Jalen Ramsey

Jalen Ramsey

Ramsey with the Los Angeles Rams in 2020
No. 5 – Los Angeles Rams
Position:	Cornerback
Personal information
Born:	(1994-10-24) October 24, 1994 Smyrna, Tennessee
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school:	Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tennessee)
College:	Florida State (2013–2015)
NFL draft:	2016 / round: 1 / pick: 5
Career history
Jacksonville Jaguars (2016–2019) Los Angeles Rams (2019–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
Super Bowl champion (LVI) 3× First-team All-Pro (2017, 2020, 2021) 5× Pro Bowl (2017–2021) PFWA All-Rookie Team (2016) BCS national champion (2013) Consensus All-American (2015) Second-team All-American (2014) 2× First-team All-ACC (2014, 2015)
Career NFL statistics
Tackles: 364 Forced fumbles: 4 Pass deflections: 74 Interceptions: 15 Defensive touchdowns: 1 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Jalen Lattrel Ramsey (born October 24, 1994) is an American football cornerback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State and was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars fifth overall in the 2016 NFL Draft.

With the Jaguars, Ramsey quickly became one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, making the Pro Bowl twice and being named an All-Pro in 2017, in addition to helping Jacksonville snap a 10-year playoff drought. However, following a fallout and standoff with the Jaguars' front office, he was traded to the Rams midway through the 2019 season. The following year, Ramsey agreed to an extension with the Rams that made him the highest-paid defensive back in league history at the time.

Early life

Ramsey was born on October 24, 1994, in Smyrna, Tennessee to Lamont Ramsey, an emergency medical technician (EMT) and Jalen's training coach, and Margie Ramsey. Jalen's older brother, Jamal, participated in football, basketball, and track at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, Tennessee, and played quarterback at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where their father had once played football. Jalen perfected his football skills playing with much older boys at a local park. He grew up cheering for the Miami Hurricanes in a family of Florida Gators fans.

High school career

Ramsey attended Ensworth High School in Nashville, Tennessee, during his freshman year. He then transferred to Brentwood Academy in Brentwood, Tennessee, where he was a two-sport star in football and track & field. Ramsey was rated by both Rivals.com and Scout.com as a five-star recruit and one of the top overall recruits in his class. He originally committed to the University of Southern California (USC) to play college football, but later changed to Florida State University.

Ramsey had a highly decorated high school track career. On May 24, 2013, in his final high school track meet, Ramsey shattered the Tennessee state record in the long jump with a mark of 25′ 3.25″, breaking the 16-year-old record set in 1997. As of 2016, no other athlete in TSSAA history has surpassed the 25-foot mark. Ramsey competed in events ranging from the 100 meters to the shot put. As a sprinter, he recorded personal best times of 10.50 in the 100-meter dash, 21.44 in the 200-meter dash, and 48.02 in the 400-meter dash. Ramsey established personal bests in the high jump at 6′ 8″ and the triple jump 47′ 7″. He also posted a top throw of 49′ 11″ in the shot put.

College career

Football

Ramsey in 2014

Ramsey started all 14 games for the Florida State Seminoles as a true freshman in 2013. He was the first true freshman to start a game at cornerback for the Seminoles since Deion Sanders in 1985. Ramsey wore the #13 jersey during his freshman year when Florida State won the National Championship over Auburn. He later switched to jersey #8 for his sophomore and junior seasons. Also, Ramsey chose the #17 jersey for kick returns during his junior year, a number that had been retired in honor of former superstar Charlie Ward, who granted Ramsey permission to wear the number. Ramsey finished the year with 49 tackles, an interception, and a sack.

As a sophomore, Ramsey played 14 games with 80 tackles, two interceptions, 12 passes defended, three forced fumbles, and two sacks. As a junior, he played 13 games with a sack, nine passes defended, and a fumble recovery on 52 tackles. On September 18, against Boston College, he recorded a 36-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the 14–0 victory. He was named as a Consensus All-American for his performance in the 2015 season. After his junior year, he announced his intention to forego his senior season and enter the 2016 NFL Draft.

Track and field

Ramsey competed in track & field at Florida State as a relay sprinter and long jumper. He was a three-time All-ACC honoree as a member of the Florida State Indoor and Outdoor championship track and field team in 2013. He placed third in the long jump at both the indoor and outdoor ACC T&F Championships and ran a leg on the conference champion 4×100 relay team at the outdoor meet. During the 2014 season, Ramsey's best outdoor long jump mark was 25' 0" (7.62m) and his top indoor jump was 24' 11" (7.59m), ranking second nationally among NCAA Division I football players. Ramsey qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary meet in the long jump. He placed third at the 2014 ACC Indoor Championship in the long jump (7.46 m).

