Jordan Payton in the NFL
In the NFL. Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Receiver, UCLA, 2012–⁠15

Jordan Payton

Number
No. 9
Height
6′1″
Hometown
Santa Monica, CA
Born
Sep 1, 1993, in Torrance, California

Wikipedia readers: about 235 a month over the past year

Jordan Payton played receiver at UCLA (2012–⁠15). The Cleveland Browns took Payton in round 5, No. 154 overall in the 2016 NFL Draft.

At a glance

Best season
1,106
Receiving yards, 2015 (UCLA, 8–⁠5)
Drafted
No. 154
Round 5, 2016 NFL Draft (Cleveland Browns)

Career highs

14catches, career highvs. Washington State, 2015152receiving yards, career highvs. Washington State, 20152receiving touchdowns, career hightwice; last vs. Oregon, 2014

Receiving

Receiving yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamRecYdsAvgTDLong
2012UCLA1820211.2140
2013*UCLA3844011.6143
2014UCLA6795414.2780
2015UCLA781,10614.2559
Career2012,70213.41480

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. * That team-season’s player lines are missing part of the team’s yards in our source, so these numbers may be short.

On the roster

SeasonTeamNo.PosHt
2012UCLA9WR
2013UCLA9WR
2014UCLA9WR
2015UCLA9WR6′1″

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
2013UCLA390.8761st (n=341)0.8134.05%
2014UCLA910.6265th (n=496)0.5256.110%
2015UCLA1160.6977th (n=465)0.5380.012%

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

2015 UCLA 13 games, 78 catches, 1,106 yards, 5 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLong
Sep 5vs.VirginiaW 34–⁠16354041
Sep 12atUNLVW 37–⁠3570129
Sep 19vs.BYUW 24–⁠23459119
Sep 26atArizonaW 56–⁠307136159
Oct 3vs.Arizona StateL 23–⁠38673025
Oct 15atStanfordL 35–⁠56695120
Oct 22vs.CaliforniaW 40–⁠24660012
Oct 31vs.ColoradoW 35–⁠318134051
Nov 7atOregon StateW 41–⁠0571027
Nov 14vs.Washington StateL 27–⁠3114152045
Nov 21atUtahW 17–⁠97105037
Nov 28atUSCL 21–⁠40460021
Dec 26 ✦vs.NebraskaL 29–⁠37337122
2014 UCLA 13 games, 67 catches, 954 yards, 7 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLong
Aug 30atVirginiaW 28–⁠20898035
Sep 6vs.MemphisW 42–⁠357104028
Sep 13vs.TexasW 20–⁠17464133
Sep 25atArizona StateW 62–⁠275151280
Oct 4vs.UtahL 28–⁠30774028
Oct 11vs.OregonL 30–⁠42661225
Oct 18atCaliforniaW 36–⁠34547019
Oct 25atColoradoW 40–⁠37565120
Nov 1vs.ArizonaW 17–⁠76119170
Nov 8atWashingtonW 44–⁠30556017
Nov 22vs.USCW 38–⁠20331014
Nov 28vs.StanfordL 10–⁠31226017
Jan 2 ✦vs.Kansas StateW 40–⁠35458037
2013 UCLA 12 games, 38 catches, 440 yards, 1 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLong
Aug 31vs.NevadaW 58–⁠20230018
Sep 14atNebraskaW 41–⁠21228016
Sep 21vs.New Mexico StateW 59–⁠13237021
Oct 3atUtahW 34–⁠27368129
Oct 12vs.CaliforniaW 37–⁠10461043
Oct 19atStanfordL 10–⁠24543014
Oct 26atOregonL 14–⁠42216010
Nov 2vs.ColoradoW 45–⁠23431014
Nov 9atArizonaW 31–⁠26322011
Nov 23vs.Arizona StateL 33–⁠38446016
Nov 30atUSCW 35–⁠14534012
Dec 31 ✦vs.Virginia TechW 42–⁠12224013
2012 UCLA 9 games, 18 catches, 202 yards, 1 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLong
Sep 22vs.Oregon StateL 20–⁠271101
Sep 29atColoradoW 42–⁠14111011
Oct 6atCaliforniaL 17–⁠43341028
Oct 13vs.UtahW 21–⁠14219010
Nov 3vs.ArizonaW 66–⁠10337117
Nov 10atWashington StateW 44–⁠36462040
Nov 24vs.StanfordL 17–⁠351707
Nov 30vs.StanfordL 24–⁠27221016
Dec 27 ✦vs.BaylorL 26–⁠491303

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

Before the draft

Played in the 2016 Senior Bowl (North team, lost 16–⁠27).

DrillCombine 2016Combine or pro day 2016
Height6′1⅛″
Weight207 lb
Arm length32½″
Hand size10⅛″
40-yard dash4.47 s
10-yard split1.50 s
Vertical jump34½″
Broad jump10′1″
3-cone drill7.08 s
20-yard shuttle4.33 s

Combine or pro day: the source doesn’t say which. Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data). Rosters and honors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

In the NFL

1 season, 2 games with a stat; latest team: Cleveland Browns.

SeasonTeamGRecYdsTD
2016Cleveland Browns2130

Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0), matched to him by his draft pick and college (Player ids: DynastyProcess (GPL-3.0)). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.

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