Receiver, North Texas, 2017–⁠20

Jaelon Darden

Number
No. 1
Height
5′9″
Weight
174 lb
Class (2020)
Senior
Hometown
Houston, TX
Born
Jan 14, 1999, in Houston, Texas

Wikipedia readers: about 772 a month over the past year

Jaelon Darden played receiver at North Texas (2017–⁠20). The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took Darden in round 4, No. 129 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.

At a glance

Best season
1,190
Receiving yards, 2020 (North Texas, 4–⁠6)
Best game
244 yards
Vs. Charlotte, week 6, 2020: No. 1 receiving game in FBS that week
National rank
No. 2
In FBS in receiving touchdowns, 2020
Drafted
No. 129
Round 4, 2021 NFL Draft (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Career highs

13catches, career highthree times; last vs. Charlotte, 2020244receiving yards, career highvs. Charlotte, 20204receiving touchdowns, career highat UTEP, 2020

Honors

All-America: FWAA 2020; ESPN 2020; Phil Steele 2020; USA Today 2020

Players of the year, conference and regional honors: Wikipedia’s lists (CC BY-SA), each linked from its honor.

Receiving

Receiving yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamRecYdsAvgTDLong
2017North Texas322818.8328
2018North Texas4857512.0446
2019North Texas767369.71268
2020North Texas741,19016.11975
Career2302,78212.13875

Returns

SeasonTeamKRYdsTDPRYdsTD
2017North Texas162950101191
2018North Texas–––5620
2019North Texas140161080
2020North Texas–––4210
Career172990353101

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.

On the roster

SeasonTeamNo.PosClassHtWt
2017North Texas1WRFr.
2018North Texas1WRSo.
2019North Texas1WRJr.
2020North Texas1WRSr.5′9″174

As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.

Per play

SeasonTeamPlaysEPA/playPctileMedianTotalUsage
2017North Texas500.146th (n=507)0.526.87%
2018North Texas630.6568th (n=497)0.5340.86%
2019North Texas1100.4840th (n=499)0.5453.313%
2020North Texas1160.6563rd (n=346)0.5575.317%

Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.

Game by game

2020 North Texas 9 games, 74 catches, 1,190 yards, 19 TD
DateOpponentResultRecRec ydsRec TDKRYdsPR
Sep 5vs.Houston ChristianW 57–⁠315713––2
Sep 19vs.SMUL 35–⁠655662–––
Oct 3vs.Southern MissL 31–⁠41131041–––
Oct 10vs.CharlotteL 21–⁠49132443––1
Oct 17atMiddle TennesseeW 52–⁠35102041–––
Nov 21vs.RiceW 27–⁠174501––1
Nov 28atUTSAL 17–⁠4981431–––
Dec 3vs.Louisiana TechL 31–⁠4281353–––
Dec 11atUTEPW 45–⁠4381734–––
2019 North Texas 12 games, 76 catches, 736 yards, 12 TD
DateOpponentResultRecRec ydsRec TDKRYdsPR
Aug 31vs.Abilene ChristianW 51–⁠3110590––3
Sep 7atSMUL 27–⁠496591–––
Sep 14atCaliforniaL 17–⁠232751––2
Sep 21vs.UTSAW 45–⁠34271––1
Sep 28vs.HoustonL 25–⁠468430––1
Oct 12atSouthern MissL 27–⁠455873–––
Oct 19vs.Middle TennesseeW 33–⁠30131251––3
Oct 26atCharlotteL 38–⁠3951041––1
Nov 2vs.UTEPW 52–⁠266603141
Nov 9atLouisiana TechL 17–⁠526160–––
Nov 23atRiceL 14–⁠20100––4
Nov 30vs.UABL 21–⁠2610811–––
2018 North Texas 13 games, 48 catches, 575 yards, 4 TD
DateOpponentResultRecRec ydsRec TDKRYdsPR
Sep 1vs.SMUW 46–⁠236810––1
Sep 8vs.Incarnate WordW 58–⁠162100––3
Sep 15atArkansasW 44–⁠175870–––
Sep 22atLibertyW 47–⁠74651–––
Sep 29vs.Louisiana TechL 27–⁠29–––––1
Oct 6atUTEPW 27–⁠245911–––
Oct 13vs.Southern MissW 30–⁠73210–––
Oct 20atUABL 21–⁠29101432–––
Oct 27vs.RiceW 41–⁠171190–––
Nov 10atOld DominionL 31–⁠344290–––
Nov 15vs.Florida AtlanticW 41–⁠38340–––
Nov 24atUTSAW 24–⁠213170–––
Dec 15 ✦vs.Utah StateL 13–⁠52280–––
2017 North Texas 13 games, 32 catches, 281 yards, 3 TD
DateOpponentResultRecRec ydsRec TDKRYdsPR
Sep 2vs.LamarW 59–⁠14–––129–
Sep 9atSMUL 32–⁠5456714751
Sep 16atIowaL 14–⁠313300225–
Sep 23vs.UABW 46–⁠43–––––2
Oct 14vs.UTSAW 29–⁠264250247–
Oct 21atFlorida AtlanticL 31–⁠694400358–
Oct 28vs.Old DominionW 45–⁠381180243–
Nov 4atLouisiana TechW 24–⁠2333302182
Nov 11vs.UTEPW 45–⁠105112––2
Nov 18vs.ArmyW 52–⁠492190–––
Nov 25atRiceW 30–⁠143220––2
Dec 2atFlorida AtlanticL 17–⁠412160–––
Dec 16 ✦vs.TroyL 30–⁠50–––––1

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Before the draft

DrillPro day 2021
Height5′7⅝″
Weight174 lb
Arm length30⅝″
Hand size8¾″
Wingspan72½″
40-yard dash4.46 s
10-yard split1.54 s
Vertical jump35½″
Broad jump10′2″
Bench press11 reps
3-cone drill6.67 s
20-yard shuttle4.10 s

Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

In the NFL

4 seasons, 35 games with a stat; latest team: Seattle Seahawks.

SeasonTeamGRecYdsTD
2021Tampa Bay Buccaneers96430
2022Cleveland Browns142260
2023Cleveland Browns1000
2024Seattle Seahawks11160
NFL career359750

Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.

Other pro football

YearsLeagueTeam
2026CFLBC Lions *

Leagues other than the NFL, from the infobox of his Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA), as it names the teams. * Off-season roster or practice squad only.

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