Jacoby Fleener (born September 20, 1988) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Stanford University. Stanford's program has won 138 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA team championships, the List of NCAA schools ...

, earning first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 2011. Fleener was selected by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft. He also played for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

College career

After playing at Joliet Catholic Academy during

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, Fleener played college football at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

for the

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

from 2008 to 2011. In the 2010 season, Fleener had six receptions for 173 yards and three touchdowns in a 40–12 victory over

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

in the Orange Bowl. In the 2011 season, his 19.6 yards per reception led the Pac-12. In his collegiate career, he recorded 96 receptions for 1,543 yards and 18 touchdowns. He was named an

by CBSSports.com as a senior in 2011.

College statistics

Professional career

Pre-draft

Fleener was considered a top tight end prospect for the 2012 NFL draft. At the

NFL combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

, he benched 27 reps of 225 at 6–6 247, though he did not run because of an ankle injury. Luck and Fleener colts

Indianapolis Colts

The

selected Fleener in the second round with the 34th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft after drafting his college quarterback, Andrew Luck, with the first overall pick. Fleener was the first tight end drafted in the 2012 NFL Draft. On July 25, he and the Colts agreed to a four-year contract worth $5.431 million. Fleener made his regular season debut in Week 1 against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

, recording six receptions for 82 yards. He struggled through the early season, before recording his first career touchdown reception against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

in Week 13. Fleener finished the 2012 regular season with 26 receptions for 281 yards and two touchdowns. Fleener began the 2013 preseason as the backup to Dwayne Allen. He missed the final two weeks of preseason after suffering a knee injury. Allen would be placed on injured reserve after Week 1, making Fleener the starter for the rest of the season. He recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game in Week 11 against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

, making eight receptions for 107 yards. Fleener finished the 2013 season with 52 receptions for 608 yards and four touchdowns. In the Colts' Wild Card Round playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs, he had five receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown to assist in the Colts' 45–44 comeback win. In Week 11 of the 2014 season, Fleener had seven receptions for 144 receiving yards against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. In Week 13 against Washington, he had four receptions for 127 yards and two touchdowns in the 49–27 victory. In the final game of the regular season, Fleener had two receiving touchdowns in a 27–10 victory over the

. In the 2014 season, Fleener had 51 receptions for 774 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns. In the 2015 season, Fleener had 54 receptions for 491 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.

New Orleans Saints

On March 9, 2016, Fleener signed a five-year, $36 million contract with the

. He finished the 2016 season with 50 receptions for 631 yards and three touchdowns. In addition, Fleener scored his first career rushing touchdown, on his first career rushing attempt, in a Week 6 victory over the Carolina Panthers. Fleener started the 2017 season with consecutive games with a touchdown against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

and the

. He was placed on injured reserve on December 2, after suffering a concussion in Week 12. In the 2017 season, Fleener finished with 22 receptions for 295 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in 11 games and one start. On May 7, 2018, Fleener was released by the Saints.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Stanford Cardinal bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleener, Coby 1988 births Living people People from Lemont, Illinois Players of American football from Cook County, Illinois Players of American football from DuPage County, Illinois American football tight ends Stanford Cardinal football players Indianapolis Colts players New Orleans Saints players