Nick Kwiatkoski

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Nick Kwiatkoski
refer to caption
Kwiatkoski in the 2019 NFL season
Personal information
Born: (1993-05-26) May 26, 1993 (age 30)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:242 lb (110 kg)
Career information
High school:Bethel Park (Bethel Park, Pennsylvania)
College:West Virginia (2011–2015)
Position:Linebacker
NFL draft:2016 / Round: 4 / Pick: 113
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Interceptions:
2
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Nick Kwiatkoski (born May 26, 1993)

2016 NFL Draft
.

Early years

Kwiatkoski attended

Rivals.com's list of Pennsylvania's post-season top 40 players.[2]

College career

Kwiatkoski then attended

tackles-for-loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and tied for second on the team with three interceptions. For the season, he was named Second-team All-Big 12 Conference by Phil Steele. He also finished sixth in the Big 12 and 30th in the nation in solo tackles with 54. In addition, he ranked fifth in the conference in total tackles.[3]

In 2014 as a redshirt junior, Kwiatkoski started all 13 games. He led the team with 103 tackles while simultaneously leading with 71 solo tackles. In addition, he was the team leader in tackles-for-loss with 11.5. He also recorded an assisted sack and four pass-breakups. For the season, he ranked fifth in the Big 12 in solo tackles, tied for ninth in the Big 12 in total tackles and for 12th in the conference in tackles-for-loss.[3] As a redshirt senior in 2015, he appeared in all 13 games. He recorded 86 tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss, three interceptions and one forced fumble.[3]

Statistics

Season Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Solo Ast Cmb TfL Sck Int PD TD FF FR
2011 WVU 0 0
Redshirted
2012 WVU 12 1 17 11 28 0 0.0 0 3 0 0 0
2013 WVU 10 10 54 32 86 6.5 2.0 3 0 0 2 0
2014 WVU 13 13 71 32 103 11.5 0.0 0 0 0 0 0
2015 WVU 13 13 63 23 86 10 0.0 3 0 0 1 0
Career[3] 48 37 205 98 303 28 2.0 6 3 0 3 0

Professional career

Pre-draft

On December 1, 2015, it was announced that Kwiatkoski had accepted his invitation to play in the

NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 14th best outside linebacker prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com.[7]

External videos
video icon Nick Kwiatkoski's NFL Combine Workout
Pre-draft measurables
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 2 in
(1.88 m)
243 lb
(110 kg)
31+34 in
(0.81 m)
9+12 in
(0.24 m)
4.73 s 1.62 s 2.73 s 4.22 s 7.16 s 32 in
(0.81 m)
10 ft 0 in
(3.05 m)
19 reps
All values from
NFL Combine[8][7]

Chicago Bears

The

2016 NFL Draft; to draft him, the Bears traded their fourth (117th overall) and sixth round picks (206th overall) to the Los Angeles Rams in order to move up.[9] He was the 15th linebacker drafted in 2016.[10] On May 9, 2016, the Bears signed Kwiatkoski to a four-year, $2.91 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $575,120.[11]

External videos
video icon Bears draft Kwiatkoski 113th overall
video icon NFL Draft Profile: Nick Kwiatkoski

Kwiatkoski started seven games during his rookie year and led the team in tackles in two games (six against the Tennessee Titans, nine against the Detroit Lions). The following year, he appeared in eleven games (starting six) as he recorded 47 tackles and two sacks.[12] He ended the 2017 season as the third-best inside linebacker in run-stop percentage and fourth-best in pass-rush productivity according to Pro Football Focus.[13]

He opened 2018 as the starting inside linebacker before rookie Roquan Smith took over the role.[14] In Week 17 against the Minnesota Vikings, Kwiatkoski caught a pass from quarterback Mitchell Trubisky on a two-point conversion play dubbed "Lollipop"; it was Kwiatkoski's first reception since high school.[15][16]

In Week 4 of the 2019 season against the Vikings, he started in place of an injured Smith. In the game, he recorded a team-high ten tackles and sacked quarterback Kirk Cousins once in the 16–6 win.[17] In Week 10 against the Detroit Lions, Kwiatkoski recorded a sack and an interception off Jeff Driskel in the 20–13 win.[18]

Las Vegas Raiders

On March 27, 2020, Kwiatkoski signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders.[19]

