Jalen Dalton (born August 4, 1997) 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 wi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

for the Atlanta Falcons of the

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(NFL). He played college football at

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and was signed by the Chicago Bears as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in . He also spent time with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Early life and education

Dalton was born on August 4, 1997, in Clemmons, North Carolina. He attended West Forsyth High School where he was a first-team all-state selection.

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ranked him the fourth-best

recruit nationally and the best player in the state. After graduating, he announced his commitment to play college football at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

in November 2014. Among North Carolina's highest recruits, Dalton appeared in nine games as a true freshman, recording 15

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

. He was considered "lean" for his position at 250 pounds, and increased his weight to 290 for the 2016 season, describing his diet as "eat whatever." As a sophomore that year, he made an appearance in all of the school's 13 games and was a starter in two of them, making a total of 27 tackles, including 1.5 for-loss, a blocked kick, and a fumble recovery. As a

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in 2017, Dalton started three games and appeared in six additional, finishing the year with 28 tackles, three sacks and 8.0 , the latter of which placed second on the team. Dalton appeared in seven games as a senior, and made 23 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 4.5 TFLs. He finished his college career with 93 total tackles and 6.5 sacks.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

After going unselected in the 2019 NFL Draft, Dalton was signed by the Chicago Bears as an

, following a successful rookie minicamp. He was waived at the final roster cuts, on August 31.

New Orleans Saints

On December 18, 2019, he was signed to the practice squad of the

. He was signed to a futures contract on January 6, 2020. He suffered a season-ending injury in August 2020. In 2021, Dalton appeared to be heading towards a final roster spot with the Saints, but suffered another season-ending injury. He was released by New Orleans on May 3, 2022, having not appeared in a single game in his four seasons with the team.

Atlanta Falcons

On June, 16, 2022, Dalton was signed by the Atlanta Falcons. He suffered an injury in preseason and was released with an injury settlement shortly afterwards. On October 18, 2022, Dalton was re-signed to the Falcons' practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster for a week eight game against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

, and made his NFL debut in the 37–34 win, recording one tackle. He was signed to the active roster on November 5.

References

External links

Atlanta Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalton, Jalen 1997 births Living people People from Forsyth County, North Carolina American football defensive tackles Players of American football from North Carolina North Carolina Tar Heels football players Chicago Bears players New Orleans Saints players Atlanta Falcons players