| No. 53 – New Orleans Saints | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born: | November 28, 2001 [1] Frisco, Texas, U.S. | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 240 lb (109 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Lone Star (Frisco, Texas) | ||||
| College: | Texas (2020–2023) | ||||
| NFL draft: | 2024: 5th round, 175th pick | ||||
| Career history | |||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||
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Jaylan Ford (born November 28, 2001) is an American professional football linebacker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns.
Ford attended Lone Star High School in Frisco, Texas, where he was the District 5-5A-I Defensive MVP as a junior. [2] A three star prospect, Ford originally committed to play college football for Utah before flipping his commitment to Texas. [2] [3]
After being a role player his first two seasons, Ford emerged as a key contributor for the Longhorns in 2022. [4] [5] [6] On October 15, 2022, Ford recorded 8 tackles and two forced turnovers in a 24–21 win over Iowa State and was named the Big 12 defensive player of the week. [6] [7] Ford finished the season with 119 tackles, the second most of any player in the Big 12. [8] At the conclusion of the season he was named a member of the All Big-12 first team, and third-team All-American by the Associated Press. [9] Ford would return for his senior season, once again earning All Big-12 first team honors. [10]
| Season | GP | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | Ast | Cmb | TfL | Sck | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF | ||
| 2020 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 12 | 29 | 24 | 53 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 13 | 61 | 58 | 119 | 10.0 | 2.0 | 4 | 48 | 12.0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2023 | 13 | 40 | 51 | 91 | 10.5 | 1.0 | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Career | 48 | 135 | 142 | 277 | 27.5 | 3.0 | 6 | 53 | 8.8 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Source: [11] | |||||||||||||||
| 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 2+3⁄8 in (1.89 m) | 240 lb (109 kg) | 31+3⁄4 in (0.81 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 4.72 s | 1.66 s | 2.65 s | 4.24 s | 7.09 s | 33.5 in (0.85 m) | 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) | 18 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day [12] [13] | ||||||||||||
Ford was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fifth round (175th overall) of the 2024 NFL draft. [14] He played in 8 games during his rookie campaign, recording 4 combined tackles. [15] In Week 17 against the Las Vegas Raiders, Ford suffered a fractured fibula, necessitating surgery and effectively ending his season. [16]