Daron Payne ( ; born May 27, 1997) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

, where he won national championships in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. Payne was selected by Washington in the first round of the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

Early life

Payne was born on May 27, 1997, in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. He attended

Shades Valley High School Shades Valley High School (SVHS) is a four-year public secondary school in the Birmingham, Alabama suburb of Irondale. The school was established in 1948 near Homewood and moved to its present location in 1996. SVHS is the largest of 14 high sc ...

Irondale, Alabama Irondale is a city in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is a suburb of Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West ...

, where he played

. He was rated as a five-star recruit and committed to the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

to play

College career

As a true freshman at Alabama in 2015, Payne had 13 tackles and half a sack. As a sophomore in 2016, he had 36 tackles and 1.5 sacks. In the National Championship Game against Clemson, he recorded five tackles and a half sack. As a junior in 2017, Payne was named the defensive MVP of both postseason games that Alabama played. In the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

versus Clemson, he intercepted a ball and scored an offensive receiving touchdown on the resulting drive. In the National Championship Game against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, Payne had six tackles to help lead Alabama to their second national championship in three seasons. After his junior year, Payne declared his intentions to enter the

. During his time at Alabama, Payne's given name was commonly misspelled as Da'Ron, which he requested to change back to Daron for his professional career.

Professional career

Payne was selected by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

in the first round (13th overall) of the

. On May 10, 2018, Payne signed a four-year contract worth 14.4 million featuring a $8.56 million signing bonus. He recorded his first career sack in Week 3 against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. He finished his rookie season with 56 tackles, five sacks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery, and was named to the 2018

PFWA All-Rookie Team Following each National Football League (NFL) season, the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) compiles an honorary All-Rookie Team to recognize that season's most outstanding rookies at each position as adjudged by sportswriters of the PFWA. T ...

as a result. In Week 14 of the 2020 season against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the 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 ...

, Payne forced a fumble on quarterback

Nick Mullens Nicholas Clayton Mullens (born March 21, 1995) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Southern Miss Golden Eagle ...

, which was recovered and returned for a touchdown by

Chase Young Chase Young (born April 14, 1999) is an American professional football defensive end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he was a unanimous All-America ...

and would also recover a forced fumble by Young. In Week 15 against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, Payne recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He has primarily played for the Seattle Seahawks. With the Sea ...

during the 20–15 loss. Payne finished the 2020 NFL season playing 880 snaps and recording 54 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and an interception. He also recorded two sacks against

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...

and the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

in the wild-card round of the playoffs. The team exercised the fifth-year option on Payne's contract on April 27, 2021, which guarantees a salary of $8.529 million for the 2022 season. He was added to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

reserve list on August 1, 2021, before being re-activated on August 5. Payne and defensive end James Smith-Williams sealed the Week 11 win 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

after they sacked quarterback

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He is the NFL le ...

on fourth down with less than a minute and a half left in the game. By Week 9 of the 2022 season, Payne accumulated a new career-high of 5.5 sacks. With 58 seconds remaining in the Week 12 game against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, he deflected a touchdown pass attempt from

Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks footb ...

which cornerback

Kendall Fuller Kendall Christopher Fuller (born February 13, 1995) is an American professional football cornerback. He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft. Fu ...

intercepted in the end zone in a 19–13 win. He finished the season having set new career highs with 64 tackles, 11.5 sacks, and five pass deflections. In January 2023, Payne was named as a replacement player for

Aaron Donald Aaron Charles Donald (born May 23, 1991) is an American former professional football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons with the St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams franchise. He is considered one of the gr ...

to the

2023 Pro Bowl The 2023 Pro Bowl Games (branded as the 2023 Pro Bowl Games presented by Verizon for sponsorship reasons) was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2022 NFL season. For the first time, the event consisted of skills competitions and ...

, his first Pro Bowl. The Commanders placed a non-exclusive

franchise tag In the National Football League (NFL), the franchise tag is a designation a team may apply to a player scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The tag binds the player to the team for one year if certain conditions are met. Each team has on ...

on Payne before him signing a four-year, $90 million extension with the team on March 13, 2023. Payne finished the 2024 regular season with 42 tackles, four sacks, and two pass deflections over 17 games. In his second playoff appearance, Payne dislocated his thumb in the 2024–25 Wild Card round win over the Buccaneers. Despite the injury, he would play the following week in the win over 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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

but was ruled out of the

NFC Championship Game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semifinal National Football League playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional Ame ...

due to injuries with his thumb and knee.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Washington Commanders profileAlabama Crimson Tide profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Daron 1997 births 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen Alabama Crimson Tide football players American football defensive tackles Living people National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama Washington Commanders players Washington Football Team players Washington Redskins players