Jordan Fuller (born March 4, 1998) is an American professional football safety for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ohio State, and was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL draft.

Jordan Fuller
refer to caption
Fuller with the Los Angeles Rams in 2020
No. 20 – Carolina Panthers
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1998-03-04) March 4, 1998 (age 26)
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:Northern Valley Regional (Old Tappan, New Jersey)
College:Ohio State (2016–2019)
NFL draft:2020 / round: 6 / pick: 199
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2023
Total tackles:279
Forced fumbles:4
Pass deflections:17
Interceptions:7
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early years

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Fuller was born to Bart Fuller and Cindy Mizelle on March 4, 1998. [1] His mother is a professional touring singer who has performed with Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Whitney Houston and Luther Vandross, among others.[2] He grew up in Norwood, New Jersey and attended Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan. He played multiple positions for the Golden Knights and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for New Jersey and the State Player of the Year by NJ.com as a senior after rushing for 747 yards and 10 touchdowns, catching 33 passes for 886 yards and five touchdowns and throwing for 135 yards on offense and making 44 tackles and intercepting six passes on defense.[3]

College career

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Fuller playing for Ohio State in 2019

Fuller played in all 13 of the Buckeyes games as a true freshman, playing mostly on special teams with 71 snaps played on defense and making 11 tackles.[4] Fuller was named Ohio State's starting safety going into his sophomore year, replacing Malik Hooker.[5] He finished the season with 70 tackles, including a team-leading 57 solo stops, two tackles for loss and two interceptions and was named third-team All-Big Ten Conference and was named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.[6][7]

Fuller was named a team captain going into his junior year.[8] He recorded 81 tackles, second highest on the team, with one interception, four passes broken up and two fumble recoveries.[9] He was named second-team All-Big Ten by the league's coaches and honorable mention by the media and was named an Academic All-American.[10][11] Fuller entered his senior season on the Jim Thorpe Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy watchlists and was named a second-team preseason All-American by the Associated Press.[12][13] Fuller was named a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Man of the Year award and the Lott IMPACT Trophy and a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy.[14] Fuller was named first-team All-Big Ten after finishing the season with 62 tackles, two interceptions, four pass break-ups, and recovered a fumble.[15]

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 1+78 in
(1.88 m)
203 lb
(92 kg)
31 in
(0.79 m)
9 in
(0.23 m)
4.67 s 1.62 s 2.75 s 4.27 s 35.5 in
(0.90 m)
10 ft 2 in
(3.10 m)
All values from NFL Combine[16][17]

Los Angeles Rams

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Fuller was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the sixth round, 199th overall, of the 2020 NFL draft.[18] He was named a starter at safety going into his rookie season. Fuller made his NFL debut on September 13, 2020, and made a team-high eight tackles in a 20–17 win.[19] He suffered a shoulder injury in Week 5 and was placed on injured reserve on October 13, 2020.[20] He was activated on November 14, 2020.[21] In Week 11 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football, Fuller recorded his first two career interceptions off of fellow 199th overall pick Tom Brady. Fuller's second interception occurred late in the fourth quarter and it secured a 27–24 win for the Rams.[22]

Fuller entered the 2021 season as the Rams starting free safety. He suffered an ankle injury in Week 18 and was placed on injured reserve on January 12, 2022. He finished the season with a team-leading 113 tackles, four passes defensed, and one interception through 16 starts. The Rams went on to win Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengals without Fuller.[23]

On October 8, 2022, Fuller was placed on injured reserve.[24]

Carolina Panthers

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On March 15, 2024, Fuller signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers.[25] It reunited him with defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who previously coached him as the Los Angeles Chargers safeties coach and pass game coordinator from 2017-2021. He was also reunited with fellow safety Nick Scott.[26]

NFL career statistics

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Legend
Bold Career high

Regular Season

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Year Team Games Tackling Fumbles Interceptions
GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sck FF FR Yds Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD
2020 LAR 12 12 60 42 18 0.0 0 0 0 3 45 15.0 37 0 5
2021 LAR 16 16 113 63 50 0.0 0 0 0 1 34 34.0 34 0 4
2022 LAR 3 1 12 9 3 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2023 LAR 17 17 94 61 33 0.0 3 0 0 3 39 13.0 21 0 8
Career 48 46 279 175 104 0.0 4 0 0 7 118 16.8 37 0 17

Postseason

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Year Team Games Tackling Fumbles Interceptions
GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sck FF FR Yds Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD
2020 LAR 2 2 12 7 5 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
Career 2 2 12 7 5 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0

