Isaiah Leroy Likely (born April 18, 2000) 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 ...

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 ...

for the

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

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

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (, ) are the athletic teams that represent Coastal Carolina University. They participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA as a member of the Sun Belt Conferen ...

and was selected by the Ravens in the fourth round of 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 ...

Early life

Likely grew up in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

and attended

Malden High School Malden High School is a public high school in Malden, Massachusetts, Malden, Massachusetts. Established in 1857, the school is part of the Malden Public Schools and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). A ...

before transferring to Everett High School for his senior year. As a junior, he caught 59 passes for 917 yards with 11 touchdowns.

College career

Likely attended

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, ...

. As a freshman in the 2018 season, Likely caught 12 passes for 106 yards and five touchdowns in seven games. He was named third-team All-

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

after finishing his sophomore season with 32 receptions for 431 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He had six receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown in the 24–21 victory over Texas State in the Chanticleers' last game. Likely was named first-team All-Sun Belt and a second-team All-American by

Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...

after catching 30 passes for 601 yards and five touchdowns as a junior. He had three receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown in a 34–23 victory over Appalachian State. During his senior year, Likely was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week after catching eight passes for 232 yards and four touchdowns in a 52–20 win over

Arkansas State Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the state. The university ...

. Likely tied the NCAA record for longest touchdown reception on his first of the four touchdowns with a 99-yard reception. He repeated as a first-team All-Sun Belt selection after catching 59 passes for 912 yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns. Likely led the Sun Belt in receiving touchdowns in the 2021 season.

College statistics

Professional career

2022 season

Likely was selected by the

in the fourth round, 139th overall, of the

. Likely spent his rookie season as the second tight end on the depth chart behind Mark Andrews. He caught his first NFL touchdown in a 27–22 win over the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

in Week 8. In Week 18, he had eight receptions for 103 receiving yards in the 16–27 loss to 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 ...

. In his rookie season, Likely appeared in 16 games, of which he started two. He finished with 36 receptions for 373 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.

2023 season

Likely started slowly in the 2023 season as he was once again second on the depth chart behind Mark Andrews. He recorded four receptions for 42 yards in a 37–3 blowout win over the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

in Week 9. Andrews would suffer a severe ankle injury in the Ravens' Week 11 34–20 win over the

and miss the rest of the regular season. Likely became the lead tight end in Andrew's absence and made the most of his opportunity, recording 21 receptions for 322 yards and five touchdowns in the last six games of the season. Likely's best game came in Week 14 against the

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

, where he had five receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown as the Ravens won in overtime 37–31. Likely recorded his first multi-touchdown game of his career in Week 17 as he caught two passes for 42 yards and two touchdowns in a 56–19 rout of the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

. Likely finished the season with 30 receptions for 411 yards and five touchdowns. Likely's hot streak continued into the postseason. In the Divisional Round against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, he recorded two receptions for 34 yards and a touchdown in a 34–10 rout.

2024 season

In Week 1 of the 2024 season, Likely had a career-high 111 yards on nine receptions with one touchdown in the 27–20 loss to the Chiefs. He narrowly missed scoring the potential game-winning touchdown as time expired when he barely landed out of bounds. In Week 5 against the Bengals, he had two receiving touchdowns in the 41–38 overtime win. He finished the 2024 season with 42 receptions for 477 yards and six touchdowns. In the Divisional Round loss to the Bills, Likely had a receiving touchdown.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Baltimore Ravens bioCoastal Carolina Chanticleers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Likely, Isaiah Living people American football tight ends Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football players Players of American football from Cambridge, Massachusetts Players of American football from Everett, Massachusetts 2000 births Baltimore Ravens players