 yards, both career-highs at the time, in a 28–20 win overVirginia.[10] He emerged as the Bruins' No. 1 receiver,[11] finishing the season with 67 catches, the most by a Bruin sinceCraig Bragg had 73 in2003. He also finished with team-highs of 954 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, and earnedAll-Pac-12 Conference honorable mention.[12][13] Payton had three 100-yard games, and nine times he finished with at least five receptions. In a 62–27 win overArizona State, he made five catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns.[14]
Although three-year startingquarterbackBrett Hundley was leaving school early for the2015 NFL draft,[15] Payton opted to return for his senior year in part due to the potential he saw in incoming freshman quarterbackJosh Rosen.[16] Prior to the2015 season, Payton made the preseason watch list for theFred Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation's top receiver.[12] After needing a few games to develop a rapport with Rosen,[11] he tied the single-game school record with 14 receptions, set originally byJ. J. Stokes, for 152 yards in a 31–27 loss toWashington State.[17] The following week, he had seven catches for 105 yards in a 17–9 win overUtah to pass Bragg (193) as the Bruins career leader in receptions.[18][19] Payton also became UCLA's first player sinceNelson Rosario in2011 to reach 1,000 yards in a season.[20] The victory kept UCLA in contention to win the conference entering their regular season finale against USC,[18] but the Bruins lost 40–21 to the Trojans for Payton's lone loss inthe crosstown rivalry.[21] He ended the season with 78 catches, the second-highest season total in school history,[22] and again received honorable mention for the all-conference team.[23] He finished his career as the first Bruin with over 200 receptions (201).[22]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft1+1⁄8 in (1.86 m) | 207 lb (94 kg) | 32+1⁄2 in (0.83 m) | 10+1⁄8 in (0.26 m) | 4.47 s | 4.33 s | 7.08 s | 34.5 in (0.88 m) | 10 ft 1 in (3.07 m) | ||||
| All values fromNFL Combine[24] | ||||||||||||
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Payton was selected by theCleveland Browns in the fifth round of the2016 NFL draft, 154th overall.[25] He was one of four receivers drafted by the team that year.[26] On May 13, he signed a four-year contract worth about $2.58 million, which included a signing bonus of about $244,000.[27] The Browns were coached byHue Jackson, who was a former coach of Payton's role model and mentor, former NFL receiverT. J. Houshmandzadeh. Payton's brother Michael and Houshmandzadeh were college teammates at Oregon State.[28] Payton was suspended the final four games of the2016 season for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing drugs. He finished his rookie season with one reception for three yards.[29]
On September 2, 2017, Payton was waived by the Browns.[30]
