.JPG) James with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015 | |||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born: | (1994-06-04)June 4, 1994 (age 30) Glassport, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 261 lb (118 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | South Allegheny (Glassport, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||
| College: | Penn State | ||||||||
| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2015: 5th round, 160th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Jesse Dylan James (born June 4, 1994) is an American professionalfootballtight end. He playedcollege football atPenn State, and was selected by thePittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round of the2015 NFL draft. He has also been a member of theDetroit Lions,Chicago Bears,Cleveland Browns,New Orleans Saints andLas Vegas Raiders.
James attendedSouth Allegheny Middle/Senior High School inAllegheny County, Pennsylvania.[1] where he was a two-time Second-team All-State selection in bothfootball andbasketball.[2] He was named First-team All-Century Conference as atight end for both hisjunior andsenior seasons.[2] Over the two seasons he recorded 71receptions for 1,030 yards and 10touchdowns.[2] For his final three seasons, he was named a team captain.[2] He was invited to play in the Semper-FidelisAll-American game.[2] He was also named to the 2011Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fabulous 22.[2]
MaxPreps rated him as the nation's No. 3 tight end as a senior.[2] He was rated byRivals.com as a three-star recruit.[3] He committed toPenn State University to playcollege football.[4]
James began attendingPenn State in 2012. He played in 12 games as atrue freshman in 2012, with six starts. He recorded 15 receptions for 276 yards and tied a school record with five receiving touchdowns by a tight end.[2] As a sophomore in 2013, James started all 12 games and recorded 25 receptions for 333 yards and three touchdowns.[5][6] During his junior season in 2014, James broke the school's record for career touchdowns by a tight end, passingTed Kwalick's 10.[7] For the season, he recorded 38 receptions for 396 yards and three touchdowns.
After his junior season, James entered the2015 NFL draft.[8][9] He finished his career at Penn State with 76 receptions for 1,005 yards and 11 touchdowns.[10]
| Season | Team | GP | Receiving | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| 2012 | Penn State | 10 | 15 | 276 | 18.4 | 5 |
| 2013 | Penn State | 10 | 25 | 333 | 13.3 | 3 |
| 2014 | Penn State | 13 | 38 | 396 | 10.4 | 3 |
| Career | 33 | 78 | 1,005 | 12.9 | 11 | |
Coming out of Penn State, James was projected to be drafted anywhere from the fourth to sixth round by the majority of NFL analysts and scouts. He received an invitation to theNFL Combine and completed all of the required drills and positional workouts.[11] On March 19, 2015, James attended Penn State's annualPro Day and succeeded in lowering his times in the40, 20, and 10-yard dash from the combine. He also performed positional drills for representatives and scouts from 19 NFL teams, who attended to scout James,Donovan Smith,Adrian Amos, and eight other Penn State players.[12] He was ranked the fifth best tight end prospect available in the 2015 NFL draft by NFLDraftScout.com and was ranked the 13th best tight end by NFL analyst Charles Davis.[13]
| 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 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 261 lb (118 kg) | 33 in (0.84 m) | 9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 4.83 s | 1.72 s | 2.85 s | 4.50 s | 7.53 s | 37+1⁄2 in (0.95 m) | 10 ft 1 in (3.07 m) | 26 reps | |
| All values fromNFL Scouting Combine.[14][15] | ||||||||||||
James was selected by thePittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round with the 160th overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft.[16] On May 14, 2015, the Steelers signed James to a four-year, $2.48 million rookie contract with $218,912 guaranteed.[10][17] On November 8, 2015, James made his professional regular season debut and caught two passes for 13 yards and also scored his first touchdown on a four-yard reception in a 38–35 victory over theOakland Raiders.[18] As a rookie, he appeared in eight games, recording eight receptions for 56 yards and one touchdown.[19]
The following season in 2016, withHeath Miller retired, and newly signed free agentLadarius Green oninjured reserve, James became the starting tight end to begin the season. James finished the 2016 season with 39 receptions for 338 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 16 games and 13 starts.[20]
On January 8, 2017, James started in his first career postseason game and caught one pass for nine yards as the Steelers defeated theMiami Dolphins 30–12 in theAFC Wild Card Round.[21] He began the regular season as the Steeler'sde facto starting tight end ahead ofVance McDonald.[22] On September 10, in the season opening 21–18 victory over theCleveland Browns, James had six receptions for 41 yards and two touchdowns for his first career multi-touchdown game.[23] During Week 15 against theNew England Patriots, James caught a potential game-winning touchdown, but after a review, it was overturned when officials ruled that James lost control as the ball hit the ground. The controversial moment loomed large asBen Roethlisberger threw aninterception two plays later, resulting in the Steelers losing 27–24 and giving the Patriots anotherAFC East title and eventual #1 seed.[24][25][26] In the 2017 season, he finished with 43 receptions for 372 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.[27]
In Week 2 of the 2018 season, against theKansas City Chiefs, James recorded a career-high 138 receiving yards and a touchdown on five receptions in the 42–37 loss.[28] He played in 16 games with seven starts, recording 30 receptions for 423 yards and two touchdowns.[29]
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On March 14, 2019, James signed a four-year, $22.6 million contract with theDetroit Lions.[30] In the 2019 season, he appeared in all 16 games and recorded 16 receptions for 142 receiving yards.[31] In the 2020 season, James appeared in 16 games and started seven. He had 14 receptions for 129 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.[32] He was released by the Lions on March 12, 2021.[33]
On July 25, 2021, James signed a one-year deal with theChicago Bears.[34] In the 2021 season, he appeared in 14 games and started nine. He had one receiving touchdown on the season.[35]
On September 5, 2022, James signed with theCleveland Browns.[36] He was placed on injured reserve on September 20, 2022.[37] He appeared in two games in the 2022 season.[38]
On May 31, 2023, James signed with theNew Orleans Saints.[39] He was released on August 29, 2023, as a part of the team's final roster cuts.[40]
On November 8, 2023, James was signed to thepractice squad of theLas Vegas Raiders.[41] He was released on November 21, 2023.[42]
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2015 | PIT | 8 | 2 | 8 | 56 | 7.0 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | PIT | 16 | 13 | 39 | 338 | 8.7 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | PIT | 16 | 14 | 43 | 372 | 8.7 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | PIT | 16 | 7 | 30 | 423 | 14.1 | 51 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | DET | 16 | 10 | 16 | 142 | 8.9 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | DET | 16 | 10 | 16 | 129 | 9.2 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | CHI | 14 | 9 | 7 | 62 | 8.9 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | CLE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 104 | 63 | 157 | 1,522 | 9.7 | 51 | 12 | 0 | 0 | |
Media related toJesse James (tight end) at Wikimedia Commons