Kadarius Toney (born January 27, 1999) 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

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

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). Toney 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 ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and was drafted by 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. ...

in the first round of the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

Early years

Toney was born on January 27, 1999, in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

. He attended

Blount High School Mattie Thomas Blount High School is one of 16 high schools in the Mobile County Public School System. It is located in Eight Mile and in unincorporated Mobile County, Alabama. It serves portions of Prichard. It is named for administrator Mattie ...

Eight Mile, Alabama Eight Mile is an unincorporated community in Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The community is named for its distance from the city of Mobile. Part of it was annexed in the mid-20th century by the city of Prichard, Alabama. Geography Eight ...

, where he was the starting

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 ...

for the last two years of his

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 ...

career as a

dual-threat quarterback In gridiron football, a dual-threat quarterback, also known as a running quarterback, is a quarterback (QB) who possesses the skills and physique to run with the ball if necessary. With the rise of several blitz heavy defensive schemes and increa ...

. As a junior, Toney threw for 3604 yards while rushing for 896 and having 53 touchdowns (37 passing, 16 rushing). He was named Alabama 6A second-team all state selection, was selected to the AL.com Coastal Alabama first-team. As a senior, Toney threw for 2984 yards while rushing for 894 yards and having 47 touchdowns (32 passing, 15 rushing). He was labeled as Alabama 6A Back of the Year, made the 2016 AL.com Super All-State Team, named Offensive MVP of the 2016 AL.com All-Coastal Alabama team, and played in the Alabama-Mississippi All Star Classic. He finished his high school career with a 20-5 record as a starter.

College career

Toney was a consensus three-star recruit as a versatile athlete. He received scholarship offers from

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

South Alabama South Alabama is the various parts of southern Alabama. Although it is not a strictly defined geographic region, it generally includes all Alabama counties south of the Black Belt. In that view, ''South Alabama'' consists of just the two counties ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, and

. Toney eventually chose the Florida Gators. During his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons, Toney was a reserve player for the Gators at wide receiver, running back, wildcat quarterback and special teams. As a senior in 2020, however, Toney's production increased dramatically. He led the Gators' potent offense with 70 receptions for 984 yards (14.1 average) while scoring 10 touchdowns. In 11 starts he also contributed as a runner (19 carries, 161 yards, 8.5 yards per carry, one touchdown) and returner (seven kick returns, 155 yards, 22.1 average, 11 punt returns, 139 yards, 12.6 average, one touchdown). The Associated Press voted him second-team All-America as an all-purpose player while the SEC league coaches voted him first-team all-conference. Toney was also a finalist for the 2020 Paul Hornung Award, given to the most versatile player in college football.

Professional career

New York Giants

Toney was selected by the

in the first round with the 20th overall pick in the

. He signed a four-year contract worth $13.7 million, on June 4, 2021. Toney was placed on the team's

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

reserve list at the start of

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

. Toney started off slow, having only four receptions through the first three games. In Week 4 against 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 ...

, Toney recorded six catches for 78 yards in the 27–21 overtime win. In Week 5 against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

, Toney had the best performance of his young career, recording 10 catches for 189 yards, breaking

Odell Beckham Jr. Odell Cornelious Beckham Jr. (born November 5, 1992), commonly known by his initials OBJ, is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Beckham played college football at LSU and was drafted by the ...

's Giants receiving record for a rookie, but was ejected for throwing a punch at Cowboys safety Damontae Kazee during the 44-20 loss. Toney missed four weeks of the season due to an oblique injury. On December 13, 2021, Toney was again placed on reserve/COVID-19 list. Despite appearing in only ten games, Toney finished the season with the second-most receiving yards on the Giants. Toney injured his hamstring in week 2 of the 2022 season. The injury would cause him to miss five games for the Giants. Before being traded, he only recorded two receptions for zero yards (one reception was for 2 yards, the other was for –2) and no touchdowns.

Kansas City Chiefs

Toney was traded to the

on October 27, 2022 in exchange for a third and a sixth round pick in the

2023 NFL Draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

In week 10 against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

, Toney scored his first NFL touchdown.

NFL career statistics

Rap career

Toney is also a rapper who goes by the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

of Yung Joka.

References

External links

Florida Gators bioNew York Giants bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toney, Kadarius 1999 births Living people Players of American football from Alabama Sportspeople from Mobile, Alabama American football wide receivers Florida Gators football players New York Giants players Kansas City Chiefs players People from Mobile County, Alabama American rappers