Matt Paradis
{{Short description|American football player (born 1989)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Matt Paradis
| image = Matt Paradis 2017.JPG
| alt =
| caption = Paradis with the Denver Broncos in 2017
| current_team =
| number = 61
| position = Center
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1989|10|12}}
| birth_place = Council, Idaho, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lbs = 300
| high_school = Council (Council, Idaho)
| college = Boise State
| draftyear = 2014
| draftround = 6
| draftpick = 207
| pastteams = * Denver Broncos ({{NFL Year|2014}}–{{NFL Year|2018}})
- Carolina Panthers ({{NFL Year|2019}}–{{NFL Year|2021}})
| status =
| highlights = * Super Bowl champion (50)
| statlabel1 = Games played
| statvalue1 = 98
| statlabel2 = Games started
| statvalue2 = 98
| pfr = ParaMa00
}}
Matt Paradis (born October 12, 1989) is an American former professional football center. He was selected by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL draft. He played college football at Boise State.
Professional career
=Pre-draft=
Paradis was one of 51 collegiate offensive linemen to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. He completed all of the combine drills and had a mediocre performance overall, finishing 11th in the three-cone drill and 20th among offensive linemen in the bench press.{{Cite web |last=Crow |first=Alfie |date=February 23, 2014 |title=2014 Combine results: Offensive line 40-yard dash and more |url=https://www.bigcatcountry.com/2014/2/23/5441188/2014-combine-results-offensive-line-40-yard-dash-nfl |access-date=January 15, 2018 |website=Big Cat Country|publisher=SB Nation}} On March 14, 2014, he attended Boise State's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only ran positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Paradis was projected to be a seventh round pick or priority undrafted free agent by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the 15th best center prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.{{Cite web |title=Matt Paradis, DS #15 C, Boise State |url=http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=112807&draftyear=2014&genpos=C |access-date=January 15, 2018 |website=nfldraftscout.com}}
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 2+5/8
| weight = 306
| dash = 5.34
| ten split = 1.85
| twenty split = 3.10
| shuttle = 4.46
| cone drill = 7.60
| vertical = 26
| broad ft = 8
| broad in = 7
| bench = 23
| wonderlic =
| arm span = 32+3/8
| hand span = 9+7/8
| note = All values from NFL Combine{{Cite web |title=Matt Paradis Draft Profile |url=http://www.nfl.com/draft/2014/profiles/matthew-paradis?id=2543560 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117012422/http://www.nfl.com/draft/2014/profiles/matthew-paradis?id=2543560 |archive-date=January 17, 2018 |access-date=January 15, 2018 |website=NFL.com}}{{Cite web |title=Matt Paradis, Boise State, C, 2014 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football |url=https://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=112807&DraftYear=2014 |access-date=September 6, 2021 |website=draftscout.com}}
}}
=Denver Broncos=
==2014==
The Denver Broncos selected Paradis in the sixth round (207th overall) of the 2014 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=2014 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2014/draft.htm |access-date=May 15, 2023 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He was the ninth center selected in 2014.[http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/05/10/3178556/track-the-last-day-of-the-nfl.html Boise State offensive linemen Matt Paradis (Broncos), Charles Leno Jr. (Bears) drafted Saturday][http://www.idahopress.com/blogs/sports/bsu-s-matt-paradis-drafted-by-denver-broncos-in-sixth/article_109f6f30-d889-11e3-9684-001a4bcf887a.html Boise State's Paradis drafted by Broncos, Leno Jr. goes to Bears]
