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Daron Payne

{{Short description|American football player (born 1997)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Daron Payne

| image = Daron Payne 2022 - 2 (cropped).jpg

| alt =

| caption = Payne with the Washington Commanders in 2022

| current_team = Washington Commanders

| number = 94

| position = Defensive tackle

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1997|5|27}}

| birth_place = Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 3

| weight_lb = 320

| high_school = Shades Valley {{nowrap|(Irondale, Alabama)}}

| college = Alabama (2015–2017)

| draftyear = 2018

| draftround = 1

| draftpick = 13

| pastteams =

| status = Active

| highlights =

| statseason = 2024

| statweek =

| statlabel1 = Tackles

| statvalue1 = 386

| statlabel2 = Sacks

| statvalue2 = 34

| statlabel3 = Forced fumbles

| statvalue3 = 6

| statlabel4 = Fumble recoveries

| statvalue4 = 6

| statlabel5 = Pass deflections

| statvalue5 = 20

| statlabel6 = Interceptions

| statvalue6 = 1

| pfr = PaynDa00

}}

Daron Payne ({{IPAc-en|d|ə|ˈ|r|ɒ|n}} {{respell|də|RON}}; born May 27, 1997) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he won national championships in 2015 and 2017. Payne was selected by Washington in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft.

Early life

Payne was born on May 27, 1997, in Birmingham, Alabama. He attended Shades Valley High School in Irondale, Alabama, where he played football.{{Cite news |last=Blanton |first=Al |date=January 7, 2018 |title=The Man with the Gold Hands: Da'Ron Payne, a coach's love, and the Catch Heard 'Round the World |url=https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/the-rise-of-daron-payne/ |access-date=October 9, 2018 |work=Saturday Down South |language=en-US}} He was rated as a five-star recruit and committed to the University of Alabama to play college football.{{cite web | title=Five-star defensive tackle Daron Payne commits to Alabama | website=SI | date=2015-01-03 | url=https://www.si.com/college/2015/01/03/daron-payne-alabama-commit-announcement | access-date=2024-10-22}}

College career

As a true freshman at Alabama in 2015, Payne had 13 tackles and half a sack.{{Cite news |last=Zenitz |first=Matt |date=March 29, 2016 |title=Alabama's two rising stars along defensive line are freakish athletes |url=https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2016/03/alabama_has_2_young_freakish_a.html |access-date=May 6, 2022 |work=AL.com}} As a sophomore in 2016, he had 36 tackles and 1.5 sacks.{{Cite news |last=Zenitz |first=Matt |date=August 7, 2017 |title=Alabama freakish defensive lineman Da'Ron Payne preparing for expanded role |url=https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2017/08/alabama_freakish_defensive_lin.html |access-date=May 6, 2022 |work=AL.com}}{{Cite news |last=Zenitz |first=Matt |date=March 24, 2017 |title=Alabama rising star Da'Ron Payne slimming down, still freakishly strong |url=https://www.al.com/sports/2017/03/alabama_rising_star_daron_payn.html |access-date=May 6, 2022 |work=AL.com}} In the National Championship Game against Clemson, he recorded five tackles and a half sack.{{Cite news |title=Clemson vs. Alabama – Box Score – January 9, 2017 |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=400876570 |access-date=October 9, 2018 |work=ESPN}}

As a junior in 2017, Payne was named the defensive MVP of both postseason games that Alabama played.{{Cite tweet |number=948071543397060608 |user=SugarBowlNola |title=Congratulations to tonight's Most Outstanding Defensive Player, Da'Ron Payne! #SugarSemi |author=Allstate Sugar Bowl |access-date=May 6, 2022}}{{Cite tweet |number=950604456013565953 |user=CFBPlayoff |title=The Crimson Tide stuffed the Georgia run down the stretch to will @AlabamaFTBL back into the game. For his efforts in the trenches, senior DL Da'Ron Payne is the 2018 CFP National Championship Defensive MVP. |author=College Football Playoff |access-date=May 6, 2022}} In the Sugar Bowl versus Clemson, he intercepted a ball and scored an offensive receiving touchdown on the resulting drive. In the National Championship Game against Georgia, Payne had six tackles to help lead Alabama to their second national championship in three seasons. After his junior year, Payne declared his intentions to enter the 2018 NFL draft.{{Cite web |last=Scarborough |first=Alex |date=January 10, 2018 |title=Calvin Ridley declares for draft; RB Damien Harris to stay at Bama |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2018/story/_/id/22025567/alabama-crimson-tide-wr-calvin-ridley-declares-nfl-draft |access-date=January 10, 2018 |website=ESPN}} During his time at Alabama, Payne's given name was commonly misspelled as Da'Ron, which he requested to change back to Daron for his professional career.{{Cite web |last=Lewis Jr |first=Lake |date=May 11, 2018 |title=Notes from Redskins' rookie minicamp |url=https://redskinswire.usatoday.com/2018/05/11/notes-from-redskins-rookie-minicamp/ |access-date=May 11, 2018 |website=USA Today}}{{Cite web |last=Keim |first=John |date=August 29, 2018 |title=No apostrophe, no hype, no problem for Redskins' Daron Payne |url=https://www.espn.com/blog/washington-commanders/post/_/id/37022/daron-payne-doesnt-need-hype-nor-an-apostrophe-to-dominate |access-date=August 29, 2018 |website=ESPN}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

