Jeremiah Ojimaojo Attaochu (born January 17, 1993) is a Nigerian-born former professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

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 ...

. He was selected by the

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in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft. He played

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at Georgia Tech. He was also a member of the

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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 ...

, Kansas City Chiefs,

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

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, and

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 ...

Early life

Attaochu moved with his family to the United States at the age of eight in 2001, where he attended Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C. He had intended to continue playing

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

but instead decided to try

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 ...

for Archbishop Carroll as recommended by the school's freshman football coach. He had 118 tackles and 14 sacks as a senior, while recording four touchdowns by blocking kicks or returning fumbles. He played three seasons of varsity football as a

and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

, and served two years as

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

. Considered a three-star recruit by '' Rivals.com'', he accepted a scholarship from Georgia Tech over offers from

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, Kansas State and Syracuse.

College career

As a freshman, Attaochu played in all 12 games and started in the Independence Bowl. He finished the year with 23 tackles (18 solo tackles), 4.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, and one

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

hurry. In 2011, he played in 11 games and started 10 times, missing two games due to an injury. He led the team in tackles for loss (11.5), sacks (6.0) and finished third in total tackles with 59, intercepted one pass, while breaking up two others and recovering a fumble, earning a conference honorable mention selection. In 2012, he played and started in 13 games. He registered 69 tackles, including 44 solo tackles, had 12 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He had two sacks in the ACC Championship Game vs. Florida State. In 2013, as a senior, he played and started in all 13 games, recording 45 tackles, including 16 for loss, while adding 12.5 sacks, two pass break ups and one forced fumble, while earning himself All-

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(ACC) and

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honors. He finished his career as Georgia Tech's all-time leader in sacks with 31.5, surpassing Greg Gathers' 31 that he set between 1999 and 2002.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Attaochu sat out drills at the 2014

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

due to a finger injury (medical exclusion). However, he was able to participate fully on his

pro day The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.58 and a 4.63, had a

vertical jump A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

of 37.5 inches, a 3-cone of 7.28, and a short shuttle of 4.64. His 10-yard split was 1.55.

San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers (first stint)

Attaochu was selected by the

in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft. In the

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

season opener against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, Attaochu made an impressive debut, recording one strip sack that forced a fumble and one blocked punt. The two plays helped set up 10 points for San Diego in an 18–17 loss. In 2016, Attaochu missed three games with a sprained ankle suffered in Week 6 and then suffering a broken foot in Week 10. He was placed on injured reserve on December 3, 2016. He finished 2016 with eight tackles, two sacks, nine pressures and seven quarterback hits over eight games.

San Francisco 49ers

On March 15, 2018, Attaochu signed with the

. He was released on September 1, 2018.

New York Jets

On September 3, 2018, Attaochu signed with the

. He played in 11 games before being placed on injured reserve on December 19, 2018.

Kansas City Chiefs

On April 8, 2019, Attaochu signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was released by the team on September 1, 2019.

Denver Broncos

On October 1, 2019, Attaochu was signed by the

. In week 14 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 ...

, Attaochu sacked Deshaun Watson twice and recovered a fumble lost by wide receiver Keke Coutee and gave the ball to teammate Kareem Jackson who returned the fumble for a 70 yard touchdown during the 38–24 win. On March 30, 2020, the Broncos re-signed Attaochu to a one-year, $1.5 million contract.

Chicago Bears

Attaochu signed a two-year contract with the

on March 23, 2021. He suffered a torn pec in Week 5 and was placed on injured reserve on October 13, 2021. He was released on June 13, 2022.

Baltimore Ravens

On September 27, 2022, Attaochu was signed to the practice squad of the

. He was released on October 18, 2022.

Los Angeles Chargers (second stint)

On October 26, 2022, 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 ...

signed Attaochu to their active roster. He was released on November 26 and re-signed to the practice squad. His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 14, 2023.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Attaochu, Jeremiah Living people 1993 births Nigerian players of American football Sportspeople from Ibadan Players of American football from Washington, D.C. Archbishop Carroll High School (Washington, D.C.) alumni American football defensive ends Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football players San Diego Chargers players Los Angeles Chargers players San Francisco 49ers players New York Jets players Kansas City Chiefs players Denver Broncos players Chicago Bears players Baltimore Ravens players