Josh Malone
Joshua Khiry Malone (born March 21, 1996) is an American football wide receiver for the New York Jets. He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers.
Malone with the Bengals in 2017. | |||||||||
No. 83 – New York Jets | |||||||||
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Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | Chattanooga, Tennessee | March 21, 1996||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Station Camp | ||||||||
College: | Tennessee | ||||||||
NFL Draft: | 2017 / Round: 4 / Pick: 128 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2019 | |||||||||
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Early years
Malone attended Station Camp High School in Gallatin, Tennessee, where he played high school football for the Bison. He had a successful high school career at Station Camp. As a junior in 2012, he had 28 receptions for 408 yards and five touchdowns. In addition, he had 15 rushes for 101 yards and a rushing touchdown. He had numerous accomplishments during his senior season in 2013. He had 71 receptions for 1,404 yards and 19 receiving touchdowns and 23 rushes for 227 yards and three rushing touchdowns during his senior season.[1] His successful senior season warranted an invitation to play in the 2014 U.S. Army All-American Game.[2]
College career
Before the 2014 college football season, Malone committed to play for the University of Tennessee under head coach Butch Jones.[3]
2014 season
In 2014, as a true freshman, Malone played in all 12 regular season games and the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl against Iowa. He made his collegiate debut against Utah State on August 31 at Neyland Stadium. In his collegiate debut, he had two receptions for 26 yards.[4] Against SEC East rival Georgia on September 27, he had five receptions for 43 yards and a 20-yard rush in the loss at Sanford Stadium.[5] Against Ole Miss, he had a season-high 75 yards on five receptions at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.[6] He had his first career touchdown against Alabama in their annual rivalry game on October 25 at home.[7] In the 2014 season, Malone had 23 receptions for 201 yards and a touchdown.[6]
2015 season
In his sophomore season in 2015, Malone played in all 12 regular season games and the 2016 Outback Bowl against Northwestern. He started twelve games for the Volunteers. In the home opener, Malone had his first touchdown of the season in a 2OT loss to the Oklahoma Sooners.[8] On October 10, he led the Vols in catches in their upset 38–31 victory over #19 Georgia at Neyland Stadium.[9] He had his first career game with over 100 receiving yards at Kentucky at Commonwealth Stadium. In the game, he had a career-long 75-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Joshua Dobbs.[10] He finished third on the team with 31 catches for 405 yards and two touchdowns.[11] In the 2015 season, Malone had 31 receptions for 405 yards and two touchdowns.[12]
2016 season
In his junior season in 2016, Malone appeared in all 12 regular season games and the bowl game.[13] He had a 67-yard receiving touchdown in the season opening 20–13 overtime victory against Appalachian State on September 1.[14] In the 2016 Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol against Virginia Tech, he had two receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown.[15] Against the Ohio Bobcats the following week, he had five receptions for 69 yards and two touchdowns.[16] He had four catches for 91 yards and a 42-yard touchdown in the 38–28 win against SEC East Rival Florida on September 24.[17] On November 5, against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, he had five receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns.[18] He had a career-high 121 receiving yards and one touchdown at Vanderbilt on November 26.[19] In his final game with the Volunteers, he had five receptions for 120 yards and one touchdown in the 2016 Music City Bowl victory over Nebraska on December 30.[20] In the 2016 season, he finished third in the SEC in receiving yards and touchdowns, with 972 and 11, respectively.[21]
After the 2016 season, Malone declared his intentions to enter the 2017 NFL Draft.[22]
College statistics
Receiving | Rushing | ||||||||
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Year | Team | GP | Rec | Yards | TDs | Att | Yards | Avg. | TDs |
2014 | Tennessee | 13 | 23 | 231 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 |
2015 | Tennessee | 13 | 31 | 405 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2016 | Tennessee | 13 | 50 | 972 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
College Totals | 39 | 104 | 1,608 | 14 | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 |
Source: [23]
Professional career
Coming out of Tennessee, Malone was projected to be a third round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts. He received an invitation to the NFL combine and completed all of the required combine and positional drills. On March 31, 2017, Malone participated at Tennessee's pro day, along with Joshua Dobbs, Alvin Kamara, Cameron Sutton, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Derek Barnett, Jason Croom, former Saint's wide receiver Robert Meachem, and 17 other prospects. Around 100 scouts and team representatives from all 32 NFL teams attended, including Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin, as Malone performed all of the combine and positional drills.[24] He was ranked the 12th best wide receiver prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[25]