|+ College statistics

! rowspan="2" | Season

! rowspan="2" |GP

! colspan="5" | Tackles

! colspan="5"| Interceptions

! colspan="3"| Fumbles

SoloAstCmbTfLSckIntYdsAvgTDPDFRFFTD
2015

| 8 || 6 || 7 || 13 || 0.5 || 0.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0

2016

| 13 || 12 || 24 || 36 || 3.5 || 1.5 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 1

2017

| 14 || 21 || 32 || 53 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 21 || 21 || 0 || 3 || 1 || 0 || 0

Career353963102531212105211

Professional career

{{NFL predraft

| height ft = 6

| height in = 2 1/2

| weight = 311

| dash = 4.95

| ten split = 1.67

| twenty split = 2.84

| shuttle = 4.71

| cone drill = 7.58

| vertical = 28.5

| broad ft = 8

| broad in = 11

| bench = 27

| arm span = 33

| hand span = 9 3/8

| wonderlic =

| note = All values from NFL Combine{{Cite web |date=March 1, 2018 |title=DaRon Payne Draft and Combine Prospect Profile |url=https://www.nfl.com/prospects/daron-payne/32005041-5928-1222-6afa-41ec925627a4 |access-date=March 1, 2018 |website=NFL.com}}{{Cite web |title=Alabama DT DaRon Payne : 2018 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=1002694&DraftYear=2018 |access-date=May 12, 2018 |website=NFLDraftScout}}

}}

File:Third Photos 22 (50832405353).jpg in the 2020–21 Wild Card Playoff game]]

Payne was selected by the Washington Redskins in the first round (13th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft.{{Cite web |last=Czarda |first=Stephen |title=Redskins Select Alabama Defensive Lineman Da'Ron Payne |url=https://www.commanders.com/news/redskins-select-alabama-defensive-lineman-da-ron-payne-20587248 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180427183632/http://www.redskins.com/news/article-1/Redskins-Select-Alabama-Defensive-Lineman-DaRon-Payne/b1c62102-e373-42fd-89a1-f65ab11ea3b9 |archive-date=April 27, 2018 |access-date=April 27, 2018 |website=Washington Commanders}}{{Cite web |last=Gruden |first=Jay |title=Quotes: Head Coach Jay Gruden, DL Da'Ron Payne 04–26–18 |url=https://www.commanders.com/news/quotes-head-coach-jay-gruden-dl-da-ron-payne-04-26-18-20594656 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501225843/http://www.redskins.com/news/article-1/Quotes-Head-Coach-Jay-Gruden-DL-DaRon-Payne-04-26-18/20d69676-28c0-4feb-94cf-dc0a9db28593 |archive-date=May 1, 2018 |access-date=May 6, 2022 |website=Washington Commanders}} On May 10, 2018, Payne signed a four-year contract worth {{USD}}14.4 million featuring a $8.56 million signing bonus.{{cite web | last=Teope | first=Herbie | title=Washington Redskins sign first-rounder Daron Payne | website=NFL.com | date=2018-05-10 | url=https://www.nfl.com/news/washington-redskins-sign-first-rounder-daron-payne-0ap3000000932275 | access-date=2024-09-24}} He recorded his first career sack in Week 3 against the Green Bay Packers.{{Cite news |last=Inabinett |first=Mark |date=September 24, 2018 |title=Alabama NFL roundup: Jonathan Allen, Da'Ron Payne sack Packers |url=https://www.al.com/sports/2018/09/alabama_nfl_roundup_jonathan_a_1.html |access-date=May 6, 2022 |work=AL.com}} He finished his rookie season with 56 tackles, five sacks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery, and was named to the 2018 PFWA All-Rookie Team as a result.{{Cite web |title=Daron Payne Named To PFWA 2018 All-Rookie Team |url=https://www.commanders.com/news/daron-payne-named-to-pfwa-2018-all-rookie-team |access-date=May 6, 2022 |website=Washington Commanders}}

