Jaylinn Hawkins (born August 25, 1997) is a Panamanian-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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for 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 ...

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

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

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

and selected in the fourth round of 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 ...

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 ...

College career

Hawkins attended Buena Park High School, where he was a four star recruit, and graduated in 2015. He played college football at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, and

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his first year with the

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

. In the 2016 season, Hawkins played snaps in all 12 games and started three games at safety. He was also recognized as a scholar-athlete of the week. His uncle, Jeremiah Hawkins, joined the Bears as a freshman wide receiver this season. In

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, Hawkins started 11 of the team's 12 games and played snaps in all 12. In

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, Hawkins started 12 of the team's 13 games and played snaps in all 13. He led the

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

with 6 interceptions. When targeted, he held the lowest passer rating (1.7) amongst Pac-12 safeties. At the 2018 Cheez-It Bowl, Hawkins had three interceptions, the most in any bowl game that year. Hawkins was named Defensive MVP of the game despite Cal's loss to

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

. Prior to the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

, Hawkins was named a preseason 2nd team All-Pac-12 player. He started and played in all 13 games. During a game against

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

, Hawkins made a one-handed interception that made the

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande, Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on Septem ...

Top 10. In his overall college career, Jaylinn Hawkins recorded 156 tackles, 9.5 tackles for a loss, 10 interceptions and three forced fumbles and returned nine kicks for 129 yards. He graduated with a degree in

American studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

Hawkins was selected in the fourth round of the

with the 134th overall pick by the

. His collegiate partner at safety, Ashtyn Davis, was taken in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft with the 68th overall pick by the

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

. Hawkins was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

list by the Falcons on July 28, 2020, and was activated eight days later. Hawkins scored his first professional touchdown in Week 6 of the 2022 season against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

when he recovered a fumble in the end zone. He also recorded an interception in the same game. The Falcons waived Hawkins on October 17, 2023.

Los Angeles Chargers

On October 18, 2023, 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 ...

claimed Hawkins off waivers.

New England Patriots

On March 21, 2024, Hawkins signed with the

. He played in all 17 games with seven starts, recording 48 tackles and one pass deflection.

References

External links

New England Patriots profileCalifornia Golden Bears profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Jaylinn 1997 births Living people People from Buena Park, California Players of American football from Orange County, California American football safeties California Golden Bears football players Atlanta Falcons players Los Angeles Chargers players New England Patriots players Panamanian players of American football Sportspeople from Panama City