Seth Nicolas DeValve (born January 29, 1993) is an American former professional football tight end. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft.[1] He played college football at Princeton.

Seth DeValve
refer to caption
DeValve during the 2017 preseason
No. 87, 88, 86
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1993-01-29) January 29, 1993 (age 31)
Manchester, Connecticut, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school:Manchester
College:Princeton
NFL draft:2016 / round: 4 / pick: 138
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:60
Receiving yards:736
Receiving touchdowns:4
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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DeValve was born on January 29, 1993, in Manchester, Connecticut, to Tim and Laurie DeValve. His father is an engineer and former long-distance runner at Connecticut.[2] He has three older brothers:[3] Caleb, Levi and Jacob. His brother Jacob ran the decathlon at Liberty University.[4] DeValve started playing football in fourth grade.[2] Through his elementary and middle school years, he played three sports — football in the fall, basketball in the winter, and track in the spring.[2]

He went on to attend Manchester High School. While at Manchester, he played football as well as ran track & field. He was a two-time All-conference selection as a quarterback and an All-conference selection at free safety.[2] In his career, he passed for 4,650 yards and 37 touchdowns.[2] He rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and 24 touchdowns.[2] On defense, he recorded nine interceptions.[2] He was also a two-time captain of the football team and received the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame award.[2]

While running track, DeValve was a state qualifier in the high jump and shot put and he competed in sprint and distance events. He was a National Guard Scholar-Athlete and Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC). As a junior, he was an All-state selection. As a senior he lettered and served as a team captain.

College career

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After graduation from Manchester High School, DeValve began attending Princeton University where he majored in mechanical engineering.[3] As a freshman in 2011 he saw limited playing time as a wide receiver. He recorded one reception for 10-yards against Cornell. He also carried the ball three times and returned one punt. In 2012 he recorded 20 pass receptions for 219 yards while appearing in all 10 games. He recorded a 20-yard touchdown pass in a win over Harvard. The touchdown was the first in his career. He had a season-best four receptions against both Penn and Yale, as well as a season-high 70 yards against Yale.

In 2013 DeValve ranked in the Top 50 nationally in receptions (5.4), and the Top 100 in receiving yards (58.6). Both totals ranked among the Top 10 in the Ivy League. For the season, he recorded 49 receptions for 527 yards and four touchdowns. He caught touchdown passes in three straight wins, against Harvard, Cornell and Penn. He recorded career highs in both receptions (nine), and receiving yards (115), in the Tigers season finale against Dartmouth. He helped Princeton break Ivy League records in both scoring offense (43.7), and total offense (511.6). Princeton would go to win their 10th Ivy League championship in the school's history; their first since 2006. The Tigers would record five 50-point games during an eight-game win streak. The team had scored 50 points only four times in the previous 467 games. In 2014 he appeared in only two games due to injuries, those being open Epiphyseal plates in both his feet.[3] He recorded nine receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown against San Diego, and 10 receptions for 120 yards against Brown. For the season, he averaged 121.5 yards per game and 12.8 yards per reception.

In 2015, DeValve, despite two injuries that cost him the better part of four games, still recorded 33 receptions for 337 yards and a touchdown. He suffered his first injury midway through week 2 against Lehigh. He missed the next three games and appeared in one series in week 6 against Harvard before another injury kept him out until week 8. In his final game as a Princeton Tiger, he recorded nine receptions for 110 yards against Dartmouth. For the season he recorded 33 receptions for 337 yards and one touchdown. At Princeton's 2015 banquet, he earned the Ronald A. Rogerson Award for Spirit and Inspiration.[1][2]

DeValve finished his career ranked 10th all-time at Princeton in receptions (122) and 13th in receiving yards (1,336).

Statistics

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Season Receiving Rushing Fumbles
Year Team GP GS Rec Yards Avg TD Long Att Yards Avg Long TD Fum Lost
2011 Princeton 4 -- 1 10 10.0 0 10 3 -- -- -- -- -- --
2012 Princeton 10 -- 20 219 10.9 1 25 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
2013 Princeton 9 -- 49 527 10.8 4 30 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
2014 Princeton 2 -- 19 243 12.8 1 31 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
2015 Princeton 5 -- 33 337 10.2 1 40 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Career[5] 30 -- 122 1,336 11.0 7 31 3 -- -- -- -- -- --

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 2+38 in
(1.89 m)
244 lb
(111 kg)
4.68 s 1.54 s 2.75 s 4.18 s 6.96 s 40 in
(1.02 m)
10 ft 5 in
(3.18 m)
22 reps
All values from Princeton Pro Day[6]

Cleveland Browns

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DeValve was selected in the fourth round (138th overall) in the 2016 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns.[1] He is the highest-drafted Princeton football player in the modern-draft era.[1][5] Although DeValve was listed as a wide receiver in college, the Browns list him as a tight end.[1][7] On May 31, he signed a four-year contract, worth about $2.5 million, which included a signing bonus worth about $383,000.[8] On July 25, he was placed on the active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list.[9] He returned to active status on August 9.[10] DeValve scored his first career touchdown on November 10 in a Thursday Night Football game against the Baltimore Ravens on a 25-yard pass from Cody Kessler.

