DeAngelo Malone (born July 12, 1999) is an American 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

of 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

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for the

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers are the athletic teams that represent Western Kentucky University (WKU), located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, competing in the ...

Early life

Malone grew up in

Ellenwood, Georgia Ellenwood is an unincorporated community in Clayton, Henry, Rockdale and DeKalb counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. The community is a southeast suburb of Atlanta and is located along Interstate 675 and Georgia State Route 42. With a popul ...

and originally attended Martin Luther King Jr. High School before transferring to Cedar Grove High School. He recorded 49 tackles with eight tackles for loss and was named first-team All-State and All-Metro by ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

'' as Cedar Grove won the AAA state championship. Rated a three-star recruit, Malone committed to play

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

over an offer from

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

College career

Malone became a starter for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers during his freshman year and recorded 25 tackles, 1.5 sacks and five quarterback hurries. As a sophomore, he was named honorable mention All-

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

(C-USA)after finishing the season with 60 tackles, nine tackles for loss, six sacks, and eight quarterback hurries with two forced fumbles. In his junior season, Malone made 99 total tackles and was fourth in the nation with tackles 21 for loss and 12th in the nation with 11.5 sacks and also had 16 quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown. He was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-C-USA. Malone considered entering the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

, but ultimately decided to return for his senior year. Malone entered senior season on the

Chuck Bednarik Award The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented annually to the defensive player of the year in college football as judged by the Maxwell Football Club to be the best in the United States. The award is named for Chuck Bednarik, a former college and profess ...

and

Bronko Nagurski Trophy The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athle ...

watchlists and was named the preseason C-USA Defensive Player of the Year and as one of the top five outside linebacker prospects for the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

according to

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

Professional career

left, 200px, Malone in his rookie season. Malone was selected in the third round with the 82nd pick by the

in the

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual NFL draft, draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise next to Las Vegas. The first round ...

. The Falcons previously obtained the pick in the trade that sent Matt Ryan to 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 ...

. Malone recorded his first professional sack in Week 7 against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Personal life

Malone is first cousins with

Justin Shaffer Justin Donnnell Shaffer (born June 20, 1998) is an American professional football guard. He previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons. He played college football at Georgia. Early life Shaffer grew up in El ...

, who was also selected by the Falcons in the 2022 NFL draft.

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bioWestern Kentucky Hilltoppers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malone, DeAngelo Living people Players of American football from Atlanta American football linebackers Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football players Atlanta Falcons players 1999 births