Dontari Poe
Nose tackle | |||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
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Born: | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. | August 18, 1990||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 342 lb (155 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Wooddale (Memphis, Tennessee) | ||||||||||
College: | Memphis (2008–2011) | ||||||||||
NFL draft: | 2012 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Dontari Poe (born August 18, 1990) is an American former
Early life
Poe entered Wooddale High School in Memphis, Tennessee, without any prior football experience. His coach, Cedric Miller, had spotted Poe practicing with the marching band in the summer before Poe's freshman year at Wooddale, and told him to report to football practice the next day.[3]
By his junior season, he was an all-state honorable mention defensive lineman and credited with 63 tackles and eight sacks. Besides his hometown school Memphis, he was recruited by Auburn, Colorado, and Mississippi.[4] Ole Miss invited him to their annual Junior Day. Particularly keen on early playing time, Poe also liked Auburn, because "they have two defensive tackles Quentin Groves and Pat Sims that are leaving early, so there is a good chance I will play early if I go there."[4]
Also a talented shot putter, Poe earned the Class 3-A title at the state meet with a throw of 56 ft 3+1⁄4 in (17.15 m) as a junior. In his senior year, he defended his title with a throw of 54 ft 1+1⁄4 in (16.49 m), and also won the discus throw in the state meet with a personal best throw of 156 ft 1 in (47.57 m). Poe claimed city, district and region track titles as a senior.
Poe was regarded only as a two-star prospect by both Rivals.com and Scout.com.[5][6] He was ranked No. 92 by Scout, in a crop of defensive tackles that was highlighted by Marcus Forston and DeAngelo Tyson,[7] while Rivals did not have him listed among their top 75 defensive tackles,[8] but as the No. 19 overall prospect out of Tennessee.[9]
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40‡ | Commit date |
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Dontari Poe DT |
Memphis, Tennessee | Wooddale (TN) | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 315 lb (143 kg) | 5.0 | Feb 6, 2008 |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:![]() ![]() | ||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: DT )
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Sources:
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College career
Poe played for the Memphis Tigers football team of the University of Memphis from 2009 to 2011. As a redshirt freshman in 2009, he played in 11 of 12 games for the Tigers—he did not play against Houston (November 21) due to a death in his family—including six starts at nose tackle, and finished the year with 27 tackles, including 18 solo stops. He led the team in tackles for losses with seven, and tied for the team lead in forced fumbles with three. He also added two quarterback sacks, which tied for third-most. His performance earned him a Conference USA All-Freshman Team selection.[10]
In his sophomore year, Poe became a consistent starter on the defensive line. He was one of six Tigers to start all 12 games in 2010, and ended the year ranked fifth on the team in tackles with 41, and fourth in TFL with 6.5 (for a total loss of 27 yards). In the season opener against Mississippi State, he registered three tackles (all solo stops), all of which limited the Bulldogs to three or fewer yards, including one that was for a loss of four yards. In a game versus UTEP, Poe had a season-high seven tackles, four of which limited the Miners to fewer than three yards. He also managed to sack UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe on a 3rd-and-8 in the first quarter for a loss of five yards. In October at Louisville, Poe registered six tackles (four solo). In recognition of his successful season, Poe earned an All-Conference-USA honorable mention.
Prior to his junior season, he drew attention for his weight room performance and was named one of the "10 strongest men in college football" by ESPN's Bruce Feldman.[11][12] During the season, Poe started all 12 games on the defensive line and recorded at least one tackle in each game, tallying 33 tackles, 18 of which were solo stops. He also ranked third on the team with eight TFLs (for a loss of 26 yards). In November, in a game against Marshall, Poe tied his career high in tackles with eight. He was selected second-team All-Conference USA, and was listed as an honorable mention All-America pick by Pro Football Weekly, which evaluates players on NFL prospects and draft value rather just college production.[13]
On December 23, 2011, Poe announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2012 NFL draft.[14] Soon thereafter, he announced that he signed with agent Jimmy Sexton of Creative Artists Agency.[15] He concluded his college career having played in 35 contests (30 starts), recording 101 tackles (57 unassisted), 21.5 TFL, five sacks, four pass break-ups and four forced fumbles.
Professional career
2012 NFL Draft
Can you believe he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.98 seconds? Poe looks like a refrigerator. He's not supposed to move like that. The most impressive part was his first 10 yards. He showed some explosiveness, and forgive me for saying this, but I saw a little bit of myself in him.
