Daron Payne (/dəˈrɒn/ də-RON; born May 27, 1997) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he won national championships in 2015 and 2017. Payne was selected by Washington in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft.
![]() Payne with the Commanders in 2022 | |||||||||||||
No. 94 – Washington Commanders | |||||||||||||
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Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||
Born: | Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | May 27, 1997||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
Weight: | 320 lb (145 kg) | ||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||
High school: | Shades Valley (Irondale, Alabama) | ||||||||||||
College: | Alabama (2015–2017) | ||||||||||||
NFL draft: | 2018 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13 | ||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||
Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2023 | |||||||||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Early life
editPayne was born on May 27, 1997, in Birmingham, Alabama. He attended Shades Valley High School in Irondale, Alabama, where he played football.[1] He was rated as a five-star recruit and committed to the University of Alabama to play college football.[2]
College career
editAs a true freshman at Alabama in 2015, Payne had 13 tackles and half a sack.[3] As a sophomore in 2016, he had 36 tackles and 1.5 sacks.[4][5] In the National Championship Game against Clemson, he recorded five tackles and a half sack.[6]
As a junior in 2017, Payne was named the defensive MVP of both postseason games that Alabama played.[7][8] In the Sugar Bowl versus Clemson, he intercepted a ball and scored an offensive receiving touchdown on the resulting drive. In the National Championship Game against Georgia, Payne had six tackles to help lead Alabama to their second national championship in three seasons.[9] After his junior year, Payne declared his intentions to enter the 2018 NFL draft.[9] During his time at Alabama, Payne's given name was commonly misspelled as Da'Ron, which he requested to change back to Daron for his professional career.[10][11]
Season | GP | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Solo | Ast | Cmb | TfL | Sck | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | FF | TD | ||
2015 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2016 | 13 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
2017 | 14 | 21 | 32 | 53 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Career | 35 | 39 | 63 | 102 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Professional career
editHeight | 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+1⁄2 in (1.89 m) |
311 lb (141 kg) |
33 in (0.84 m) |
9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.95 s | 1.67 s | 2.84 s | 4.71 s | 7.58 s | 28.5 in (0.72 m) |
8 ft 11 in (2.72 m) |
27 reps | |
All values from NFL Combine[12][13] |
Payne was selected by the Washington Redskins in the first round (13th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft.[14][15] On May 10, 2018, Payne signed a four-year contract worth US$14.4 million featuring a $8.56 million signing bonus.[16] He recorded his first career sack in Week 3 against the Green Bay Packers.[17] He finished his rookie season with 56 tackles, five sacks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery, and was named to the 2018 PFWA All-Rookie Team as a result.[18]
In Week 14 of the 2020 season against the San Francisco 49ers, Payne forced a fumble on quarterback Nick Mullens, which was recovered and returned for a touchdown by Chase Young and would also recover a forced fumble by Young.[19] In Week 15 against the Seattle Seahawks, Payne recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Russell Wilson during the 20–15 loss.[20] Payne finished the 2020 NFL season playing 880 snaps and recording 54 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and an interception. He also recorded two sacks against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the playoffs.[21]
The team exercised the fifth-year option on Payne's contract on April 27, 2021,[22] which guarantees a salary of $8.529 million for the 2022 season.[23] He was added to the COVID-19 reserve list on August 1, 2021,[24] before being re-activated on August 5.[25] Payne and defensive end James Smith-Williams sealed the Week 11 win over the Carolina Panthers after they sacked quarterback Cam Newton on fourth down with less than a minute and a half left in the game.[26]
By Week 9 of the 2022 season, Payne accumulated a new career-high of 5.5 sacks.[27] With 58 seconds remaining in the Week 12 game against the Atlanta Falcons, he deflected a touchdown pass attempt from Marcus Mariota which cornerback Kendall Fuller intercepted in the end zone in a 19–13 win.[28] He finished the season having set new career highs with 64 tackles, 11.5 sacks, and five pass deflections.[29] In January 2023, Payne was named as a replacement player for Aaron Donald to the 2023 Pro Bowl, his first Pro Bowl.[30]
The Commanders placed a non-exclusive franchise tag on Payne before him signing a four-year, $90 million extension with the team on March 13, 2023.[31][32]
NFL career statistics
editLegend | |
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Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Sfty | FF | FR | Yds | TD | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
2018 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 56 | 35 | 21 | 5.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
2019 | WAS | 15 | 9 | 56 | 32 | 24 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