DeValve was waived by the Browns on August 31, 2019.[11]

Jacksonville Jaguars

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On September 1, 2019, DeValve was claimed off waivers by the Jacksonville Jaguars.[12]

Carolina Panthers

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On March 26, 2020, DeValve was signed to the Carolina Panthers.[13][14] He was released on June 3, 2020 with a non-football injury designation.[15] He was re-signed to their practice squad on November 4, 2020,[16] and released on November 17, 2020.[17]

Arizona Cardinals

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On November 25, 2020, DeValve signed with the practice squad of the Arizona Cardinals.[18] He was elevated to the active roster on December 5 and December 12 for the team's weeks 13 and 14 games against the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants, and reverted to the practice squad after each game.[19][20] On December 25, 2020, DeValve was promoted to the active roster.[21]

Personal life

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For one semester in college DeValve worked in risk management at NRG Energy. He is married to Erica Harris, whom he met while at Princeton University.

On August 21, 2017, DeValve became the first white NFL player to take a knee during the national anthem. The August 2017 demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, had a lot to do with the decision, but DeValve said it was also more personal. His wife, Erica, is African-American. He said: "I myself will be raising children that don't look like me, and I want to do my part as well to do everything I can to raise them in a better environment than we have right now....So I wanted to take the opportunity with my teammates during the anthem to pray for our country and also to draw attention to the fact that we have work to do."[22] Erica DeValve later stated that she did not want Seth viewed as a white savior.[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Cabot, Mary Kay (April 30, 2016). "Browns draft tight end Seth DeValve of Princeton at No. 138". Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Maher, Kyle (December 23, 2015). "Student of the Game". JournalInquirer.com. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Conner, Desmond (May 3, 2016). "Seth DeValve: From Manchester High To Princeton To The NFL". Hartford Courant. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  4. ^ "Player Information Jacob DeValve". Liberty.edu. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Seth DeValve Drafted By Browns, Becomes Tigers' Highest Pick Of Modern Era". GoPrincetonTigers.com. April 30, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  6. ^ "Seth DeValve, DS #47 TE, Princeton". Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  7. ^ Florjancic, Matthew (July 20, 2016). "Cleveland Browns' Seth DeValve anxious to transition to tight end". WKYC. Retrieved August 9, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ Ulrich, Nat (June 1, 2016). "Browns sign fourth-round draft picks Ricardo Louis, Seth DeValve". Akron Beacon Journal. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  9. ^ Ruiter, Daryl (July 27, 2016). "Josh Gordon Reports To Browns With Quadriceps Injury, Out A Few Weeks; Joe Haden Placed On PUP". WCNX.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2016; Grove, Hayden (July 26, 2016). "Josh Gordon, Joe Haden and two other Browns were placed on injury lists Tuesday". Scout.com. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  10. ^ Ulrich, Nate (August 10, 2016). "Browns training camp snapshot (Day 11): Rookie tight end Seth DeValve returns to practice". Akron Beacon Journal. Archived from the original on August 14, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  11. ^ "Browns cut roster to 53 players". ClevelandBrowns.com. August 31, 2019.
  12. ^ Oehser, John (September 1, 2019). "Roster moves: Jaguars make four waiver claims". Jaguars.com.
  13. ^ "Report: Panthers agree to terms with former Browns TE Seth DeValve". Panthers Wire. March 20, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  14. ^ "Panthers sign tight end Seth DeValve". Panthers.com. March 26, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  15. ^ Gantt, Darin (June 3, 2020). "Panthers release tight end Seth DeValve". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  16. ^ Weaver, Tim (November 4, 2020). "Panthers re-sign TE Seth DeValve to their practice squad". USAToday.com. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  17. ^ Weaver, Tim (November 17, 2020). "Panthers release TE Seth DeValve from their practice squad". USAToday.com. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  18. ^ "Arizona Cardinals sign Seth DeValve to practice squad". Revenge of the Birds. SB Nation. November 25, 2020.
  19. ^ Urban, Darren (December 5, 2020). "Cardinals Activate Leki Fotu From Injured Reserve". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  20. ^ Urban, Darren (December 12, 2020). "Jordan Phillips, Kevin Peterson Activated From IR; Johnathan Joseph Put On IR". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  21. ^ Urban, Darren (December 25, 2020). "Cardinals Sign Mike Nugent, Seth DeValve To Active Roster". AZCardinals.com.
  22. ^ McManamon, Pat (August 22, 2017). "12 Browns players kneel in prayer over racial, social injustice". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  23. ^ Harris DeValve, Erica (August 24, 2017). "I'm Proud of My Husband for Kneeling During the Anthem, but Don't Make Him a White Savior". theroot.com. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
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