Jer'Zhan Newton

Jer'Zhan Newton

Newton in 2024
No. 95 – Washington Commanders
Position:	Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born:	(2002-08-31) August 31, 2002 (age 21) St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	295 lb (134 kg)
Career information
High school:	Clearwater Central Catholic (Clearwater, Florida)
College:	Illinois (2020–2023)
NFL draft:	2024  / Round: 2 / Pick: 36
Career history
Washington Commanders (2024–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
Consensus All-American (2023) Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (2023) Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year (2023) 2× first-team All-Big Ten (2022, 2023)
Player stats at PFR

Jer'Zhan "Johnny" Newton (jer-ZAHN; born August 31, 2002) is an American football defensive tackle for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini, where he was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and earned consensus All-American honors in 2023. Newton was selected by the Commanders in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft.

Early life

Newton was born on August 31, 2002, in St. Petersburg, Florida. ^[1] He attended and played football at Clearwater Central Catholic High School in Clearwater, Florida, where he recorded 244 tackles and 24 sacks. He originally committed to play college football for the Maryland Terrapins before switching to the Illinois Fighting Illini at the University of Illinois. ^{[2] [3]}

College career

Newton with the Illinois Fighting Illini in 2022

As a true freshman for the Illinois Fighting Illini in 2020, Newton played in all eight games with two starts and had 23 tackles and 1.5 sacks. ^[4] In 2021, he started 11 of 12 games, recording 50 tackles and 3.5 sacks. ^[5] Newton returned to Illinois in 2022. ^{[6] [7]} Newton declared for the 2024 NFL draft following the 2023 season, where he was named a consensus All-American and the Big 10's Nagurski–Woodson Defensive Player of the Year. ^{[8] [9]} He finished his career with 18 sacks, tying Moe Gardner for the most for an Illinois defensive tackle. ^[10]

College statistics

Season	GP	Tackles					Fumbles
		Solo	Ast	Cmb	TfL	Sck	FR	FF	TD
2020	7	6	17	23	1.5	1.5	–	1	–
2021	12	19	31	50	3.5	3.5	–	–	–
2022	13	29	33	62	14	5.5	2	–	–
2023	12	26	26	52	8.5	7.5	1	1	–
Career	44	80	107	187	27.5	18	3	2	0

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span
6 ft 1+5⁄8 in (1.87 m)	304 lb (138 kg)	32+3⁄8 in (0.82 m)	9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m)
All values from NFL Combine [11] [12]

Newton was drafted by the Washington Commanders in the second round (36th overall) of the 2024 NFL draft. ^[13] He underwent surgery in May 2024 to fix a Jones fracture in his left foot, which followed the same surgery on his right foot four months prior. ^[14] Newton signed his four-year rookie contract, worth $9.75 million, on June 13, 2024. ^[15] He was briefly on the non-football injury list prior to the start of training camp. ^{[16] [17]}

Personal life

Newton has four brothers, all of whom have played college football. His older brother Jerjuan ranks in the top ten in Toledo Rockets career touchdown receptions. ^[10]

References

1. Brugler, Dane. "The Beast: 2024 NFL Draft Guide" (PDF). The Athletic . p. 204. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
2. Stevens, Matthew (December 18, 2019). "3-Star DL Jer'Zhan Newton Flips From Maryland To Illinois On Signing Day". Sports Illustrated .
3. Stevens, Matthew (December 27, 2019). "How Deuce Spann's & Johnny Newton's Friendship Resulted in a Signing Day Flip". Sports Illustrated .
4. Wagner, Joey (November 10, 2020). "After August COVID-19 diagnosis, Illinois true freshman Johnny Newton is off to fast start". Herald & Review .
5. Asmussen, Bob (December 3, 2021). "Randolph, Newton looking forward to better days ahead for Illinois". News-Gazette .
6. Kimball, Anderson (September 8, 2022). "Johnny Newton leading Illinois defensive line by example". St. Louis Post-Dispatch .
7. Richey, Scott (October 6, 2022). "Trio leading the way for Illinois defensive line". News-Gazette .
8. Rittenberg, Adam (November 21, 2023). "Illinois' Jer'Zhan Newton, Keith Randolph Jr. to enter NFL draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
9. "Big Ten Conference Announces Football All-Conference Teams for Defense, Special Teams and Select Individual Honors". Big Ten Conference . November 28, 2023. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
10. Selby, Zach (April 29, 2024). "Five things to know about Jer'Zhan Newton". Commanders.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
11. "Jer'Zhan Newton Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
12. "2024 NFL Draft Scout Jer'Zhan Newton College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
13. Selby, Zach (April 26, 2024). "Commanders draft DT Jer'Zhan Newton with No. 36 overall pick". Commanders.com. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
14. Kiem, John. "Commanders' Johnny Newton to have surgery on left foot". ESPN. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
15. Manning, Bryan. "Commanders sign 2nd-round pick DT Johnny Newton". Commanders Wire. USA Today. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
16. Alper, Josh. "Commanders put rookie DT Johnny Newton on non-football injury list". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
17. Manning, Bryan. "Commanders activate rookie DT Johnny Newton from NFI list". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved July 24, 2024.

External links

• Jer'Zhan Newton on X
• Washington Commanders bio
• Illinois Fighting Illini bio