In Week 14 of the 2020 season against the San Francisco 49ers, Payne forced a fumble on quarterback Nick Mullens, which was recovered and returned for a touchdown by Chase Young and would also recover a forced fumble by Young.{{Cite news |last=Jhabvala |first=Nicki |date=December 13, 2020 |title=Washington's defense fuels 23–15 win over 49ers, and team takes over first place in NFC East |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/12/13/washington-beats-49ers-23-15/ |access-date=December 14, 2020 |work=The Washington Post}} In Week 15 against the Seattle Seahawks, Payne recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Russell Wilson during the 20–15 loss.{{Cite web |title=Seattle Seahawks at Washington Football Team – December 20th, 2020 |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/202012200was.htm |access-date=December 20, 2020 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}} Payne finished the 2020 NFL season playing 880 snaps and recording 54 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and an interception. He also recorded two sacks against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the playoffs.{{cite web | title=Football Team's Daron Payne: Starts 16 games | website=CBSSports.com | date=2021-01-18 | url=https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/football/news/football-teams-daron-payne-starts-16-games/ | access-date=2024-09-24}}

The team exercised the fifth-year option on Payne's contract on April 27, 2021,{{Cite web |last=Stackpole |first=Kyle |date=April 27, 2021 |title=Washington Exercises Fifth-Year Option On Daron Payne |url=https://www.commanders.com/news/daron-payne-fifth-year-option-washington |access-date=May 6, 2022 |website=Washington Commanders}} which guarantees a salary of $8.529 million for the 2022 season.{{cite web | last=Alper | first=Josh | title=Washington exercises Daron Payne's fifth-year option | website=NBC Sports | date=2021-04-26 | url=https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/washington-exercises-daron-paynes-fifth-year-option | access-date=2024-07-22}} He was added to the COVID-19 reserve list on August 1, 2021,{{Cite news |last=Jhabvala |first=Nicki |date=August 1, 2021 |title=Daron Payne is added to the Washington Football Team's expanding covid-19 list |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/08/01/daron-payne-covid-list-washington-football/ |access-date=August 2, 2021 |work=The Washington Post}} before being re-activated on August 5.{{cite web | title=Roundup: Washington activates Brandon Scherff, Daron Payne from reserve/COVID-19 list | website=NFL.com | date=2021-08-05 | url=https://www.nfl.com/news/roundup-nfl-training-camp-roster-news-august-5 | access-date=2024-09-24}} Payne and defensive end James Smith-Williams sealed the Week 11 win over the Carolina Panthers after they sacked quarterback Cam Newton on fourth down with less than a minute and a half left in the game.{{Cite web |date=November 21, 2021 |title=Heinicke, Washington spoil Newton's homecoming 27–21 |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/recap/_/gameId/401326481 |access-date=November 23, 2021 |website=ESPN}}

By Week 9 of the 2022 season, Payne accumulated a new career-high of 5.5 sacks.{{Cite web |last=Washington Commanders Public Relations |date=November 7, 2022 |title=Commanders-Vikings Stats & Snaps |url=https://www.commanders.com/news/commanders-vikings-stats-snaps |access-date=December 6, 2022 |website=Commanders.com}} With 58 seconds remaining in the Week 12 game against the Atlanta Falcons, he deflected a touchdown pass attempt from Marcus Mariota which cornerback Kendall Fuller intercepted in the end zone in a 19–13 win.{{Cite web |date=November 27, 2022 |title=Commanders outrun Falcons, intercept Mariota in 19–13 win |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/recap/_/gameId/401437866 |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=ESPN.com|agency=Associated Press}} He finished the season having set new career highs with 64 tackles, 11.5 sacks, and five pass deflections.{{Cite news |last=Manning |first=Bryan |date=January 13, 2023 |title=Daron Payne makes it clear what he's looking for this offseason |url=https://commanderswire.usatoday.com/2023/01/13/washington-commanders-dt-daron-payne-makes-it-clear-what-hes-looking-this-offseason/ |access-date=January 13, 2023 |work=USAToday.com}} In January 2023, Payne was named as a replacement player for Aaron Donald to the 2023 Pro Bowl, his first Pro Bowl.{{Cite web |last=Washington Commanders Public Relations |date=January 19, 2023 |title=Defensive tackle Daron Payne named to the 2023 Pro Bowl |url=https://www.commanders.com/news/defensive-tackle-daron-payne-named-to-the-2023-pro-bowl |access-date=January 19, 2023 |website=Commanders.com}}