— Warren Sapp, former defensive tackle and hall of famer.[16]
Entering the
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle |
Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 3+1⁄2 in (1.92 m) |
346 lb (157 kg) |
32 in (0.81 m) |
9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.98 s | 1.67 s | 2.83 s | 4.56 s | 7.90 s | 29+1⁄2 in (0.75 m) |
8 ft 9 in (2.67 m) |
44 reps | |
All values from NFL Combine
|
Poe was originally perceived as "the ideal two-gap 3–4 nose tackle" due to his massive frame,
In March 2012, Poe's draft stock peaked when he was listed at No. 9 by ESPN's
Sports Illustrated graded Poe as the No. 2 defensive tackle in the draft, behind only Fletcher Cox.[35] Eventually, he was the first defensive lineman off the board, selected eleventh overall by the Kansas City Chiefs.[36] Poe was the highest drafted player from Memphis since Keith Simpson (No. 9 in 1978), and the highest drafted player from Conference USA ever. He was also the third defensive lineman Kansas City selected in the first round within five years, following Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson.[37] Chiefs head coach, Romeo Crennel, said he was not worried about Poe's mediocre college statistics, "because he played every down at 350 pounds and he played every position on the line in every game."[38]
Kansas City Chiefs
2012 season
Poe was expected to succeed veteran Kelly Gregg at the defensive tackle position in Kansas City's 3–4 defense, although head coach Crennel acknowledged that "it's going to take a while for [Poe] to get adjusted."[39] On the eve of training camp, July 26, 2012, Poe agreed to terms with the Chiefs, signing a four-year deal with a fifth-year team option.[40] Per team policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it was reported to be worth about $11 million.[41] Competing with Anthony Toribio and Jerrell Powe for the starting nose tackle spot left void by Gregg, Poe disappointed in training camp. "He needs to work on technique, he needs to work on understanding the system, he needs to get the calls correct all the time. He's got a ways to go," said Crennel.[42]
After spending the first three preseason games on the bench, Poe was moved into the starting lineup after Toribio injured his ankle.[43] He established himself as a starter, and remained in the starting lineup for his entire rookie season, starting all 16 regular season games at nose tackle and being a three-down player for most of the season. He recorded 38 tackles, including 28 unassisted. Even though he did not record a quarterback sack, he was credited for his contributions as an inside rusher in obvious passing situations.[44] Particularly, his efforts against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10 and Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11 were praised.[44][45] In Week 15, he registered a season-best five tackles in a loss against Oakland.
According to
2013 season
After not recording a quarterback sack in his rookie season, Poe tallied 3.5 sacks over the first two games of the 2013 NFL season. Increasingly drawing double-teams afterwards, he only added one sack over the rest of the season. Twelve games into his sophomore season, Poe lined up on 804 defensive snaps, which was 85 more than any other defensive tackle in the NFL that season.[47] After the 2013 season concluded, Poe was selected to participate in the annual Pro Bowl.
2014 season
During the 2014 season, Poe started all 16 games with six sacks and a pass defended on 46 tackles. He was selected to the Pro Bowl for a second year in a row.
2015 season
During Week 11 against the San Diego Chargers, Poe became the heaviest player in NFL history to rush for a touchdown.[48] He was only the sixth defensive lineman to rush for a touchdown. In 15 games, Poe made 39 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery.
2016 season
Poe scored his second rushing touchdown in as many attempts—this time actually receiving a lateral pass—in an October game against the Oakland Raiders in a play called "Hungry Pig Right"[49] where four players lined up in a diamond formation sending "over 1,100 pounds rushing toward the end zone."[50]
In a December 25 game against the Denver Broncos in Week 16, Poe became the largest player in NFL history to throw a touchdown pass. After being put in on offense, he lined up in the wildcat formation, took the direct snap, faked a run up the middle, then threw a touchdown pass to tight end Demetrius Harris while jumping in the air.[51] In the post game press conference, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid called the play the "Bloated Tebow pass" referring to a play when Tim Tebow was the quarterback at Florida and he threw a touchdown pass while jumping after faking a quarterback sneak.[52] In 16 games, Poe finished the year with 27 tackles, a forced fumble, 1.5 sacks, and three passes defended.
Atlanta Falcons
On March 16, 2017, Poe signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons.[53][54] Poe made a bonus of $125,000 after passing his July 26 weigh-in. He started all 16 games, making 39 tackles (4 for loss), 2.5 sacks, 10 quarterback pressures and 2 passes defensed.
