Jacoby Fleener (born September 20, 1988) is a former

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 ...

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. Lik ...

. After playing at

Joliet Catholic Academy Joliet Catholic Academy (Joliet Catholic or JCA) is a coed Catholic high school in Joliet, Illinois. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet. One of the oldest Catholic high schools in the Chicago area, Joliet Catholic is perhaps bes ...

during high school, Fleener 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

. He was drafted by 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 ...

in the second round of the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. He has also played for 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 ...

College career

Fleener played college football for the Stanford Cardinal from 2008 to 2011. In his collegiate career, he recorded 96 receptions for 1,543 yards and 18 touchdowns. He was named an All-American by

CBSSports.com CBSSports.com (formerly CBS SportsLine.com and SportsLine USA) is an American sports news website operated by Paramount Streaming, itself a division of Paramount Global. It is the website for CBS's CBS Sports division that features news, high ...

as a senior in 2011.

Professional career

Fleener was considered a top tight end prospect for the

. At the NFL combine, he benched 27 reps of 225 at 6-6 247, though he did not run because of an ankle injury. Luck and Fleener colts

Indianapolis Colts

The

selected Fleener in the second round with the 34th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft after drafting his college quarterback,

Andrew Luck Andrew Austen Luck (born September 12, 1989) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. One of the most highly touted amateur prospects during hi ...

, with the 1st overall pick. Fleener was the first tight end drafted in the 2012 NFL Draft. On July 25, he and the Colts agreed to a four-year contract worth $5.431 million. Fleener made his regular season debut in Week 1 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 ...

, recording six receptions for 82 yards. He struggled through the early season, before recording his first career touchdown reception against 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 For ...

in Week 13. Fleener finished the 2012 regular season with 26 receptions for 281 yards and two touchdowns. He recorded three receptions for 25 yards in the Colts' 24–9 Wild Card loss to the eventual

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

champion

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. Fleener began the 2013 preseason as the backup to

Dwayne Allen Dwayne Lamont Allen (born February 24, 1990) is a former American football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at Clemson, where he won the John Mackey Award as a junior, and ...

. He missed the final two weeks of preseason after suffering a knee injury. Allen would be placed on injured reserve after Week 1, making Fleener the starter for the rest of the season. He recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game in Week 11 against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

, making eight receptions for 107 yards. Fleener finished the 2013 season with 52 receptions for 608 yards and four touchdowns. In the Colts' Wild Card playoff game against 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 t ...

, he had five receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown to assist in the Colts' 45–44 comeback win.

New Orleans Saints

On March 9, 2016, Fleener signed a five-year, $36 million contract with the

. He finished the 2016 season with 50 receptions for 631 yards and three touchdowns. In addition, Fleener scored his first career rushing touchdown, on his first career rushing attempt, in a Week 6 victory over 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. ...

. On September 11, 2017, in the season opener against 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 expansi ...

on ''

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, ...

'', Fleener had five receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown. He was placed on injured reserve on December 2, after suffering a concussion in Week 12. On May 7, 2018, Fleener was released by the Saints.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Stanford Cardinal bio

Indianapolis Colts bio

New Orleans Saints bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleener, Coby 1988 births Living people People from Lemont, Illinois Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois Sportspeople from DuPage County, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois American football tight ends Stanford Cardinal football players Indianapolis Colts players New Orleans Saints players