On June 2, 2014, the Broncos signed Paradis to a four-year, $2.31 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $91,000.{{Cite web |last=Matt Klis |date=June 2, 2014 |title=Broncos sign draft picks Cody Latimer, Matt Paradis, Corey Nelson |url=http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/broncos/ci_25882147/broncos-sign-linebacker-corey-nelson-seventh-round-pick |access-date=January 15, 2018 |website=www.broomfieldenterprise.com}}
Throughout training camp, he competed for a roster spot against Will Montgomery. On August 30, 2014, the Denver Broncos waived Paradis and signed him to their practice squad on September 1, 2014.{{Cite web |last=Chadd Cripe |date=September 1, 2014 |title=Broncos in the NFL: Matt Paradis of Council makes Denver Broncos' practice squad |url=https://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/college/mountain-west/boise-state-university/bronco-beat-blog/article40749804.html |access-date=January 15, 2018 |website=Idaho Statesman}} On January 15, 2015, the Denver Broncos signed Paradis to a reserve/future contract.{{Cite web |title=Spotrac.com: Matt Paradis contract |url=http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/denver-broncos/matt-paradis-14618/ |access-date=January 15, 2018 |website=spotrac.com}}
==2015==
Throughout training camp, Paradis competed against Gino Gradkowski for the vacant starting center role after Manny Ramirez and Will Montgomery both departed during free agency.{{Cite web |last=Nicki Jhabvala |date=April 24, 2016 |title=Gino Gradkowski is eager to jump-start career with Broncos |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2015/06/14/gino-gradkowski-is-eager-to-jump-start-career-with-broncos/ |access-date=January 15, 2018 |website=denverpost.com}} Head coach Gary Kubiak named Paradis the starting center to begin the regular season.{{Cite web |last=the Denver Post |date=September 3, 2015 |title=Denver Broncos depth chart 2015 |url=https://www.chatsports.com/denver-broncos/a/source/denver-broncos-depth-chart-2015-11729157 |access-date=January 15, 2018 |website=chatsports.com}}
He made his first career start and professional regular season debut in the Denver Broncos' season-opening 19–13 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Paradis started all 16 regular season games and helped the Broncos attain a 12–4 record and finish atop the AFC West. On January 17, 2016, he started his first career playoff game as the Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 23–16 in the AFC divisional playoff game. The Denver Broncos
went on to defeat the New England Patriots and play against the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. Paradis started in the Super Bowl and helped his team defeat the Carolina Panthers by a score of 24–10.{{Cite web |title=Super Bowl 50 – Denver Broncos vs. Carolina Panthers – February 7th, 2016 |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201602070den.htm |access-date=August 7, 2017 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com}} Paradis played exceptionally well throughout his first season as a starter and was ranked the best center in the NFL in 2015 by Pro Football Focus and was also ranked the fourth overall center by the Bleacher Report.{{Cite web |last=Jason Marcum |date=September 25, 2015 |title=The irony of Russell Bodine, the 2014 NFL Draft and Matt Paradis |url=https://www.cincyjungle.com/2016/9/25/13026170/the-irony-of-russell-bodine-2014-draft-matt-paradis-bengals-broncos-centers |access-date=January 15, 2018 |website=Cincy Jungle}} Due to his contract and his snap count, Paradis earned a player performance bonus of $391,647. It was the largest performance bonus of any player in 2015.{{Cite web |last=Tim Lynch |date=March 14, 2016 |title=Matt Paradis earns NFL's largest performance-based bonus in 2015 |url=https://www.milehighreport.com/2016/3/14/11223828/matt-paradis-earns-nfls-largest-performance-based-bonus-in-2015 |access-date=January 15, 2018 |website=milehighreport.com}} He allowed 29 quarterback pressures and received a pass blocking efficiency of 96.6 from Pro Football Focus. It ranked 19th among all centers in 2015.
==2016==
On April 14, 2016, the Denver Broncos signed Paradis to a one-year, $525,000 contract.