Carolina Panthers
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Alex_Smith_%2845326544141%29.jpg/250px-Alex_Smith_%2845326544141%29.jpg)
On March 15, 2018, Poe signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Carolina Panthers.[55][56] In his first season in Carolina, Poe started all 16 games, recording 32 tackles, 6 quarterback pressures and one sack.
In 2019, Poe played in 11 games with 8 starts, before suffering a torn quad in Week 12 against the New Orleans Saints.[57] He was placed on injured reserve on November 27, 2019.[58] He finished the season with 19 tackles and four sacks.
The Panthers declined the option on Poe's contract making him a free agent in 2020.[59]
Dallas Cowboys
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Dontari_Poe_2020.jpg/220px-Dontari_Poe_2020.jpg)
On April 9, 2020, Poe signed a two-year contract with the
His defensive snaps began to decrease in Week 5, until being released on October 28, as part of a roster purge that included free agency acquisitions Everson Griffen and Daryl Worley.[63] Team owner and general manager Jerry Jones, attributed the move to Poe's lackluster performance and being overweight.[63][64]
NFL statistics
Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sack | Int | Yards | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | FF | FR | Yards | TD | ||
2012 | KC | 16 | 16 | 38 | 28 | 10 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2013 | KC | 15 | 15 | 51 | 43 | 8 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2014 | KC | 16 | 16 | 45 | 37 | 8 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2015 | KC | 15 | 13 | 39 | 29 | 10 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2016 | KC | 16 | 16 | 27 | 18 | 9 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2017 | ATL | 16 | 16 | 39 | 23 | 16 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2018 | CAR | 16 | 16 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2019 | CAR | 11 | 10 | 22 | 15 | 7 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2020 | DAL | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career | 128 | 125 | 285 | 205 | 80 | 20.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Personal life
The youngest of three brothers (Pierre and Robert, Jr.), Poe grew up in the Whitehaven neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee.[3] Peter Schrager of Fox Sports compared Poe's background to Michael Oher's, which has been the subject of the 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game.[65]
With a loan from his agent, Jimmy Sexton, Poe bought his mother a 2012 Cadillac Escalade for her birthday in January 2012.[66][67] He later also bought her a house in the upscale Collierville suburb of Memphis.[68] He was the only player to kneel for the National Anthem while with the Dallas Cowboys.
References
- ^ Bieler, Des. "Chiefs' Dontari Poe becomes heaviest player to score NFL touchdown". The Washington Post.
- NFL.com.
- ^ a b Fox, Ashley (April 5, 2012). "Dontari Poe races up the charts". ESPN.com.
- ^ a b Porter, Yancy (March 14, 2007). "Memphis' top DT talks recruiting". Scout.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
- ^ "Rivals.com". sports.yahoo.com.
- ^ "Recruiting Football Team News, Scout". recruiting.scout.com.
- ^ "Recruiting Football Team News, Scout". recruiting.scout.com.
- ^ "Rivals.com". sports.yahoo.com.
- ^ "Rivals.com". sports.yahoo.com.
- ^ "C-USA Announces Football All-Freshman Team". C-USA.com. December 8, 2009.
- ^ Feldman, Bruce (April 20, 2011). "Top 10 strongest men in college football". ESPN Insider.
- YouTube
- ^ "PFW 2011 All-America team". Pro Football Weekly. December 11, 2011. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012.
- ^ "Dontari Poe says he's entering draft". ESPN.com. December 23, 2011.
- ^ "Memphis Defensive Tackle Dontari Poe Signs With Jimmy Sexton". Sports Agent Blog. December 26, 2011.
- ^ "NFL.com | Official Site of the National Football League". NFL.com. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ McShay, Todd (February 27, 2012). "Poe leads impressive DL group". ESPN.
- ^ Mayock, Mike (February 14, 2012). "Pre-combine position rankings for 2012 NFL Draft". NFL.com.
- ^ Mayock, Mike (March 5, 2012). "Post-combine position rankings for 2012 NFL Draft". NFL.com.
- ^ Feldman, Bruce (February 27, 2012). "Dontari Poe: More than just a Combine Freak?". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012.
- NFL.com. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- NFL.com. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
- ^ Hensley, Jamison (February 28, 2011). "Memphis' Dontari Poe won't fall to Steelers". ESPN.
- ^ "Even President Obama is impressed with Dontari Poe | ProFootballTalk". Profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. March 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
- ^ "Stock soars for receiver, lineman at NFL combine". February 29, 2012.
