Kendrick Osborn Jr. (born June 10, 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 with ...

wide receiver for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). 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 ...

at Buffalo and

Miami (FL) Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. Osborn was selected by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

in the fifth round of the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

Early life and college

Osborn is a native of

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and ...

and attended Lincoln High School before transferring to

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...

for his senior year. Osborn played at

SUNY Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

for three years. He had 96 catches for 1,490 yards and 12 touchdowns. Osborn earned second-team All- MAC honors in his last year at Buffalo. He enrolled at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

as a graduate transfer in 2019. He led the Hurricanes with 50 receptions for 547 yards and five touchdowns, in addition to returning 16 punts for 255 yards (15.9 average) and 10 kickoffs for 201 yards (20.1 average).

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

2020

Osborn was selected by the

in the fifth round (176th pick) of the

2021

In Week 1, Osborn had 7 receptions for 76 receiving yards in a 27–24 overtime loss to the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. In Week 2, Osborn had a breakout game, bringing in 5 catches for 91 yards and a touchdown in a narrow 34–33 loss to 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 ...

. In Week 6, Osborn caught the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime 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. T ...

. In Week 14, Osborn had 3 receptions for 83 yards, including a 63 yard touchdown pass from quarterback

Kirk Cousins Kirk Daniel Cousins (born August 19, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by the team then known as the Washingto ...

, in a 36–28 win over the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. Osborn finished the regular season with 655 receiving yards and seven touchdowns; both statistics ranked as third-most on the Vikings behind fellow wide receivers

Justin Jefferson Justin Jamal Jefferson (born June 16, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at LSU Tigers football, LSU and was drafted by the Vikings in the first ...

and

Adam Thielen Adam John Thielen (born August 22, 1990) is an American football wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota State and signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agen ...

2022

During Week 15 against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

, Osborn finished with 157 receiving yards and a touchdown on 10 receptions. Trailing by 33 points, the Vikings came back and won 39–36 in overtime, the largest comeback in NFL history. In Week 18, Osborn had his second-career 100+-yard game in the season finale against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

, finishing with 117 receiving yards on 5 receptions.

2023

In the 2023 season, Osborn appeared in 16 games and started 12. He finished with 48 receptions for 540 yards and three touchdowns. On March 13, 2024, Osborn became an

unrestricted 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 ...

New England Patriots

On March 19, 2024, Osborn signed with the

Personal life

Osborn is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. On March 6, 2023, Osborn and three others helped save a man from a burning car in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

References

External links

New England Patriots bioBuffalo Bulls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborn, K. J. 1997 births Living people Players of American football from Michigan Sportspeople from Ypsilanti, Michigan American football wide receivers American football return specialists IMG Academy alumni Buffalo Bulls football players Miami Hurricanes football players Minnesota Vikings players New England Patriots players