In March 2015, Ramsey recorded his personal best jump of 26' 1.75" at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In May 2015, Ramsey won the ACC Long Jump Championship with a leap of 26' 1.5" (7.96m), only three inches short of the automatic qualifying mark for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

College statistics

Jalen Ramsey			Tackles			Int & Fum
Season	Team	GP	Cmb	TfL	Sck	PD	Int	FF
2013	Florida State	14	49	2.0	1.0	1	1	1
2014	Florida State	14	80	10.0	3.0	12	2	3
2015	Florida State	13	52	3.5	1.0	9	0	0
Total		41	181	15.5	5.0	22	3	4

Professional career

Coming out of Florida State, Ramsey was projected a first round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was considered to be a top ten pick by NFL media analysts Daniel Jeremiah, Charles Davis, and Mike Mayock. He received an invitation to the NFL combine and completed all the combine and positional drills and tied for the top performance in the broad jump and vertical jump.

External videos
Jalen Ramsey's NFL Combine Workout
Jalen Ramsey's 40-yard dash

On March 29, 2016, Ramsey chose to participate at Florida State's pro day, along with Roberto Aguayo, Lamarcus Brutus, Terrance Smith, and 20 other prospects. Team representatives and scouts from 31 NFL teams attended, with the Cincinnati Bengals opting not to, and among them included general managers Doug Whaley (Bills), Kevin Colbert (Steelers), Jason Licht (Buccaneers), Jon Robinson (Titans), and Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin. Ramsey chose to stand on his combine numbers and only perform positional drills. He was ranked as the top free safety prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com, the top overall defensive back prospect by Sports Illustrated, and was ranked the top cornerback by NFL analyst Mike Mayock.

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press	Wonderlic
6 ft 1+1⁄4 in (1.86 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	33+3⁄8 in (0.85 m)	9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m)	4.41 s	1.51 s	2.57 s	4.18 s	6.94 s	41.5 in (1.05 m)	11 ft 3 in (3.43 m)	14 reps	24
All values from NFL Combine.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Ramsey in the first round with the fifth overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He was the highest cornerback selected in the draft. He was the earliest drafted cornerback in Jaguars' franchise history.

External videos
Jaguars draft Jalen Ramsey 5th overall

2016 season

See also: 2016 Jacksonville Jaguars season

On May 19, 2016, Ramsey suffered a small meniscus tear during rookie training camp. He had microfracture surgery on the same knee in his sophomore year of high school. Three days later, the Jaguars signed Ramsey to a four-year, $23.35 million that included $22.90 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $15.18 million. On May 24, 2016, Ramsey underwent surgery to repair the torn meniscus.

Head coach Gus Bradley named him the starting cornerback, alongside Davon House. Ramsey made his NFL debut and first start in the season-opener against the Green Bay Packers and recorded three solo tackles in the 27–23 loss. During Week 8 against the Tennessee Titans, he made a season-high eight combined tackles as the Jaguars lost on the road by a score of 36–22.

On December 18, 2016, Ramsey collected four solo tackles, a season-high five pass deflections, a forced fumble, and recorded his first NFL interception by picking off Brock Osweiler in a narrow 21–20 road loss to the Houston Texans. Following the game, the Jaguars fired head coach Gus Bradley after a 2–12 record. In the next game, under interim head coach Doug Marrone, Ramsey made four solo tackles, defended four passes, and intercepted Matt Cassel and returned it for a touchdown, helping the Jaguars defeat the Tennessee Titans by a score of 38–17. Ramsey was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.

Ramsey finished his rookie season with 65 combined tackles (55 solo), 14 pass deflections, two interceptions, a forced fumble, and a touchdown in 16 games and starts. Pro Football Focus gave Ramsey an overall grade of 82.3, which ranked 21st among all qualifying cornerbacks in 2016.

2017 season

See also: 2017 Jacksonville Jaguars season

Ramsey returned as the Jaguars' de facto starting cornerback and joined a revamped secondary that included A. J. Bouye, Aaron Colvin, Barry Church, and Tashaun Gipson. NFL analyst Ike Taylor ranked them the seventh best secondary prior to the season and ranked Ramsey and Bouye the top cornerback tandem.

During Week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens in London, Ramsey recorded two solo tackles and his first interception of the season off of quarterback Joe Flacco as the Jaguars routed the Ravens by a score of 44–7. Two weeks later against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ramsey collected a season-high seven combined tackles, four pass deflections, and intercepted a pass attempt by Ben Roethlisberger in the 30–9 road victory. During a Week 9 23-7 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, Ramsey recorded a tackle before being ejected after an altercation that began with him pushing Bengals wide receiver A. J. Green to the ground and ended with several punches thrown.

