Daron Payne

American football player (born 1997) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Daron Payne

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.

Quick Facts No. 94 – Washington Commanders, Position: ...
Daron Payne
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Payne with the Washington Commanders in 2022
No. 94 – Washington Commanders
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1997-05-27) May 27, 1997 (age 27)
Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
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
Career NFL statistics as of 2024
Tackles:386
Sacks:34
Forced fumbles:6
Fumble recoveries:6
Pass deflections:20
Interceptions:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference
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Early life

Payne 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

As 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]

More information Season, GP ...
College statistics
Season GP Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
SoloAstCmbTfLSckIntYdsAvgTDPDFRFFTD
2015 867130.50.500001010
2016 131224363.51.500001101
2017 14213253111212103100
Career353963102531212105211
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Professional career

Summarize
Perspective
More information Height, Weight ...
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 2+12 in
(1.89 m)
311 lb
(141 kg)
33 in
(0.84 m)
9+38 in
(0.24 m)
4.95 s1.67 s2.84 s4.71 s7.58 s28.5 in
(0.72 m)
8 ft 11 in
(2.72 m)
27 reps
All values from NFL Combine[12][13]
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Payne sacking Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady in the 2020–21 Wild Card Playoff game

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]

Payne finished the 2024 regular season with 42 tackles, four sacks, and two pass deflections over 17 games.[33] In his second playoff appearance, Payne dislocated his thumb in the 2024–25 Wild Card round win over the Buccaneers.[34] Despite the injury, he would play the following week in the win over the Detroit Lions but was ruled out of the NFC Championship Game due to injuries with his thumb and knee.[35]

NFL career statistics

More information Legend ...
Legend
Bold Career high
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More information Year, Team ...
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
2024 WAS 17 17 42 22 20 4.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0.0 0 0
Career 115 109 386 215 171 34.0 0 6 6 15 0 20 1 0 0.0 0 0
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References

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