Nnamdi Madubuike (/ˌmædəˈbk/ MAD-ə-BEE-kay;[1] born November 17, 1997), formerly known as Justin Madubuike, is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas A&M.

Nnamdi Madubuike
refer to caption
Madubuike with Texas A&M in 2017
No. 92 – Baltimore Ravens
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1997-11-17) November 17, 1997 (age 27)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:305 lb (138 kg)
Career information
High school:McKinney North (McKinney, Texas)
College:Texas A&M (2016–2019)
NFL draft:2020 / round: 3 / pick: 71
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 10, 2024
Total tackles:174
Sacks:26.5
Forced fumbles:2
Pass deflections:5
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

edit

Nnamdi Madubuike was born in Dallas, Texas to Nigerian parents.[2] Madubuike attended McKinney North High School in McKinney, Texas. He was selected to play in the 2016 U.S. Army All-American Game.[3] He committed to Texas A&M University to play college football.[4][5]

College career

edit

Madubuike redshirted his first year at Texas A&M in 2016. In 2017, he appeared in all 13 games, recording 20 tackles. He again appeared in all 13 games in 2018, finishing with 40 tackles and 5.5 sacks.[6] As a junior he had 45 tackles and 5.5 sacks. After the season, he decided to forgo his senior season and entered the 2020 NFL draft.[7][8] He decided to sit out the 2019 Texas Bowl.

Professional career

edit
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split Three-cone drill Bench press
6 ft 2+58 in
(1.90 m)
293 lb
(133 kg)
33+12 in
(0.85 m)
9 in
(0.23 m)
4.83 s 1.73 s 2.85 s 7.37 s 31 reps
All values from NFL Combine[9][10]

2020 season

edit

The Baltimore Ravens selected Madubuike with 71st overall pick in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.[11] He missed the first four games of the season after suffering a knee sprain late in training camp.[12] Later that season, he was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on November 27, 2020,[13] becoming one of 18 players to be placed on that list prior to their Week 12 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.[14] He was activated on December 7.[15] In Week 16 against the New York Giants, Madubuike recorded his first career sack on Daniel Jones during the 27–13 win.[16] Although he was used somewhat sparingly during the season, he would play in 10 games with three starts with 19 combined tackles and 1.0 sacks.[17]

2021 season

edit

Madubuike would see some more playing time down the stretch during the 2021 season due to the numerous injuries the Ravens endured during the season. He recorded his first sack of the season in the Ravens' 23–7 Week 4 win over Denver Broncos.[18] He recorded another sack in the Ravens' 30–31 Week 15 loss over Green Bay Packers.[19] He played in 15 games with 11 starts, finishing with 36 combined tackles, 2.0 sacks, and 2 pass-breakups.[20]

2022 season

edit

Madubuike's production increased in his third season as a Raven. He played in all 17 games, starting all but one of them, recording 42 combined tackles, 5.5 sacks, and 3 pass-breakups.[21]

2023 season

edit

Madubuike had a breakout season in 2023. He recorded at least a half-sack in 11 consecutive games between Weeks 4 to 14, tying the NFL record held by Jared Allen, Chris Jones, Trey Hendrickson, and Shaun Ellis.[22] He recorded 2.0 sacks in the 24–16 Week 6 win over the Tennessee Titans.[23] In the following week's 38–6 blowout win over the Detroit Lions, he strip sacked Jared Goff in the first quarter, although the fumble was recovered by the Lions Penei Sewell.[24] In Week 12 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Madubuike became the first Raven since 2017 to reach double digit sacks after getting a half-sack on Justin Herbert in the second quarter (Travis Jones combined with Madubuike for the sack).[25][26] His record-tying sack in Week 14 was a strip sack of Trevor Lawrence, with the resulting fumble recovered by Patrick Queen.[22][27] He was named to his first career Pro Bowl on January 3, 2024.[28] He was ranked 61st by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2024.[29]

2024 season

edit

On March 5, 2024, the Ravens placed the franchise tag on Madubuike.[30] Three days later, on March 8, the Ravens signed Madubuike to a four-year, $98 million contract extension.[31][32]

NFL career statistics

edit
Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

edit
Year Team Games Tackles Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL FF FR Yds TD
2020 BAL 10 3 19 11 8 1.0 2 0 0 0 0
2021 BAL 15 11 36 23 13 2.0 7 0 0 0 0
2022 BAL 17 16 42 26 16 5.5 8 0 0 0 0
2023 BAL 17 17 56 38 18 13.0 12 1 0 0 0
2024 BAL 10 10 21 13 8 5.0 3 0 0 0 0
Career 69 57 174 111 63 26.5 32 1 0 0 0

