Jalen Dalton

Jalen Dalton (born August 4, 1997) is an American football defensive end who is a free agent. He played college football at North Carolina and was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He has also spent time with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons.

Jalen Dalton
refer to caption
Dalton with the Atlanta Falcons in 2022
Personal information
Born: (1997-08-04) August 4, 1997
Clemmons, North Carolina, U.S.
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:300 lb (136 kg)
Career information
High school:West Forsyth (NC)
College:North Carolina (2015–2018)
Position:Defensive end
Undrafted:2019
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics as of 2022
Tackles:13
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early life and education

Dalton was born on August 4, 1997, in Clemmons, North Carolina. He attended West Forsyth High School where he was a first-team all-state selection. Rivals.com ranked him the fourth-best defensive end recruit nationally and the best player in the state.[1] After graduating, he announced his commitment to play college football at the University of North Carolina in November 2014.[2]

Among North Carolina's highest recruits, Dalton appeared in nine games as a true freshman, recording 15 tackles.[1] He was considered "lean" for his position at 250 pounds, and increased his weight to 290 for the 2016 season, describing his diet as "eat whatever."[3] As a sophomore that year, he made an appearance in all of the school's 13 games and was a starter in two of them, making a total of 27 tackles, including 1.5 for-loss, a blocked kick, and a fumble recovery.[1]

As a junior in 2017, Dalton started three games and appeared in six additional, finishing the year with 28 tackles, three sacks and 8.0 TFLs, the latter of which placed second on the team. Dalton appeared in seven games as a senior, and made 23 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 4.5 TFLs.[1] He finished his college career with 93 total tackles and 6.5 sacks.[4]

Professional career

Chicago Bears

After going unselected in the 2019 NFL Draft, Dalton was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent, following a successful rookie minicamp.[5] He was waived at the final roster cuts, on August 31.[6]

New Orleans Saints

On December 18, 2019, he was signed to the practice squad of the New Orleans Saints.[7] He was signed to a futures contract on January 6, 2020.[8][9] He suffered a season-ending injury in August 2020.[10]

In 2021, Dalton appeared to be heading towards a final roster spot with the Saints, but suffered another season-ending injury.[11] He was released by New Orleans on May 3, 2022, having not appeared in a single game in his four seasons with the team.[12]

Atlanta Falcons

On June 16, 2022, Dalton was signed by the Atlanta Falcons.[13] He suffered an injury in preseason[14] and was released with an injury settlement shortly afterwards.[15]

On October 18, 2022, Dalton was re-signed to the Falcons' practice squad.[16] He was elevated to the active roster for a week eight game against the Carolina Panthers,[17] and made his NFL debut in the 37–34 win, recording one tackle.[18] He was signed to the active roster on November 5.[19] He finished the season with seven games played and 13 total tackles.[18]

Dalton was waived on June 7, 2023.[20]

Carolina Panthers

On June 8, 2023, Dalton was claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers.[21] However, Dalton was waived by Carolina with a failed physical designation on June 12.[22][23]

References
  1. "Jalen Dalton". University of North Carolina.
  2. Daniels, Tim (November 13, 2014). "Jalen Dalton to UNC: Tar Heels Land 4-Star DE Prospect". Bleacher Report.
  3. Carter, Andrew (August 13, 2016). "How defensive tackle Jalen Dalton got big(ger)". The Charlotte Observer. p. B3 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. Ledbetter, D. Orlando (June 16, 2022). "Falcons sign two, release two after minicamp". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  5. Pearson, Zack (May 2019). "Jalen Dalton signs deal with Chicago Bears". FanSided.
  6. Pearson, Zack (August 30, 2019). "Chicago Bears roster cuts: Live Tracker". 247Sports.
  7. Sigler, John (December 21, 2019). "Packers poach New Orleans-native John Leglue from Saints practice squad". USA Today.
  8. "Jalen Dalton Transactions & Injuries". Sports Forecaster.
  9. Rose, Bob (June 27, 2021). "Could Saints DT Jalen Dalton Muscle His Way Into the D-Line Rotation?". Sports Illustrated.
  10. Sigler, John (August 26, 2020). "Saints DT Jalen Dalton suffers season-ending injury". USA Today.
  11. Just, Amie (August 24, 2021). "Saints place 3 on injured reserve, including promising DT Jalen Dalton". The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate.
  12. Sigler, John (May 3, 2022). "Saints release two players amid post-draft roster moves". USA Today.
  13. "Falcons Sign Former Bears D-Lineman With Nearly 7-Foot Wingspan". Heavy. June 17, 2022.
  14. Flick, Daniel (August 31, 2022). "Falcons 53-Man Roster: 6 Biggest Surprises After Cut Day". Sports Illustrated.
  15. Ledbetter, D. Orlando (August 31, 2022). "Falcons sign 12 players to practice squad Wednesday". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  16. "Jalen Dalton: Back in Atlanta". CBS Sports. RotoWire. October 18, 2022.
  17. Urben, Matt (October 29, 2022). "Falcons elevate Jovante Moffatt, Jalen Dalton from practice squad". USA Today.
  18. "Jalen Dalton Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  19. Bair, Scott (November 5, 2022). "Cordarrelle Patterson activated off IR among flurry of Falcons roster moves". AtlantaFalcons.com.
  20. Bair, Scott (June 7, 2023). "Falcons sign defensive lineman Carlos Davis". AtlantaFalcons.com.
  21. Bair, Scott (June 8, 2023). "Panthers claim Jalen Dalton, Tiyon Evans off waivers". NBCSports.com.
  22. "Jalen Dalton: Cut by Carolina after five days". cbssports.com. June 12, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  23. "Jalen Dalton: Waived with failed physical". cbssports.com. June 13, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
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