- ^ "Memphis' Dontari Poe opens eyes at NFL Combine". The Tennessean.
- ^ Bales, Jonathan (March 1, 2012). "Scouting the Draft: Memphis's Dontari Poe". The Fifth Down.
- ^ "Analyzing SN's No. 36 prospect, Memphis DT Dontari Poe". Sporting News. March 20, 2012. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
- ^ Kiper, Mel (March 7, 2012). "2012 NFL Mock Draft 3.0". ESPN Insider.
- ^ Banks, Don (March 23, 2012). "2012 NFL Mock Draft 3.0". SI.com.
- ^ Eckel, Mark (April 1, 2012). "Poe might not be as good as scouting combine performance". Times of Trenton.
- ^ "Mayock lowers Poe's draft ranking: 'The tape is very average'". NFL.com. April 2, 2012.
- ^ Brooks, Bucky (April 5, 2012). "Poe, Osweiler, Adams headline roller-coaster draft prospects". NFL.com.
- ^ Lande, Russ (April 19, 2012). "Dontari Poe no longer draft darling". Sporting News. Archived from the original on April 22, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
- ^ "SI.com Positional Ranking DT".
- ^ "2012 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
- ^ Williamson, Bill (April 26, 2012). "Crennel is key to Dontari Poe pick". ESPN.com.
- ^ Williamson, Bill (April 27, 2012). "Why Poe didn't dominate at Memphis". ESPN.com.
- ^ Teicher, Adam (May 5, 2012). "Poe's first lesson: The NFL is different and difficult". Kansas City Star.
- ^ "Dontari Poe inks deal; Chiefs to open training camp with all draft picks under contract". Archived from the original on August 29, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ Covitz, Randy (July 26, 2012). "First-round pick Dontari Poe signs with Chiefs". Kansas City Star.
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- NFL.com.
- ^ Sporting News. Archived from the originalon January 1, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
- YouTube
- ^ "Chiefs Blitz – The good, the bad and the ugly from this season".
- ^ "Chiefs' Dontari Poe always in the middle of the action". USA Today. December 3, 2013.
- ^ "Video: Poe rushes for a touchdown". YouTube. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
- ^ "Play-call on Dontari Poe's TD? 'Hungry Pig Right'". NFL.com.
- ^ Davis, Scott. "The Chiefs ran an unusual play to get their 346-pound lineman a touchdown, and it looks unstoppable". Business Insider.
- ^ "Dontari Poe's offensive role expands to throwing TD pass". December 26, 2016.
- ^ "Andy Reid on Poe's TD toss: 'Bloated Tebow Pass'". NFL.com.
- ^ Wesseling, Chris (March 16, 2017). "Dontari Poe, Atlanta Falcons agree on one-year deal". NFL.com.
- ^ Jackson, Curtis (March 16, 2017). "Falcons Agree To Terms With DT Dontari Poe". AtlantaFalcons.com.
- ^ Sessler, Marc (March 15, 2018). "Panthers signing former Falcons DT Dontari Poe". NFL.com.
- ^ Henson, Max (March 16, 2018). "Panthers sign Dontari Poe to three-year contract". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ Newton, David (November 25, 2019). "Source: Panthers DT Dontari Poe to have surgery for torn quad". ESPN.com.
- ^ Henson, Max (November 27, 2019). "Panthers place Dontari Poe and Greg Van Roten on IR, sign two defensive linemen". Panthers.com.
- ^ Gantt, Darin (March 2, 2020). "Panthers unlikely to pick up Dontari Poe option". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
- ^ "Cowboys Agree To Terms With DT Dontari Poe". dallascowboys.com. March 27, 2020.
- ^ Eatman, Nick (July 28, 2020). "Updates: Crawford, Poe Placed On PUP List". DallasCowboys.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
- ^ "Updates: Poe Passes Physical; Cowboys Sign OT". DallasCowboys.com. August 18, 2020. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ a b Eatman, Nick; Phillips, Rob (October 28, 2020). "More House Cleaning; Cowboys Cut Poe & Worley". DallasCowboys.com. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
- ^ Butler, Alex (October 29, 2020). "Cowboys cut 346-pound DT Dontari Poe for being 'overweight'". UPI.com. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
- ^ Schrager, Peter (April 27, 2012). "Poe never lost focus en route to NFL". Fox Sports.
- Memphis Commercial Appeal.
- YouTube
- ^ "A mother's love fueled Dontari Poe's rise to stardom with Chiefs". Kansas City Star. October 20, 2013.
External links
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