Jalen Mayfield (born May 23, 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 ...

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. He played

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for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

, and was selected by 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 ...

in the third round of 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 ...

Early life

Mayfield grew up in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

, and attended Catholic Central High School, where he was a four year starter at offensive tackle and defensive end for the football team. Mayfield originally committed to play

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in February of this junior year, but eventually flipped his commitment to

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

three months later. As a senior, he was named ''

The Grand Rapids Press ''The Grand Rapids Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 20 ...

'' Defensive Player of the Year after recording 96 tackles, 31 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, and 3 fumble recoveries and played in the

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl (currently branded as the Navy All-American Bowl for sponsorship reasons) is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is p ...

College career

Mayfield played in three games at left tackle as a true freshman. He was named the Wolverines' starting right tackle going into his sophomore year and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference after starting all 13 of Michigan's games. Following the 2020 season, Mayfield announced that he would forgo his remaining years of college eligibility and enter the

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

2021 season

Mayfield was selected by the

in the third round (68th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft. He signed his four-year rookie contract with Atlanta on June 15, 2021. Heading into his first NFL training camp, Mayfield competed with

Kaleb McGary Kaleb Ethan McGary (born February 22, 1995) is an American professional football offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies. Early life McGary originall ...

to be the Falcons' starting right tackle. Due to injuries suffered by offensive guards Josh Andrews and

Matt Gono Matthew Gono (born May 10, 1996) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played college football at Wesley College. He went undrafted and signed with the Atlanta Falcons. Professional career Atlanta Falcons Gono signed with the Atlan ...

, however, Mayfield began taking first-team reps at left guard. At the conclusion of the NFL preseason, Mayfield was named the starting left guard for the Falcons. Mayfield made his first career start and NFL debut in the Falcons' Week 1 loss to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, playing in 90% of the team's offensive snaps After this game, he would appear in every single offensive snap for the Falcons until Week 17, when an injury suffered late in the fourth quarter of the Falcons' loss to the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

kept him out of the Falcons' Week 18 season finale against 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 ...

. Overall, Mayfield finished his rookie season appearing in 16 games and starts.

2022 season

On September 1, 2022, Mayfield was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

. He missed the entire 2022 season. Mayfield was released on August 26, 2023.

New York Giants

Mayfield was signed to the

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of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

on August 31, 2023. He was promoted to the active roster on October 14. He was released on October 16 and re-signed to the practice squad. Following the end of the 2023 regular season, the Giants signed him to a reserve/future contract on January 8, 2024. He was waived on August 27, 2024.

References

External links

*
Michigan Wolverines bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayfield, Jalen 2000 births Living people American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards Players of American football from Grand Rapids, Michigan Michigan Wolverines football players Atlanta Falcons players New York Giants players