Hakeem Valles (born November 23, 1992) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

who is a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

and was signed by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2016.

Early years

Valles was born in the Sicklerville section of Winslow Township, New Jersey. He played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Peddie School The Peddie School is a college preparatory school in Hightstown, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is a non-denominational, coeducational boarding school located on a campus, and serves students in the ninth through twelfth gr ...

Hightstown, New Jersey Hightstown is a borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,494,wide receiver. He garnered First-team All-New Jersey Prep accolades his junior year. He also spent some time at

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

while at Peddie.

College career

Valles played for the

Monmouth Hawks The Monmouth Hawks refer to the 23 sports teams representing Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey. The Hawks compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Colonial Athletic Association, joining on July 1, 2022. The footbal ...

Monmouth University Monmouth University is a private university in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Founded in 1933 as Monmouth Junior College, it became Monmouth College in 1956 and Monmouth University in 1995 after receiving its charter. There are about 4,400 full- ...

from 2012 to 2015. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2011. He majored in

Business Administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

at Monmouth. He was a wide receiver from 2011 to 2013. He played in four games in 2012 and 12 games in 2013. He converted to tight end during training camp in 2014. He appeared in 11 games, starting nine, during the 2014 season. He caught 18 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns. He played in 11 games, all starts, his senior year in 2015. He recorded 22 receptions for 236 yards. He was also a team captain as a senior. He played in 38 games, starting 20, during his college career. He recorded career totals of 40 receptions for 491 yards and three touchdowns.

Professional career

Valles was rated the 30th best tight end in the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

by NFLDraftScout.com.

Lance Zierlein Lance Zierlein is a sports analyst and commentator. He has hosted sports talk shows on KILT 610, KBME 790, KGOW 1560 AM, and KFNC 97.5 FM in Houston, Texas Career Zierlein graduated from Lamar Consolidated High School in 1988. Following high sc ...

of NFL.com predicted that he would be selected in the seventh round or be a priority free agent. Zeriein said that Valles was an "Intriguing prospect due to combination of size and speed and an apparent willingness to scrap it out as a blocker." He also said Valles "Has an outside shot of being drafted and might kick around on a practice squad a year or two while he hones his skill at the position."

Arizona Cardinals

Valles signed with the

on May 2, 2016, after going undrafted in the

. He was released by the team on September 3, 2016, and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on October 6, 2016. He made his NFL debut, and first start in Week 5 against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. He played in 11 games, starting 1, during the 2016 season and recorded three solo tackles. On September 2, 2017, Valles was waived by the Cardinals.

Detroit Lions

On September 6, 2017, Valles was signed to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 26, 2017. On October 6, 2018, Valles was waived by the Lions and was re-signed to the practice squad. He was released on November 7, 2018.

New York Giants

On November 27, 2018, Valles was signed to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

practice squad.

Personal life

His younger brother,

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

, also plays in the NFL. Hakeem now invests in real estate and was on the "Bigger Pockets Real Estate" podcast in February 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valles, Hakeem Living people 1992 births Players of American football from New Jersey People from Winslow Township, New Jersey Sportspeople from Camden County, New Jersey American football tight ends American football wide receivers African-American players of American football Peddie School alumni Monmouth Hawks football players Arizona Cardinals players Detroit Lions players New York Giants players 21st-century African-American sportspeople