Tight end, Purdue, 2019–⁠22

Payne Durham

Number
No. 87
Height
6′5″
Weight
255 lb
Class (2022)
Senior
Hometown
Suwanee, GA
Born
Jun 15, 2000

Payne Durham played tight end at Purdue (2019–⁠22). The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took Durham in round 5, No. 171 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.

At a glance

Best season
560
Receiving yards, 2022 (Purdue, 8–⁠6)
Drafted
No. 171
Round 5, 2023 NFL Draft (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Career highs

9catches, career hightwice; last at Syracuse, 2022120receiving yards, career highvs. Oregon State, 20212receiving touchdowns, career highfour times; last at Illinois, 2022

Honors

Receiving

Receiving yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamRecYdsAvgTDLong
2019Purdue9829.1426
2020Purdue1616610.4329
2021Purdue4546710.4662
2022Purdue5656010.0856
Career1261,27510.12162

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.

On the roster

SeasonTeamNo.PosClassHtWt
2019Purdue87TEFr.
2020Purdue87TESo.
2021Purdue87TEJr.
2022Purdue87TESr.6′5″255

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
2019Purdue91.47––13.2–
2020Purdue210.41––8.65%
2021Purdue560.5938th (n=410)0.6732.98%
2022Purdue610.6137th (n=683)0.7137.37%

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

2022 Purdue 13 games, 56 catches, 560 yards, 8 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLongRush
Sep 1vs.Penn StateL 31–⁠35343023–
Sep 10vs.Indiana StateW 56–⁠01707–
Sep 17atSyracuseL 29–⁠32983218–
Sep 24vs.Florida AtlanticW 28–⁠2641708–
Oct 1atMinnesotaW 20–⁠1042109–
Oct 8atMarylandW 31–⁠297109156–
Oct 15vs.NebraskaW 43–⁠3753008–
Oct 22atWisconsinL 24–⁠35666123–
Nov 5vs.IowaL 3–⁠24235024–
Nov 12atIllinoisW 31–⁠24770226–
Nov 19vs.NorthwesternW 17–⁠9230127–
Nov 26atIndianaW 30–⁠16439115–
Dec 3vs.MichiganL 22–⁠43210054
2021 Purdue 10 games, 45 catches, 467 yards, 6 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLongRush
Sep 4vs.Oregon StateW 30–⁠217120250–
Sep 11atUConnW 49–⁠0454119–
Sep 18atNotre DameL 13–⁠2762907–
Sep 25vs.IllinoisW 13–⁠91606–
Oct 16atIowaW 24–⁠751505–
Oct 23vs.WisconsinL 13–⁠309112124–
Oct 30atNebraskaW 28–⁠23420012–
Nov 13atOhio StateL 31–⁠592503–
Nov 20vs.NorthwesternW 32–⁠14221017–
Dec 30 ✦vs.TennesseeW 48–⁠45585262–
2020 Purdue 6 games, 16 catches, 166 yards, 3 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLongRush
Oct 24vs.IowaW 24–⁠20441016–
Oct 31atIllinoisW 31–⁠24452021–
Nov 14vs.NorthwesternL 20–⁠271404–
Nov 20atMinnesotaL 31–⁠34440129–
Nov 28vs.RutgersL 30–⁠372918–
Dec 5vs.NebraskaL 27–⁠37120120–
2019 Purdue 7 games, 9 catches, 82 yards, 4 TD
DateOpponentResultRecYdsTDLongRush
Sep 7vs.VanderbiltW 42–⁠24228126–
Oct 5atPenn StateL 7–⁠351808–
Oct 12vs.MarylandW 40–⁠141404–
Oct 19atIowaL 20–⁠261111–
Oct 26vs.IllinoisL 6–⁠24111111–
Nov 2vs.NebraskaW 31–⁠27223116–
Nov 23atWisconsinL 24–⁠451707–

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

Before the draft

Played in the 2023 Senior Bowl (National team, won 27–⁠10).

DrillCombine 2023Combine or pro day 2023
Height6′5⅝″
Weight253 lb
Arm length33⅜″
Hand size9¾″
Wingspan80⅜″W
40-yard dash4.87 s
10-yard split1.61 s
Vertical jump34½″
Broad jump9′9″
Bench press14 reps
3-cone drill7.15 s
20-yard shuttle4.51 s

Combine or pro day: the source doesn’t say which. 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

4 seasons, 24 games with a stat; latest team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

SeasonTeamGRecYdsTD
2023Tampa Bay Buccaneers65580
2024Tampa Bay Buccaneers8111152
2025Tampa Bay Buccaneers81110
2026 (so far)Tampa Bay Buccaneers2150
NFL career24181892

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

Is this you, or do you know of something wrong or missing here? Suggest a correction. We check each one against a source before changing the page.