Matt Paradis

Matt Paradis (born October 12, 1989) is an American football center who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Boise State.

Matt Paradis
refer to caption
Paradis with the Denver Broncos in 2017
Personal information
Born: (1989-10-12) October 12, 1989
Council, Idaho, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:300 lb (136 kg)
Career information
High school:Council (Council, Idaho)
College:Boise State
Position:Center
NFL Draft:2014 / Round: 6 / Pick: 207
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2021
Games played:98
Games started:98
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Professional career

Paradis was one of 51 collegiate offensive linemen to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. He completed all of the combine drills and had a mediocre performance overall, finishing 11th in the three-cone drill and 20th among offensive linemen in the bench press.[1] On March 14, 2014, he attended Boise State's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only ran positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Paradis was projected to be a seventh round pick or priority undrafted free agent by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the 15th best center prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[2]

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 2+5⁄8 in
(1.90 m)		 306 lb
(139 kg)		 32+3⁄8 in
(0.82 m)		 9+7⁄8 in
(0.25 m)		5.34 s1.85 s3.10 s4.46 s7.60 s26 in
(0.66 m)		8 ft 7 in
(2.62 m)		23 reps
All values from NFL Combine[3][4]

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos selected Paradis in the sixth round (207th overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft.[5] He was the ninth center selected in 2014.[6][7]

2014

On June 2, 2014, the Denver Broncos signed Paradis to a four-year, $2.31 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $91,000.[8][9]

Throughout training camp, he competed for a roster spot against Will Montgomery. On August 30, 2014, the Denver Broncos waived Paradis and signed him to their practice squad on September 1, 2014.[10] On January 15, 2015, the Denver Broncos signed Paradis to a reserve/future contract.[8]

2015

Throughout training camp, Paradis competed against Gino Gradkowski for the vacant starting center role after Manny Ramirez and Will Montgomery both departed during free agency.[11] Head coach Gary Kubiak named Paradis the starting center to begin the regular season.[12]

He made his first career start and professional regular season debut in the Denver Broncos' season-opening 19–13 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Paradis started all 16 regular season games and helped the Broncos attain a 12–4 record and finish atop the AFC West. On January 17, 2016, he started his first career playoff game as the Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 23–16 in the AFC divisional playoff game. The Denver Broncos went on to defeat the New England Patriots and play against the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. Paradis started in the Super Bowl and helped his team defeat the Carolina Panthers by a score of 24–10.[13] Paradis played exceptionally well throughout his first season as a starter and was ranked the best center in the NFL in 2015 by Pro Football Focus and was also ranked the fourth overall center by the Bleacher Report.[14] Due to his contract and his snap count, Paradis earned a player performance bonus of $391,647. It was the largest performance bonus of any player in 2015.[15] He allowed 29 quarterback pressures and received a pass blocking efficiency of 96.6 from Pro Football Focus. It ranked 19th among all centers in 2015.[16]

2016

On April 14, 2016, the Denver Broncos signed Paradis to a one-year, $525,000 contract.[8]

After a stellar season in 2016, Paradis maintained his starting role to begin the regular season. He started all 16 regular season games and helped the Broncos finish 9–7. Paradis played 2,392 snaps out of a possible 2,402 snaps in 2016 and only allowed 17 quarterback pressures. Pro Football Focus gave Paradis a pass blocking efficiency of 97.9, which ranked 13th among all centers. He also received an overall grade of 90.7 from PFF that finished first among all centers.[16] The Denver Broncos finished with a 9–7 record and did not qualify for the playoffs. Head coach Gary Kubiak announced his retirement after the season, due to health concerns. As the Broncos' starting center, Paradis received a player performance bonus of $306,002, which was the highest player performance bonus of any player on the Broncos' roster.[17]

2017

On March 7, 2017, the Denver Broncos signed Paradis to his exclusive rights tender under the terms of one-year, $615,000 contract. Due to his exclusive rights tender, he was unable to negotiate with any other team, but became a restricted free agent in 2018.[8][18]

Paradis missed organized team activities and the beginning of training camp after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on both his hips during the offseason. He returned to training camp after receiving medical clearance in July.[16] Head coach Vance Joseph named Paradis the starting center to begin the regular season, ahead of Connor McGovern and Dillon Day. Paradis started all 16 regular season games for the third consecutive season.[19] He earned an overall grade of 75.2 from Pro Football Focus in 2017.[20]

2018

On March 12, 2018, the Broncos placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Paradis.[21] He started the first nine games at center before suffering a fractured fibula in Week 9.[22] He was placed on injured reserve on November 12, 2018.[23]

Carolina Panthers

On March 14, 2019, Paradis signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Carolina Panthers.[24]

Paradis suffered a torn ACL in Week 9 of the 2021 season and was placed on injured reserve on November 8, 2021.[25]

References
  1. Alfie Crow (February 23, 2014). "2014 Combine results: Offensive line 40-yard dash and more". bigcatcountry.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  2. "Matt Paradis, DS #15 C, Boise State". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  3. "Matt Paradis Draft Profile". NFL.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  4. "Matt Paradis, Boise State, C, 2014 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  5. "2014 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  6. Boise State offensive linemen Matt Paradis (Broncos), Charles Leno Jr. (Bears) drafted Saturday
  7. Boise State's Paradis drafted by Broncos, Leno Jr. goes to Bears
  8. "Spotrac.com: Matt Paradis contract". spotrac.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  9. Matt Klis (June 2, 2014). "Broncos sign draft picks Cody Latimer, Matt Paradis, Corey Nelson". www.broomfieldenterprise.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  10. Chadd Cripe (September 1, 2014). "Broncos in the NFL: Matt Paradis of Council makes Denver Broncos' practice squad". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  11. Nicki Jhabvala (April 24, 2016). "Gino Gradkowski is eager to jump-start career with Broncos". denverpost.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  12. the Denver Post (September 3, 2015). "Denver Broncos depth chart 2015". chatsports.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  13. "Super Bowl 50 - Denver Broncos vs. Carolina Panthers - February 7th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  14. Jason Marcum (September 25, 2015). "The irony of Russell Bodine, the 2014 NFL Draft and Matt Paradis". Cincy Jungle. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  15. Tim Lynch (March 14, 2016). "Matt Paradis earns NFL's largest performance-based bonus in 2015". milehighreport.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  16. "Denver C Paradis cleared to return to action". profootballfocus.com. July 6, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  17. "Matt Paradis again leads Broncos in performance-based pay". denverpost.com. March 15, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  18. Cameron Wolfe (April 3, 2017). "Matt Paradis among three Broncos now under contract for 2017 after signing exclusive rights tenders". denverpost.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  19. "NFL Player stats: Matt Paradis". NFL.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  20. "Pro Football Focus: Matt Paradis". profootballfocus.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  21. Alper, Josh (March 12, 2018). "Broncos give Matt Paradis, Shaquil Barrett second-round RFA tenders". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com.
  22. Legwold, Jeff (November 4, 2018). "Broncos' Matt Paradis 'out for a while' with fractured fibula". ESPN.com.
  23. DiLalla, Aric (November 12, 2018). "Broncos place C Matt Paradis on IR, sign C Gino Gradkowski". DenverBroncos.com.
  24. Strickland, Bryan (March 14, 2019). "Matt Paradis signs three-year contract with Panthers". Panthers.com.
  25. Gantt, Darin (November 8, 2021). "Panthers place two starting linemen on injured reserve". Panthers.com.
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