On December 19, 2017, Ramsey was named to his first Pro Bowl as a starter alongside teammate Bouye. Ramsey finished his second professional season with 63 combined tackles (52 solo), 17 pass deflections, and four interceptions in 16 games and starts. Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 91.8, which ranked second among all qualifying cornerbacks in 2017.

The Jaguars finished the season atop the AFC South with a 10–6 record and claimed the #3-seed in the AFC. In the Wild Card Round against the Buffalo Bills, Ramsey recorded two solo tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception. His interception came late in the fourth quarter when he picked off Nathan Peterman, who had just entered the game for the injured Tyrod Taylor, and sealed the win for the Jaguars. In the Divisional Round against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ramsey had four tackles in the 45–42 road victory. In the AFC Championship against the New England Patriots, he finished with two total tackles in the 24–20 road loss. Ramsey was ranked 17th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.

2018 season

See also: 2018 Jacksonville Jaguars season

In the 2018 season, Ramsey started all 16 games and totaled 65 total tackles, three interceptions, and 13 passes defensed as the Jaguars finished with a 5–11 record. During a Week 11 20-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, he had two interceptions, three passes defensed, and a career-high eight total tackles. This was Ramsey's first multi-interception game in his NFL career. He was named to his second Pro Bowl, where he switched positions and caught a receiving touchdown from Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson in the fourth quarter.

2019 season

See also: 2019 Jacksonville Jaguars season

On April 25, 2019, the Jaguars picked up the fifth-year option on Ramsey's contract.

Ramsey started the Jaguars' first three games, totaling 13 solo tackles with a pass deflection and a forced fumble. However, during a narrow Week 2 13–12 road loss to the Houston Texans, he was involved in a verbal altercation with Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone, and they had to be physically restrained from each other. The following day, reports surfaced that Ramsey was demanding a trade, but he started the next game, a 20–7 victory over the Tennessee Titans. The following week, Ramsey was placed on the inactive list, with the team announcing that Ramsey would be absent in order to attend the birth of his second child. Ramsey would never play for the Jaguars again, remaining on Jacksonville's inactive list from Week 4 through Week 6.

Los Angeles Rams

On October 15, 2019, Ramsey was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a 2020 first-round pick (eventually used on K'Lavon Chaisson), a 2021 first-round pick (eventually used on Travis Etienne), and a 2021 fourth-round pick.

2019 season

See also: 2019 Los Angeles Rams season

In his first game with the Rams, Ramsey recorded four tackles as the Rams beat the Atlanta Falcons on the road by a score of 37-10. In the next game, he recorded seven tackles as the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals by a score of 24-10 in London. During a Week 16 34-31 road loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday Night Football, Ramsey recorded four tackles, two pass deflections, and his first interception of the season off of Jimmy Garoppolo. In the final minute on third and 16, he and safety Taylor Rapp made an error in coverage which resulted in a 46-yard completion to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, eventually leading to the game-winning field goal which knocked the Rams out of playoff contention.

In 12 games on the Jaguars and Rams rosters during the 2019 season, Ramsey accumulated 50 tackles, five passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and an interception.

2020 season

See also: 2020 Los Angeles Rams season

On September 9, 2020, Ramsey signed a five-year, $105 million extension with the Rams with $71.2 million guaranteed. The deal made him the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history.

Following a Week 4 17-9 victory against the New York Giants, a fight broke out between Ramsey and his ex-girlfriend’s brother Golden Tate after the game was over due in part to Ramsey’s comments against Tate’s sister Breanna who had two children with him. On October 10, 2020, Ramsey was fined $15,625 for his role in the postgame fight.

During a Week 7 24-10 victory over the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, Ramsey recorded four tackles, a pass deflection, and his first interception of the season off of Nick Foles. In the regular-season finale against the Arizona Cardinals, Ramsey recorded five tackles and four pass deflections in the 18-7 victory.

Ramsey finished the 2020 season with 44 tackles, nine pass deflections, and an interception in 15 games and starts. The Rams finished the 2020 season second in the NFC West with a 10-6 record and qualified for the playoffs. In the Wild Card round against the Seattle Seahawks, Ramsey recorded three tackles and a pass deflections in the 30-20 road victory. In the Divisional Round against the Green Bay Packers, he recorded four tackles in the 32-18 road loss.

