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
Career highs
13catches, career highthree times; last vs. Charlotte, 2020244receiving yards, career highvs. Charlotte, 20204receiving touchdowns, career highat UTEP, 2020Honors
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
| Season | Team | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | North Texas | 32 | 281 | 8.8 | 3 | 28 |
| 2018 | North Texas | 48 | 575 | 12.0 | 4 | 46 |
| 2019 | North Texas | 76 | 736 | 9.7 | 12 | 68 |
| 2020 | North Texas | 74 | 1,190 | 16.1 | 19 | 75 |
| Career | 230 | 2,782 | 12.1 | 38 | 75 | |
Returns
| Season | Team | KR | Yds | TD | PR | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | North Texas | 16 | 295 | 0 | 10 | 119 | 1 |
| 2018 | North Texas | – | – | – | 5 | 62 | 0 |
| 2019 | North Texas | 1 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 108 | 0 |
| 2020 | North Texas | – | – | – | 4 | 21 | 0 |
| Career | 17 | 299 | 0 | 35 | 310 | 1 | |
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
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | North Texas | 1 | WR | Fr. | ||
| 2018 | North Texas | 1 | WR | So. | ||
| 2019 | North Texas | 1 | WR | Jr. | ||
| 2020 | North Texas | 1 | WR | Sr. | 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
| Season | Team | Plays | EPA/play | Pctile | Median | Total | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | North Texas | 50 | 0.14 | 6th (n=507) | 0.52 | 6.8 | 7% |
| 2018 | North Texas | 63 | 0.65 | 68th (n=497) | 0.53 | 40.8 | 6% |
| 2019 | North Texas | 110 | 0.48 | 40th (n=499) | 0.54 | 53.3 | 13% |
| 2020 | North Texas | 116 | 0.65 | 63rd (n=346) | 0.55 | 75.3 | 17% |
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
| Date | Opponent | Result | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD | KR | Yds | PR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | vs. | W 57–31 | 5 | 71 | 3 | – | – | 2 |
| Sep 19 | vs. | L 35–65 | 5 | 66 | 2 | – | – | – |
| Oct 3 | vs. | L 31–41 | 13 | 104 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Oct 10 | vs. | L 21–49 | 13 | 244 | 3 | – | – | 1 |
| Oct 17 | at | W 52–35 | 10 | 204 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Nov 21 | vs. | W 27–17 | 4 | 50 | 1 | – | – | 1 |
| Nov 28 | at | L 17–49 | 8 | 143 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Dec 3 | vs. | L 31–42 | 8 | 135 | 3 | – | – | – |
| Dec 11 | at | W 45–43 | 8 | 173 | 4 | – | – | – |
2019 North Texas 12 games, 76 catches, 736 yards, 12 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD | KR | Yds | PR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | vs. | W 51–31 | 10 | 59 | 0 | – | – | 3 |
| Sep 7 | at | L 27–49 | 6 | 59 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Sep 14 | at | L 17–23 | 2 | 75 | 1 | – | – | 2 |
| Sep 21 | vs. | W 45–3 | 4 | 27 | 1 | – | – | 1 |
| Sep 28 | vs. | L 25–46 | 8 | 43 | 0 | – | – | 1 |
| Oct 12 | at | L 27–45 | 5 | 87 | 3 | – | – | – |
| Oct 19 | vs. | W 33–30 | 13 | 125 | 1 | – | – | 3 |
| Oct 26 | at | L 38–39 | 5 | 104 | 1 | – | – | 1 |
| Nov 2 | vs. | W 52–26 | 6 | 60 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Nov 9 | at | L 17–52 | 6 | 16 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Nov 23 | at | L 14–20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 4 |
| Nov 30 | vs. | L 21–26 | 10 | 81 | 1 | – | – | – |
2018 North Texas 13 games, 48 catches, 575 yards, 4 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD | KR | Yds | PR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | vs. | W 46–23 | 6 | 81 | 0 | – | – | 1 |
| Sep 8 | vs. | W 58–16 | 2 | 10 | 0 | – | – | 3 |
| Sep 15 | at | W 44–17 | 5 | 87 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Sep 22 | at | W 47–7 | 4 | 65 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Sep 29 | vs. | L 27–29 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Oct 6 | at | W 27–24 | 5 | 91 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Oct 13 | vs. | W 30–7 | 3 | 21 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Oct 20 | at | L 21–29 | 10 | 143 | 2 | – | – | – |
| Oct 27 | vs. | W 41–17 | 1 | 19 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Nov 10 | at | L 31–34 | 4 | 29 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Nov 15 | vs. | W 41–38 | 3 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Nov 24 | at | W 24–21 | 3 | 17 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Dec 15 ✦ | vs. | L 13–52 | 2 | 8 | 0 | – | – | – |
2017 North Texas 13 games, 32 catches, 281 yards, 3 TD
| Date | Opponent | Result | Rec | Rec yds | Rec TD | KR | Yds | PR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs. | W 59–14 | – | – | – | 1 | 29 | – |
| Sep 9 | at | L 32–54 | 5 | 67 | 1 | 4 | 75 | 1 |
| Sep 16 | at | L 14–31 | 3 | 30 | 0 | 2 | 25 | – |
| Sep 23 | vs. | W 46–43 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 |
| Oct 14 | vs. | W 29–26 | 4 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 47 | – |
| Oct 21 | at | L 31–69 | 4 | 40 | 0 | 3 | 58 | – |
| Oct 28 | vs. | W 45–38 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 43 | – |
| Nov 4 | at | W 24–23 | 3 | 33 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 2 |
| Nov 11 | vs. | W 45–10 | 5 | 11 | 2 | – | – | 2 |
| Nov 18 | vs. | W 52–49 | 2 | 19 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Nov 25 | at | W 30–14 | 3 | 22 | 0 | – | – | 2 |
| Dec 2 | at | L 17–41 | 2 | 16 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Dec 16 ✦ | vs. | L 30–50 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Pro day 2021 |
|---|---|
| Height | 5′7⅝″ |
| Weight | 174 lb |
| Arm length | 30⅝″ |
| Hand size | 8¾″ |
| Wingspan | 72½″ |
| 40-yard dash | 4.46 s |
| 10-yard split | 1.54 s |
| Vertical jump | 35½″ |
| Broad jump | 10′2″ |
| Bench press | 11 reps |
| 3-cone drill | 6.67 s |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.10 s |
Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
4 seasons, 35 games with a stat; latest team: Seattle Seahawks.
| Season | Team | G | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 9 | 6 | 43 | 0 |
| 2022 | Cleveland Browns | 14 | 2 | 26 | 0 |
| 2023 | Cleveland Browns | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Seattle Seahawks | 11 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| NFL career | 35 | 9 | 75 | 0 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
Other pro football
| Years | League | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | CFL | BC 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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