The Commanders placed a non-exclusive franchise tag on Payne before him signing a four-year, $90 million extension with the team on March 13, 2023.{{Cite web |last=Washington Commanders Public Relations |date=February 28, 2023 |title=Commanders place franchise tag on Daron Payne |url=https://www.commanders.com/news/commanders-place-franchise-tag-on-daron-payne |access-date=February 28, 2023 |website=Commanders.com}}{{Cite web |last=Benjamin |first=Cody |date=March 12, 2023 |title=2023 NFL free agency: Commanders sign star defender Daron Payne to four-year, $90M extension |url=https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2023-nfl-free-agency-commanders-sign-star-defender-daron-payne-to-four-year-90m-extension/ |access-date=March 14, 2023 |website=CBS Sports}}

Payne finished the 2024 regular season with 42 tackles, four sacks, and two pass deflections over 17 games.{{cite web|url=https://www.commanders.com/news/commanders-2024-position-review-defensive-line|work=Commanders.com|title=Commanders 2024 position review {{!}} Defensive line|date=February 11, 2025|accessdate=February 13, 2025|first=Zach|last=Selby}} In his second playoff appearance, Payne dislocated his thumb in the 2024–25 Wild Card round win over the Buccaneers.{{cite web|url=https://riggosrag.com/daron-payne-gruesome-injury-revelation-left-commanders-fans-queasy|title=Daron Payne's gruesome injury revelation left Commanders' fans queasy|work=RiggosRag.com|date=January 13, 2025|accessdate=January 25, 2025|first=Dean|last=Jones}} Despite the injury, he would play the following week in the win over the Detroit Lions but was ruled out of the NFC Championship Game due to injuries with his thumb and knee.{{cite web|work=ESPN.com|url=https://www.espn.com.au/nfl/story/_/id/43562206/commanders-rule-defensive-tackle-daron-payne-vs-eagles|title=Commanders rule out defensive tackle Daron Payne vs. Eagles|first=John|last=Keim|date=January 25, 2025|accessdate=January 25, 2025}}

NFL career statistics

class="wikitable"

! colspan="2"| Legend

Bold

| Career high

class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2" |Year

! rowspan="2" |Team

! colspan="2" |Games

! colspan="5" |Tackles

! colspan="4" |Fumbles

! colspan="6" |Interceptions

GP

!GS

!Cmb

!Solo

!Ast

!Sck

!Sfty

!FF

!FR

!Yds

!TD

!PD

!Int

!Yds

!Avg

!Lng

!TD

2018

!WAS

|16

|16

|56

|35

|21

|5.0

|0

|1

|1

|9

|0

|3

|0

|0

|0.0

|0

|0

2019

!WAS

|15

|9

|56

|32

|24

|2.0

|0

|0

|0

|0

|0

|2

|0

|0

|0.0

|0

|0

2020

!WAS

|16

|16

|54

|27

|27

|3.0

|0

|3

|1

|0

|0

|4

|0

|0

|0.0

|0

|0

2021

!WAS

|17

|17

|61

|35

|26

|4.5

|0

|0

|1

|6

|0

|0

|1

|0

|0.0

|0

|0

2022

!WAS

|17

|17

|64

|32

|32

|11.5

|0

|0

|1

|0

|0

|5

|0

|0

|0.0

|0

|0

2023

!WAS

|17

|17

|53

|32

|21

|4.0

|0

|2

|2

|0

|0

|4

|0

|0

|0.0

|0

|0

2024

!WAS

|17

|17

|42

|22

|20

|4.0

|0

|0

|0

|0

|0

|2

|0

|0

|0.0

|0

|0

colspan="2" |[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/P/PaynDa00.htm Career]

!115

!109

!386

!215

!171

!34.0

!0

!6

!6

!15

!0

!20

!1

!0

!0.0

!0

!0

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{commons category}}

  • [https://www.commanders.com/team/players-roster/daron-payne/ Washington Commanders profile]
  • [https://rolltide.com/sports/football/roster/da-ron-payne/3938 Alabama Crimson Tide profile]

{{footballstats|yahoo=30983|espn=3925354|nfl=daron-payne}}

{{Washington Commanders roster navbox}}

{{Navboxes|title=Daron Payne|list=

{{2015 Alabama Crimson Tide football navbox}}

{{2017 Alabama Crimson Tide football navbox}}

{{2018 NFL Draft}}

{{RedskinsFirstPick}}

{{Redskins2018DraftPicks}}

}}

{{Portal bar|Alabama|American football|Biography|College football|border=no}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Daron}}

Category:1997 births

Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen

Category:Alabama Crimson Tide football players

Category:American football defensive tackles

Category:Living people

Category:National Conference Pro Bowl players

Category:Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama

Category:Washington Commanders players

Category:Washington Football Team players

Category:Washington Redskins players