2021 season

See also: 2021 Los Angeles Rams season

On June 13, 2021, Ramsey announced during the Rams minicamp that he would officially change his number to 5 per the new NFL jersey number rule.

During the season-opening 34-14 victory over the Chicago Bears, Ramsey recorded nine tackles and a pass deflection. In the next game against the Indianapolis Colts, he recorded three tackles, a pass deflection, and his first interception of the season in the narrow 27-24 road victory. The following week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ramsey had eight combined tackles in the 34-24 victory."Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Los Angeles Rams – September 26th, 2021". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 28, 2021. During a Week 7 28-19 victory over the Detroit Lions, he recorded six tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted former teammate Jared Goff once to seal the victory for the Rams. Two weeks later against the Tennessee Titans, Ramsey recorded three tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception as the Rams lost by a score of 28-16. During a Week 10 31-10 road loss to the San Francisco 49ers, he recorded four tackles and two pass deflections. After a Week 11 bye, the Rams went on the road to face the Green Bay Packers. In that game, Ramsey recorded six tackles as the Rams lost by a score of 36-28. The following week against his former team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Ramsey recorded three tackles, a pass deflection, and a fumble recovery in the 37-7 victory. In the regular-season finale against the 49ers, he recorded three tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception in the 27-24 overtime loss.

Ramsey finished the 2021 season with 77 tackles, 16 pass deflections, four interceptions, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in 16 games and starts. The Rams finished atop the NFC West with a 12-5 record and qualified for the playoffs. In the Wild Card round against the Arizona Cardinals, Ramsey recorded four tackles in the 34-11 victory. During the Divisional Round against the Buccaneers, he recorded four takles and a pass deflection in the narrow 30-27 road victory. During the NFC Championship Game against the 49ers, Ramsey recorded a tackle and two pass deflections in the narrow 20-17 victory to advance to Super Bowl LVI. In the Super Bowl, he recorded four tackles and a pass deflection as the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals by a score of 23–20.

NFL career statistics

Legend
	Won the Super Bowl
Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	Games		Tackles				Interceptions						Fumbles
		GP	GS	Cmb	Solo	Ast	Sck	PD	Int	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	FF	FR
2016	JAX	16	16	65	55	10	0.0	14	2	65	32.5	35T	1	1	0
2017	JAX	16	16	63	52	11	0.0	17	4	34	8.5	18	0	0	0
2018	JAX	16	16	65	62	3	0.0	13	3	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
2019	JAX	3	3	17	13	4	0.0	1	0	0	0.0	0	0	1	0
	LAR	9	8	33	31	2	0.0	4	1	13	13.0	13	0	1	0
2020	LAR	15	15	44	36	8	0.0	9	1	2	2.0	2	0	0	0
2021	LAR	16	16	77	62	15	0.0	16	4	41	10.3	25	0	1	1
Career		91	90	364	311	53	0.0	74	15	155	10.3	35T	1	4	1

Postseason

Year	Team	Games		Tackles				Interceptions						Fumbles
		GP	GS	Cmb	Solo	Ast	Sck	PD	Int	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	FF	FR
2017	JAX	3	3	8	7	1	0.0	1	1	2	2.0	2	0	0	0
2020	LAR	2	2	7	4	3	0.0	1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
2021	LAR	4	4	13	11	2	0.0	4	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
Career		9	9	28	22	6	0.0	6	1	2	2.0	2	0	0	0

Personal life

Ramsey is a Christian. He frequently mentions his faith on his social media accounts.

In July 2018, Ramsey and Breanna Tate, the younger sister of NFL wide receiver Golden Tate, had a daughter together. The pair had a second daughter in September 2019, though they had broken up earlier that summer.

Ramsey was known for his trash talk both on and off the field, primarily during his time with Jacksonville. Notable examples include Ramsey's altercation with Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A. J. Green in 2017, which was caused by his trash talk, and banter between him and Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill prior to a 2018 matchup between the Jaguars and Chiefs. In an August 2018 interview with GQ, Ramsey also offered his unfiltered opinions of several NFL quarterbacks, criticizing Joe Flacco, Josh Allen, Andrew Luck, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, Jared Goff, among others. In 2019 during a game against the rival Seattle Seahawks, Ramsey engaged in an altercation with Seahawks’ then-rookie receiver DK Metcalf. Ramsey was not charged for the penalty nor fined by the league after the incident, however; DK Metcalf was given the penalty.

Filmography

Film roles

Year	Title	Role
2022	Jackass Forever	Himself

External links

• Jalen Ramsey on Twitter
• Los Angeles Rams bio
• Jacksonville Jaguars bio
• Florida State Seminoles bio