Deane Joseph Leonard (born November 20, 1999) is a Canadian 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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

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 Calgary Dinos before transferring to the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...

Professional career

Leonard was selected in the seventh round (236th overall) 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 ...

by the

. He was also previously drafted in the second round (18th overall) in the 2021 CFL Draft by the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

. As a rookie, he appeared in all 17 games, mainly in a special teams role. In the 2023 season, his role on the defense expanded. He finished with 28 total tackles (22 solo), three passes defended, and one forced fumble in 11 games and three starts.

References

External links

Los Angeles Chargers bio

Ole Miss Rebels bio

Calgary Dinos bio
1999 births Living people Sportspeople from Calgary Players of American football from Alberta American football cornerbacks Calgary Dinos football players Ole Miss Rebels football players Los Angeles Chargers players Canadian football defensive backs Players of Canadian football from Alberta 21st-century Canadian sportsmen {{Defensiveback-1990s-stub