In Week 8 against the Cleveland Browns, Kwiatkoski forced a fumble on tight end Harrison Bryant which was recovered by the Raiders during the 16–6 win. This was Kwiatkoski's first turnover as a Raider.[20] In Week 10 against the Denver Broncos, Kwiatkoski recorded his first interception as a Raider off a pass thrown by Drew Lock late in the fourth quarter to secure a 37–12 win.[21] In Week 12 against the Atlanta Falcons, Kwiatkoski recorded his first sack of the season on Matt Ryan during the 43–6 loss.[22] Kwiatkowski was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the Raiders on December 23, 2020.[23]

On December 8, 2021, Kwiatkoski was placed on

injured reserve.[24]

On March 16, 2022, Kwiatkoski was released by the Raiders.[25]

Atlanta Falcons

On May 12, 2022, Kwiatkoski signed with the Atlanta Falcons.[26] He was waived during final roster cuts on August 30.[27] On September 1, Kwiatkoski re–signed with the Falcons.[28] On October 16, he made his season-debut after being inactive the first five weeks of the year, with one tackle during a 28–14 win over the San Francisco 49ers.[29]

Pittsburgh Steelers

On June 19, 2023, Kwiatkoski signed with his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.[30] He was released on August 29, 2023, as a part of the team's final roster cuts.[31]

References

  1. ^ "Nick Kwiatkoski Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Nick Kwiatkoski". WVUSports.com. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Nick Kwiatkoski stats". WVUSports.com. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  4. ^ "Prospects who have accepted invites to the 2016 Senior Bowl". elevenwarriors.com. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  5. ^ "KJ Dillon, Nick Kwiatkoski shine at Senior Bowl". thedaonline.com. February 1, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  6. ^ Brandon Lee Gowton (April 6, 2016). "NFL Draft 2016: Eagles host WVU linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski on pre-draft visit". bleedinggreennation.com. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Nick Kwiatkoski, DS #14 OLB, West Virginia". DraftScout.com. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  8. ^ "Nick Kwiatkoski Draft Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  9. ^ Brian Jones (April 30, 2016). "Chicago Bears trade up to draft LB Kwiatkoski". 247sports.com. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  10. ^ "2016 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  11. ^ LeGere, Bob (May 9, 2016). "7 NFL draft picks sign contracts with Chicago Bears". Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  12. ^ "Nick Kwiatkoski". Chicago Bears. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  13. ^ Perez, Bryan (June 19, 2018). "Bears' Nick Kwiatkoski was a top-5 inside linebacker in 2017". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  14. 247Sports.com
    . Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  15. ^ Stankevitz, JJ (December 30, 2018). "Bears respond to Matt Nagy's win-at-all-costs plan by throttling Vikings on way to playoffs". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  16. ^ "Game-clinching drive defines Nagy's Chicago Bears". Arizona Daily Star. December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  17. ^ "Bears lose Trubisky, shut down Cook in 16–6 win over Vikings". www.espn.com. September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  18. ^ "Trubisky, Bears hang on to beat Lions 20–13 as Stafford sits". www.espn.com. November 10, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  19. ^ Gantt, Darin (March 16, 2020). "Nick Kwiatkoski heading to Raiders". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  20. ^ "Las Vegas Raiders at Cleveland Browns – November 1st, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  21. ^ "Denver Broncos at Las Vegas Raiders – November 15th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  22. ^ "Las Vegas Raiders at Atlanta Falcons – November 29th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  23. ^ Simmons, Myles (December 23, 2020). "Raiders place Nick Kwiatkoski on COVID-19 list". NBCSports.com. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  24. ^ Raiders Public Relations (December 8, 2021). "Raiders place Drake and Kwiatkoski on IR, sign Compton to practice squad". Raiders.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  25. ^ Williams, Charean (March 16, 2022). "Raiders releasing Nick Kwiatkoski". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  26. ^ Ikic, Adnan (May 12, 2022). "Falcons sign LB Nick Kwiatkoski, formerly of the Chicago Bears". TheFalcoholic.com. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  27. ^ Bair, Scott (August 30, 2022). "Falcons announce initial 53-man roster heading into 2022 regular season". AtlantaFalcons.com.
  28. ^ "Falcons' Nick Kwiatkoski: Re-signs with Atlanta". cbssports.com. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  29. ^ Nick Kwiatkoski Game Log
  30. ^ Varley, Teresa (June 20, 2023). "Steelers sign Kwiatkoski and Sunahara". Steelers.com.
  31. ^ Varley, Teresa (August 29, 2023). "Steelers trade Green, reduce roster to 53". Steelers.com.

External links