Postseason

edit
Year Team Games Tackles Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL FF FR Yds TD
2020 BAL 2 0 3 2 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 0
2022 BAL 1 1 2 0 2 0.0 0 0 0 0 0
2023 BAL 2 2 9 4 5 0.5 1 0 0 0 0
Career 5 3 14 6 8 0.5 1 0 0 0 0

Personal life

edit

Madubuike went by his English first name Justin, which is written on his birth certificate, from elementary school until 2024. During the 2024 offseason, he opted to switch to his Nigerian name Nnamdi in recognition of his heritage.[33]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Justin Madubuike | Defensive Line | Texas A&M | 2020 NFL Draft Profile". YouTube. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  2. ^ Carlton, Chuck (April 21, 2020). "Drawing comparisons to Hall of Famer, here's what sets Texas A&M's Justin Madubuike apart from NFL draft class". Dallas News. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  3. ^ Smith, Cam (November 30, 2015). "U.S. Army All-American Justin Madubuike is honored to be among greatness". USA TODAY High School Sports. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  4. ^ "Four-star defensive lineman commits to Texas A&M". Sports Illustrated. September 18, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  5. ^ Long, Jackson (September 26, 2015). "Madubuike chooses A&M: Most sought-after North athlete ever headed to College Station". Star Local. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  6. ^ Zwerneman, Brent (August 17, 2019). "A&M's Justin Madubuike wants to get ahead, not get a head". ExpressNews.com. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  7. ^ Scarborough, Alex (December 12, 2019). "Aggies DT Madubuike to enter draft, skip bowl". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  8. ^ Zwerneman, Brent; Chronicle, Houston (December 12, 2019). "Aggies' Justin Madubuike turning pro, will skip Texas Bowl". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  9. ^ "Justin Madubuike Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  10. ^ "2020 Draft Scout Justin Madubuike, Texas A&M NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  11. ^ Stevens, Matthew (April 24, 2020). "Ravens select Texas A&M DT Justin Madubuike with 71st pick in 2020 NFL Draft". Ravens Wire. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  12. ^ "Justin Madubuike Injury History & Updates". www.draftsharks.com. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  13. ^ Mink, Ryan (November 27, 2020). "Lamar Jackson, Three Other Ravens Added to Reserve/COVID-19 List". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  14. ^ "Ravens-Steelers game moved from Thursday to Sunday". NFL. November 25, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  15. ^ Mink, Ryan (December 7, 2020). "Lamar Jackson, Three Other Ravens Activated From COVID-19 List". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  16. ^ "New York Giants at Baltimore Ravens - December 27th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  17. ^ "2020 Baltimore Ravens Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  18. ^ "Baltimore Ravens at Denver Broncos - October 3rd, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  19. ^ "Green Bay Packers at Baltimore Ravens - December 19th, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  20. ^ "2021 Baltimore Ravens Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  21. ^ "2022 Baltimore Ravens Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  22. ^ a b "Ravens 23-7 Jaguars (Dec 17, 2023) Game Recap". ESPN. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  23. ^ "Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans - October 15th, 2023". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  24. ^ "Detroit Lions at Baltimore Ravens - October 22nd, 2023". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  25. ^ Vozza, Tony (November 27, 2023). "Ravens Defensive Tackle Joins Elite Company in Week 12 Win vs. Chargers". Heavy.com. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  26. ^ "Baltimore Ravens at Los Angeles Chargers - November 26th, 2023". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  27. ^ "Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars - December 17th, 2023". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  28. ^ "2024 Pro Bowl Games: Complete AFC roster revealed". NFL. January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  29. ^ "2024 NFL Top 100". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  30. ^ Brown, Clifton (March 5, 2024). "Ravens Place Franchise Tag on Justin Madubuike". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  31. ^ "Press Release: Ravens Agree to Terms With DT Justin Madubuike". BaltimoreRavens.com. March 8, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  32. ^ Gordon, Grant (March 8, 2024). "Ravens sign DT Justin Madubuike to four-year, $98 million extension". NFL.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  33. ^ Mink, Ryan (September 2, 2024). "Justin Madubuike Is Now Nnamdi Madubuike. Here's Why". Baltimore Ravens. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
edit