Colby Parkinson

Last updated

Colby Parkinson
No. 84  Los Angeles Rams
Position Tight end
Roster statusActive
Personal information
Born (1999-01-08) January 8, 1999 (age 27)
San Ramon, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight265 lb (120 kg)
Career information
High school Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, California)
College Stanford (2017–2019)
NFL draft 2020: 4th round, 133rd overall pick
Career history
Awards and highlights
  • Second-team All-Pac-12 (2019)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2025
Receptions 130
Receiving yards 1,320
Receiving touchdowns 13
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Colby John Parkinson (born January 8, 1999) is an American professional football tight end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL draft.

Contents

Early life

Parkinson attended Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village, California, where he played varsity football and basketball. [1] [2] [3] Playing for head coach Jim Benkert during his career at Oaks Christian, Parkinson was also teammates with fellow future NFL players Michael Pittman Jr. and Darnay Holmes. [4] In 2015, his junior football season, he caught 24 passes for 489 yards and four touchdowns. [5] In December of the same year he committed to play college football at Stanford University. [6] During his senior year, Parkinson caught 33 passes for 531 yards and two TDs in leading the Lions to a second straight Marmonte League title. He capped his high school football career by playing in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, [7] and was named to the USA Today All-USA first team and was named a four- or five-star recruit by numerous scouting outfits and publications. [8]

College career

In 2017, Parkinson's freshman year at Stanford, he appeared in all 14 of Stanford's games, catching ten passes for 97 yards and four touchdowns. [9]

As a sophomore in 2018, Parkinson played in 13 games (nine starts), catching 29 passes for 485 yards and seven touchdowns. [10] On November 10, in a game versus Oregon State, Parkinson had six catches for 166 yards and four touchdowns, tying the Stanford record for most touchdowns in a single game for a tight end. [11] [12] He earned All-Pac-12 Conference honorable mention. [13]

After his 2019 junior season where he had 48 catches for 589 yards and one touchdown, Parkinson announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2020 NFL draft. [14]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 7+14 in
(2.01 m)
252 lb
(114 kg)
33+14 in
(0.84 m)
9+58 in
(0.24 m)
4.77 s1.65 s2.81 s4.46 s7.15 s32.5 in
(0.83 m)
9 ft 1 in
(2.77 m)
18 reps
All values from NFL Combine [15] [16]

Seattle Seahawks

In the 2020 NFL draft, Parkinson was selected in the fourth round with the 133rd overall pick by the Seattle Seahawks. [17] He was placed on the active/non-football injury list at the start of training camp on August 3, 2020. [18] He was moved to the reserve/non-football injury list at the start of the regular season on September 5, 2020. [19] He was activated on October 31. [20] He appeared in six games as a rookie, catching two passes for 16 yards, both of which came in a 40-3 win over the New York Giants in Week 14. [21]

On September 7, 2021, Parkinson was placed on injured reserve with a broken foot. [22] He returned to the roster on October 2, 2021. [23] He caught five passes for 33 yards while appearing in 14 games during the 2021 season and made his first career start in a 38-30 win at Arizona in Week 18 in which he caught two passes for 14 yards. [24]

In Week 1 of the 2022 season, Parkinson scored his first NFL touchdown on a 25-yard pass from Geno Smith in the Seahawks' 17-16 victory over the Denver Broncos. [25] He finished the regular season with 25 receptions for 322 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in 17 games and two starts. [26] In the 2023 season, he finished with 25 receptions for 247 yards and two touchdowns. [27]

Los Angeles Rams

On March 14, 2024, Parkinson signed a three-year contract with the Los Angeles Rams worth up to $22.5 million. [28] In the 2024 season, he played in all 17 regular season games, starting in nine, and finished with 30 receptions for 294 yards. Against Green Bay in Week 5, Parkinson caught a career single-game best seven receptions for 52 yards in L.A.'s 24-19 loss. Parkinson scored his only touchdown of the season on a 19-yard reception in the Rams' 28-22 victory over New England in Week 11. [29] Against Philadelphia in the NFC Divisional Round, he had a receiving touchdown in the Rams' 28-22 loss. [30]

In 2025, Parkinson started in 10 out of 15 games he played in, as the Rams began to frequently utilize a "13 Personnel" set involving multiple tight ends. He set new single season marks with 43 receptions for 408 yards. Against Detroit in Week 15, Parkinson set a new single-game career high for receiving yards with 75 (on five receptions) in the Rams' 41-34 win, during which he scored two touchdowns for the first multi-TD game of his career. Parkinson caught two more touchdowns in L.A.'s season-ending 37-20 victory over Arizona in Week 18, setting a new team single season record for touchdown receptions by a tight end with eight (breaking the previous mark of six shared by Damone Johnson, Troy Drayton, and Roland Williams). [31]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Won the Super Bowl
BoldCareer high