After a stellar season in {{NFL Year|2016}}, Paradis maintained his starting role to begin the regular season. He started all 16 regular season games and helped the Broncos finish 9–7. Paradis played 2,392 snaps out of a possible 2,402 snaps in 2016 and only allowed 17 quarterback pressures. Pro Football Focus gave Paradis a pass blocking efficiency of 97.9, which ranked 13th among all centers. He also received an overall grade of 90.7 from PFF that finished first among all centers.{{Cite web |last=Thomasson |first=Alex |date=2017-07-06 |title=Denver C Paradis cleared to return to action |url=https://www.pff.com/news/pro-denver-c-paradis-cleared-to-return-to-action |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=PFF}} The Denver Broncos finished with a 9–7 record and did not qualify for the playoffs. Head coach Gary Kubiak announced his retirement after the season, due to health concerns. As the Broncos' starting center, Paradis received a player performance bonus of $306,002, which was the highest player performance bonus of any player on the Broncos' roster.{{Cite web |date=March 15, 2017 |title=Matt Paradis again leads Broncos in performance-based pay |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2017/03/15/matt-paradis-again-leads-broncos-in-performance-based-pay/ |access-date=January 15, 2018 |website=denverpost.com}}
==2017==
On March 7, 2017, the Denver Broncos signed Paradis to his exclusive rights tender under the terms of one-year, $615,000 contract. Due to his exclusive rights tender, he was unable to negotiate with any other team, but became a restricted free agent in 2018.{{Cite web |last=Cameron Wolfe |date=April 3, 2017 |title=Matt Paradis among three Broncos now under contract for 2017 after signing exclusive rights tenders |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2017/04/03/matt-paradis-three-broncos-under-contract-for-2017/ |access-date=January 15, 2018 |website=denverpost.com}}
Paradis missed organized team activities and the beginning of training camp after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on both his hips during the offseason. He returned to training camp after receiving medical clearance in July. Head coach Vance Joseph named Paradis the starting center to begin the regular season, ahead of Connor McGovern and Dillon Day. Paradis started all 16 regular season games for the third consecutive season.{{Cite web |title=NFL Player stats: Matt Paradis |url=https://www.nfl.com/player/mattparadis/2550155/gamelogs?season=2017 |access-date=January 15, 2018 |website=NFL.com}} He earned an overall grade of 75.2 from Pro Football Focus in {{NFL Year|2017}}.{{Cite web |title=Pro Football Focus: Matt Paradis |url=https://www.profootballfocus.com/nfl/players/matt-paradis/8841 |access-date=January 15, 2018 |website=profootballfocus.com}}
==2018==
On March 12, 2018, the Broncos placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Paradis.{{Cite web |last=Alper, Josh |date=March 12, 2018 |title=Broncos give Matt Paradis, Shaquil Barrett second-round RFA tenders |url=https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/03/12/broncos-give-matt-paradis-second-round-rfa-tender/ |website=ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com}} He started the first nine games at center before suffering a fractured fibula in Week 9.{{Cite web |last=Legwold, Jeff |date=November 4, 2018 |title=Broncos' Matt Paradis 'out for a while' with fractured fibula |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25179301/matt-paradis-denver-broncos-likely-suffered-fractured-right-fibula |website=ESPN.com}} He was placed on injured reserve on November 12, 2018.{{Cite web |last=DiLalla, Aric |date=November 12, 2018 |title=Broncos place C Matt Paradis on IR, sign C Gino Gradkowski |url=https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/broncos-place-c-matt-paradis-on-ir-sign-c-gino-gradkowski |website=DenverBroncos.com}}
=Carolina Panthers=
On March 14, 2019, Paradis signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Carolina Panthers.{{Cite web |last=Strickland |first=Bryan |date=March 14, 2019 |title=Matt Paradis signs three-year contract with Panthers |url=https://www.panthers.com/news/matt-paradis-signs-three-year-contract-with-panthers |website=Panthers.com}}
Paradis suffered a torn ACL in Week 9 of the 2021 season and was placed on injured reserve on November 8, 2021.{{Cite web |last=Gantt, Darin |date=November 8, 2021 |title=Panthers place two starting linemen on injured reserve |url=https://www.panthers.com/news/panthers-place-two-starting-linemen-on-injured-reserve |website=Panthers.com}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{commons category-inline}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20160316014228/http://www.broncosports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/matt_paradis_842483.html Boise State Broncos bio]
{{Broncos2014DraftPicks}}
{{Super Bowl 50}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paradis, Matt}}
Category:People from Council, Idaho
Category:Players of American football from Idaho
Category:American football centers
Category:Boise State Broncos football players