Personal life

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Fuller's older brother, Devin Fuller, played college football at UCLA and spent two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons.[27] He is the nephew of comedian Sinbad.[28]

References

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  1. ^ "The Draft Network | NFL Draft Rankings, Predictions, & Coverage".
  2. ^ Torres, Aaron (September 12, 2014). "UCLA's Devin Fuller and mom Cindy Mizelle keep everything in tune". FoxSports.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  3. ^ Jones, Kyle (October 16, 2017). "Film Study: Jordan Fuller Played Two Positions and the Best Game of His Young Career Against Nebraska". ElevenWarriors.com. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  4. ^ Jason, Christopher (July 26, 2017). "10 most important Ohio State Buckeyes in 2017: No. 5 Jordan Fuller". LandGrantHolyLand.com. SB Nation. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  5. ^ Bielik, Tim (December 19, 2017). "Which Ohio State players will follow Jordan Fuller's path from special teams to starter in 2018?". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  6. ^ Murphy, Patrick (July 2, 2019). "Jordan Fuller declares he is cleared to play football". 247Sports.com. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  7. ^ Murphy, Patrick (July 11, 2018). "Fuller, McCullough highlight Big Ten Distinguished Scholars list". 247Sports.com. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  8. ^ Wynn, Sarah (August 25, 2018). "Ohio State Football announces seven team captains for 2018". ABC6OnYourSide.com. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  9. ^ Hartman, Marcus (January 3, 2019). "Ohio State football: Jordan Fuller announces NFL decision". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  10. ^ Biddle, Dave (November 27, 2018). "Dre'Mont Jones first-team All-B1G – Fuller, Young second-team". 247Sports.com. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  11. ^ Naveau, Jim (July 19, 2019). "Ohio State football: Fuller has big goals on and off field". The Lima News. Archived from the original on August 15, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  12. ^ Harrison, Phil (July 23, 2019). "Ohio State's Chase Young, Jordan Fuller named to preseason Nagurski watch list". Buckeyes Wire. USA Today. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  13. ^ Means, Stephen (August 21, 2019). "Chase Young, Jordan Fuller named to preseason AP All-American Teams: Buckeye Breakfast". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  14. ^ McCarthy, Erin (November 21, 2019). "Well-rounded Jordan Fuller locked in on not letting Penn State halt Ohio State's perfect season". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  15. ^ Hunt, Todderick (January 15, 2020). "Presenting NJ.com's All-N.J. College Football Team, 2020: Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor, Rutgers' Isaih Pacheco, Pitt's Maurice Ffrench, more". NJ.com. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  16. ^ "Jordan Fuller Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  17. ^ "2020 NFL Draft Scout Jordan Fuller College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  18. ^ Baird, Nathan (April 25, 2020). "Jordan Fuller taken 199th overall by Los Angeles Rams in NFL Draft 2020: Ohio State football". Cleveland.com. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  19. ^ DaSilva, Cameron (September 14, 2020). "Jordan Fuller draws rave reviews in game-changing NFL debut". The Rams Wire. USA Today. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  20. ^ DaSilva, Cameron (October 13, 2020). "Rams place rookie FS Jordan Fuller on IR". Rams Wire. USA Today. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  21. ^ Bouda, Nate (November 14, 2020). "Rams Activate S Jordan Fuller & OL Joe Noteboom From IR". NFLTradeRumors.co. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  22. ^ "Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – November 23rd, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
  23. ^ "Super Bowl LVI – Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals – February 13th, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  24. ^ @RamsNFL (October 8, 2022). "LA Rams Transactions • Signed to active roster RB Malcolm Brown • Activated from Practice Squad WR Jacob Harris, C Matt Skura • Reserve/Injured S Jordan Fuller, G Coleman Shelton" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. ^ Hill, Kassidy (March 15, 2024). "Panthers sign safety Jordan Fuller". Panthers.com. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  26. ^ "Panthers signing Jordan Fuller: Carolina continues improving defense, adds former Rams safety, per report". CBS Sports. March 15, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  27. ^ Hunt, Todderick (August 22, 2014). "Jordan Fuller, brother of former U.S. Army All-American Devin Fuller, discusses Thursday's Rutgers visit". NJ.com. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  28. ^ Lesmerises, Doug (December 18, 2017). "The Buckeye whose uncle is Sinbad; J.K Dobbins MVP reaction: Ohio State football daily nuggets". Cleveland.com. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
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