Kenny Golladay in the NFL
In the NFL. Photo: Kevind810, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Receiver, Northern Illinois (from North Dakota), 2012–⁠16

Kenny Golladay

Number
No. 19
Height
6′4″
Hometown
Chicago, IL
Born
Nov 3, 1993, in Chicago, Illinois

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Kenny Golladay played receiver at North Dakota (2012) and Northern Illinois (2014–⁠16). The Detroit Lions took Golladay in round 3, No. 96 overall in the 2017 NFL Draft.

At a glance

Best season
1,164
Receiving yards, 2016 (Northern Illinois, 5–⁠7)
Best game
213 yards
Vs. UNLV, week 1, 2015: No. 2 receiving game in FBS that week
Drafted
No. 96
Round 3, 2017 NFL Draft (Detroit Lions)

Career highs

82rushing yards, career highat Wyoming, 201614catches, career highvs. Toledo, 2016213receiving yards, career highvs. UNLV, 20152receiving touchdowns, career highfive times; last at Ball State, 2016

Team titles: MAC champions, 2014

Receiving

Receiving yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamRecYdsAvgTDLong
2012*North Dakota34715.7032
2015Northern Illinois731,12915.51068
2016Northern Illinois881,16413.2849
Career1642,34014.31868

Rushing

SeasonTeamCarYdsAvgTDLong
2015Northern Illinois9141.616
2016Northern Illinois201929.6239
Career292067.1339

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
2012North Dakota19WR
2014Northern Illinois19WR
2015Northern Illinois19WR
2016Northern Illinois19WR6′4″

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
2015Northern Illinois1370.5758th (n=465)0.5378.213%
2016Northern Illinois1480.3826th (n=489)0.5255.917%

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

2016 Northern Illinois 12 games, 88 catches, 1,164 yards, 8 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLongRush
Sep 3atWyomingL 34–⁠401014423982
Sep 10atSouth FloridaL 17–⁠484430225
Sep 17vs.San Diego StateL 28–⁠4268014920
Sep 24vs.Western IllinoisL 23–⁠28511313939
Oct 1atBall StateW 31–⁠2413184234–
Oct 8atWestern MichiganL 30–⁠455990385
Oct 15vs.Central MichiganL 28–⁠347700243
Oct 22vs.BuffaloW 44–⁠77961392
Nov 1vs.Bowling GreenW 45–⁠20959013–
Nov 9vs.ToledoL 24–⁠3114149140–
Nov 16atEastern MichiganW 31–⁠2443601340
Nov 25atKent StateW 31–⁠21491034−4
2015 Northern Illinois 14 games, 73 catches, 1,129 yards, 10 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLongRush
Sep 5vs.UNLVW 38–⁠309213048–
Sep 12vs.Murray StateW 57–⁠268144255–
Sep 19atOhio StateL 13–⁠2031907–
Sep 26atBoston CollegeL 14–⁠172707–
Oct 3atCentral MichiganL 19–⁠29654014–
Oct 10vs.Ball StateW 59–⁠416921346
Oct 17atMiami (OH)W 45–⁠12673036–
Oct 24vs.Eastern MichiganW 49–⁠21671118−2
Nov 3atToledoW 32–⁠278128144–
Nov 11atBuffaloW 41–⁠3061412684
Nov 18vs.Western MichiganW 27–⁠19493153–
Nov 24vs.OhioL 21–⁠26672227–
Dec 4vs.Bowling GreenL 14–⁠34115015–
Dec 23 ✦vs.Boise StateL 7–⁠5527046
2012 North Dakota 1 game, 3 catches, 47 yards
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLongRush
Sep 15atSan Diego StateL 41–⁠49347032–

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

Before the draft

Played in the 2017 East–West Shrine Game (East team, lost 3–⁠10).

DrillCombine 2017
Height6′4″
Weight218 lb
Arm length32″
Hand size9¾″
40-yard dash4.50 s
10-yard split1.58 sW
Vertical jump35½″
Broad jump10′0″
Bench press18 reps
3-cone drill7.00 s
20-yard shuttle4.15 s

Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Rosters and honors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

In the NFL

6 seasons, 67 games with a stat; latest team: New York Giants.

Pro Bowl: 2019

SeasonTeamGRecYdsTD
2017Detroit Lions11284773
2018Detroit Lions15701,0635
2019Detroit Lions16651,19011
2020Detroit Lions5203382
2021New York Giants14375210
2022New York Giants66811
NFL career672263,67022

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. Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams by NFL season: rosters and honors, Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

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