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 2 3⁄4 in (1.90 m) |
208 lb (94 kg) |
31 3⁄8 in (0.80 m) |
9 5⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.40 s | 1.56 s | 2.61 s | 4.19 s | 7.05 s | 30 1⁄2 in (0.77 m) |
10 ft 1 in (3.07 m) |
10 reps | |
All values from NFL Combine[26] |
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals selected Malone in the fourth round (128th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.[27] He was the 18th wide receiver and the fifth of six Tennessee Volunteers to be selected in the 2017 NFL Draft.[28]
On May 17, 2017, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Malone to a four-year, $2.99 million contract with a signing bonus of $599,241.[29]
He joined a deep wide receiver group with the Bengals and competed with John Ross, Brandon LaFell, Tyler Boyd, and Cody Core throughout training camp for a job as the starting wide receiver. Head coach Marvin Lewis named Malone the fifth wide receiver on the Bengals' depth chart behind A. J. Green, Brandon LaFell, Cody Core, and Tyler Boyd.[30]
Although Malone was healthy, he was inactive for the first five games of the 2017 season. On October 22, 2017, he made his professional regular season debut during a 29–14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The following week, Malone caught two receptions for 35-yards and scored his first career touchdown on a 25-yard pass from Andy Dalton during a 24–23 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.[31]
On September 1, 2019, Malone was waived by the Bengals.[32]
New York Jets
On September 4, 2019, Malone was signed to the New York Jets practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 19, 2019.[33]
Personal life
Josh is the son of Rebecca and Cordell Malone.[34]
References
- "Josh Malone Gallatin, TN (Station Camp)". 247Sports. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- Goldberg, Rob (January 3, 2014). "Army All-American Game Roster 2014: Sleepers to Watch in Recruiting Showcase". Bleacher Report. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- Elliott, Bud (December 4, 2013). "Josh Malone commits to Tennessee: Vols land 4-star receiver recruit". SBNation. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Utah State at Tennessee Box Score, August 31, 2014". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Tennessee at Georgia Box Score, September 27, 2014". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Josh Malone 2014 Game Log". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Alabama at Tennessee Box Score, October 25, 2014". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Oklahoma at Tennessee Box Score, September 12, 2015". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Georgia at Tennessee Box Score, October 10, 2015". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Tennessee at Kentucky Box Score, October 31, 2015". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "2015 Tennessee Volunteers Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Josh Malone 2015 Game Log". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Josh Malone 2016 Game Log". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Appalachian State at Tennessee Box Score, September 1, 2016". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Tennessee vs Virginia Tech Box Score, September 10, 2016". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Ohio at Tennessee Box Score, September 17, 2016". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Florida at Tennessee Box Score, September 24, 2016". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Tennessee Tech at Tennessee Box Score, November 5, 2016". Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Tennessee at Vanderbilt Box Score, November 26, 2016". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Music City Bowl - Nebraska vs Tennessee Box Score, December 30, 2016". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "2016 SEC College Football Individual Statistics Leaders for Receiving". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- Callahan, Ryan (January 3, 2017). "Tennessee WR leaving early for NFL draft". Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Josh Malone College Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- Mike Griffith. "Tennessee football pro day results: Butch Jones relishes outgoing players' growth, performance". seccountry.com. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
- "*Josh Malone, DS #12 WR, Tennessee". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
- "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Josh Malone". www.nfl.com.
- Toback, Rebecca (April 29, 2017). "2017 NFL Draft results: Cincinnati Bengals pick Tennessee WR Josh Malone in Round 4, pick 128". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
- Potkey, Rhiannon (April 29, 2017). "NFL draft: Tennessee Vols' Josh Malone selected by Bengals in fourth round". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- "Spotrac.com: Josh Malone contract". spotrac.com. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
- "Cincinnati Bengals: Depth chart". foxsports.com. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
- "NFL Player Profile: Josh Malone". NFL.com. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
- "Bengals waive Josh Malone and Hardy Nickerson". CincyJungle.com. September 1, 2019.
- "Jets sign WR Josh Malone to active roster". Jets Wire. USA Today. December 20, 2019.
- "Josh Malone, WR, Tennessee, NFL Draft". CBS Sports. Retrieved August 6, 2017.