2020 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 54 | 27 | 27 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | WAS | 17 | 17 | 61 | 35 | 26 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
2022 | WAS | 17 | 17 | 64 | 32 | 32 | 11.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 | WAS | 17 | 17 | 53 | 32 | 21 | 4.0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Career | 98 | 92 | 344 | 193 | 151 | 30.0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
References
edit- ^ Blanton, Al (January 7, 2018). "The Man with the Gold Hands: Da'Ron Payne, a coach's love, and the Catch Heard 'Round the World". Saturday Down South. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
- ^ "Five-star defensive tackle Daron Payne has committed to Alabama". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
- ^ Zenitz, Matt. "Alabama's two rising stars along defensive line are freakish athletes". AL.com. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
- ^ Zenitz, Matt. "Alabama freakish defensive lineman Da'Ron Payne preparing for expanded role". AL.com. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
- ^ Zenitz, Matt. "Alabama rising star Da'Ron Payne slimming down, still freakishly strong". AL.com. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
- ^ "Clemson vs. Alabama – Box Score – January 9, 2017". ESPN. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
- ^ Allstate Sugar Bowl [@SugarBowlNola] (January 2, 2018). "Congratulations to tonight's Most Outstanding Defensive Player, Da'Ron Payne! #SugarSemi" (Tweet). Retrieved May 6, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ College Football Playoff [@CFBPlayoff] (January 9, 2018). "The Crimson Tide stuffed the Georgia run down the stretch to will @AlabamaFTBL back into the game. For his efforts in the trenches, senior DL Da'Ron Payne is the 2018 CFP National Championship Defensive MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved May 6, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Scarborough, Alex (January 10, 2018). "Calvin Ridley declares for draft; RB Damien Harris to stay at Bama". ESPN. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
- ^ Lewis Jr, Lake (May 11, 2018). "Notes from Redskins' rookie minicamp". USA Today. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- ^ Keim, John (August 29, 2018). "No apostrophe, no hype, no problem for Redskins' Daron Payne". ESPN. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
- ^ "DaRon Payne Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. March 1, 2018. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
- ^ "Alabama DT DaRon Payne : 2018 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFLDraftScout. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
- ^ Czarda, Stephen. "Redskins Select Alabama Defensive Lineman Da'Ron Payne". Washington Commanders. Archived from the original on April 27, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
- ^ Gruden, Jay. "Quotes: Head Coach Jay Gruden, DL Da'Ron Payne 04–26–18". Washington Commanders. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
- ^ "Redskins sign first-rounder Da'Ron Payne to rookie contract". NFL. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
- ^ Inabinett, Mark (September 24, 2018). "Alabama NFL roundup: Jonathan Allen, Da'Ron Payne sack Packers". AL.com. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
- ^ "Daron Payne Named To PFWA 2018 All-Rookie Team". Washington Commanders. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
- ^ Jhabvala, Nicki (December 13, 2020). "Washington's defense fuels 23–15 win over 49ers, and team takes over first place in NFC East". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ "Seattle Seahawks at Washington Football Team – December 20th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
- ^ "Football Team's Daron Payne: Starts 16 games". January 18, 2021.
- ^ Stackpole, Kyle (April 27, 2021). "Washington Exercises Fifth-Year Option On Daron Payne". Washington Commanders. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
- ^ Alper, Josh (April 26, 2021). "Washington exercises Daron Payne's fifth-year option". NBC Sports. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ Jhabvala, Nicki. "Daron Payne is added to the Washington Football Team's expanding covid-19 list". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
- ^ Around the NFL Staff. "Roundup: Washington activates Brandon Scherff, Daron Payne from reserve/COVID-19 list". NFL. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
- ^ "Heinicke, Washington spoil Newton's homecoming 27–21". ESPN. November 21, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
- ^ Washington Commanders Public Relations (November 7, 2022). "Commanders-Vikings Stats & Snaps". Commanders.com. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
- ^ "Commanders outrun Falcons, intercept Mariota in 19–13 win". ESPN. November 27, 2022.
- ^ Manning, Bryan (January 13, 2023). "Daron Payne makes it clear what he's looking for this offseason". USAToday.com. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
- ^ Washington Commanders Public Relations (January 19, 2023). "Defensive tackle Daron Payne named to the 2023 Pro Bowl". Commanders.com. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
- ^ Washington Commanders Public Relations (February 28, 2023). "Commanders place franchise tag on Daron Payne". Commanders.com. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ Benjamin, Cody (March 12, 2023). "2023 NFL free agency: Commanders sign star defender Daron Payne to four-year, $90M extension". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from Yahoo! Sports
- Washington Commanders bio
- Alabama Crimson Tide bio