Regular season

YearTeamGamesReceivingFumbles
GPGSRecYdsAvgLngTDFumLost
2020 SEA 602168.00000
2021 SEA 1415336.612000
2022 SEA 1722532212.939200
2023 SEA 171252479.927200
2024 LAR 179302949.823100
2025 LAR 1510434089.526811
Career 86231301,32010.2391311

Postseason

YearTeamGamesReceivingFumbles
GPGSRecYdsAvgLngTDFumLost
2022 SEA 113144.75000
2024 LAR 214225.57100
Career 327365.17100

References

  1. Sondheimer, Eric (August 18, 2016). "Colby Parkinson of Westlake Village's Oaks Christian loves getting 'down and dirty' at tight end". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  2. "VIDEO: Colby Parkinson, the nation's No. 1 tight end, is really tough to bring down". USA Today High School Sports. September 5, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  3. Ledin, Lorin (August 20, 2016). "Colby Parkinson positioned for a big, big season". Ventura County Star. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  4. Applebaum, Eliav (April 30, 2020). "Oaks Christian represents California at NFL draft". TOAcorn.com. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  5. Askeland, Kevin (August 23, 2016). "Preseason Top 25 Athletes to Watch, presented by Motorola: No. 22 Colby Parkinson". Maxpreps.com. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  6. Sondheimer, Eric (December 19, 2015). "Football: Oaks Christian tight end Colby Parkinson commits to Stanford". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  7. Hummer, Chris (January 3, 2017). "Five-star Colby Parkinson is the next great Stanford tight end". 247sports.com. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  8. "Colby Parkinson Football 2017 - Stanford Cardinal - Official Athletics Website". GoStanford.com. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  9. Trevino, Chris (June 26, 2018). "Top 5 tight ends USC football will face in 2018". 247sports.com. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  10. Kroner, Steve (August 30, 2019). "Football preview between Stanford and the North West: players to watch, stories, TV news - Sport Archives". Archysport. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019.
  11. FitzGerald, Tom (November 10, 2018). "Stanford's Colby Parkinson ties school record with 4 TD catches in win". sfgate.com. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  12. FitzGerald, Tom (November 14, 2018). "Tragedies weighed heavily on Stanford's Colby Parkinson during career night". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  13. "Pac-12 Announces Football All-Academic Teams". pac-12.com. December 3, 2018. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  14. "Stanford tight end Colby Parkinson declares for NFL draft". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 20, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  15. "Colby Parkinson Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  16. "2020 NFL Draft Scout Colby Parkinson College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  17. Boyle, John (April 25, 2020). "Seahawks Select Stanford TE Colby Parkinson In Fourth Round Of 2020 NFL Draft". Seahawks.com. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  18. Boyle, John (August 3, 2020). "Seahawks TE Will Dissly Passes Physical; RB Rashaad Penny Opens Camp On PUP List". Seahawks.com. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  19. Boyle, John (September 5, 2020). "Seahawks Make Roster Moves To Establish Initial 53-Man Roster". Seahawks.com. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  20. Boyle, John (October 31, 2020). "Seahawks Activate D.J. Reed & Colby Parkinson From NFI List, Elevate Two From Practice Squad". Seahawks.com. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  21. "Colby Parkinson 2020 Game Log". Pro Football Reference . Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  22. Boyle, John (September 7, 2021). "Seahawks Place Three On Injured Reserve; Add Blessuan Austin, Penny Hart & John Reid To 53-Man Roster". Seahawks.com. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  23. Boyle, John (October 2, 2021). "Seahawks Activate Colby Parkinson & Cedric Ogbuehi From IR, Place Rashaad Penny On IR". Seahawks.com. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  24. "Colby Parkinson 2021 Game Log". Pro Football Reference . Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  25. "Denver Broncos at Seattle Seahawks - September 12th, 2022". Pro Football Reference . Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  26. "Colby Parkinson 2022 Game Log". Pro Football Reference . Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  27. "Colby Parkinson 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  28. Jackson, Stu (March 14, 2024). "Rams sign TE Colby Parkinson to 3-year deal". TheRams.com. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  29. "Colby Parkinson 2024 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  30. "Divisional Round - Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles - January 19th, 2025". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  31. Vierra, Brock (January 5, 2026). "Rams' Colby Parkinson Talks on Franchise Record-Setting Performance". SI.com. Retrieved January 9, 2026.