Nathaniel Bernard Odomes (born August 25, 1965) is an American former 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 ...

player who was a

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 ...

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) for 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 ...

(1987–1993),

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 ...

(1994–1995), and 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 ...

(1996). Before his NFL career, he played

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for the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

, returning 36 punts for 359 yards and intercepting nine passes. His seven interceptions in the 1986 season led the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. He was selected by the Bills in the second round of the

1987 NFL draft The 1987 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Ma ...

. Odomes was one of the top defensive backs in the NFL during the early 1990s, assisting the Bills to four consecutive

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

appearances, and making the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

twice (1992 and 1993). One of his more memorable plays was in a 1992 playoff game known as The Comeback, where he intercepted a pass from future Hall of Fame quarterback

Warren Moon Harold Warren Moon (born November 18, 1956) is an American former professional Gridiron football, football player who was a quarterback for 23 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He spent most of h ...

to set up Buffalo's game-winning field goal. In the following season, Odomes led the NFL with 9 interceptions, and made a key interception in the second quarter of

Super Bowl XXVIII Super Bowl XXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...

to help his team build a 13–6 halftime lead. However, his team still lost the game 30–13. After the 1993 season, Odomes signed with Seattle and spent two injury-plagued years with the Seahawks. He never suited up for Seattle. Before concluding his NFL career, he played one final season with the Atlanta Falcons in 1996. In his eight NFL seasons, Odomes intercepted 26 passes, which he returned for 224 yards and a touchdown. He also recorded 3 sacks and recovered 8 fumbles, returning them for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odomes, Nate American football cornerbacks Buffalo Bills players Players of American football from Columbus, Georgia Seattle Seahawks players Atlanta Falcons players American Conference Pro Bowl players Wisconsin Badgers football players 1965 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen