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Josh Oliver

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Josh Oliver
refer to caption
Oliver with the Baltimore Ravens in 2022
No. 84 – Minnesota Vikings
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1997-03-21) March 21, 1997 (age 27)
Templeton, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:259 lb (117 kg)
Career information
High school:Paso Robles
(Paso Robles, California)
College:San Jose State (2015–2018)
NFL draft:2019 / round: 3 / pick: 69
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-MWC (2018)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2024
Receptions:55
Receiving yards:515
Receiving touchdowns:6
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Josh Oliver (born March 21, 1997) is an American professional football tight end for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at San Jose State.

Early life

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Born in Templeton, California, Oliver attended Paso Robles High School in Paso Robles, California.[1]

His uncle, Clancy Oliver, was an NFL defensive back for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1969 to 1970 and then-St. Louis Cardinals in 1973, and second cousin Darren Oliver was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1993 to 2013, while his father Rene Oliver earned All-Western Football Conference first-team accolades as a cornerback at Cal Poly in 1987 and 1988.[2][1]

Josh Oliver played tight end, defensive end, and outside linebacker on the football team and forward on the basketball team in high school, earning first-team all-county accolades from the San Luis Obispo Tribune in both sports.[1]

During the 2014 season, Oliver compiled 453 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches in helping PRHS advance to the CIF Southern California Division III championship game.[3]

He was a high school and college teammate of Bailey Gaither, future United States Football League wide receiver and return specialist.

Meanwhile, for his play at linebacker, Oliver was selected as the 2014 CIF Southern Section Northern Division Defensive Player of the Year in January 2015.[4] He accumulated 13 sacks and two interceptions (returned for 28 yards) as a senior.

College career

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Initially listed as an "athlete" in much of the recruiting process, Oliver was announced as a tight end upon signing a National Letter of Intent with San Jose State, as then-positional coach Dan Ferrigno commented he "[had] the tools to become an elite tight end."[5]

Oliver in 2017 with San Jose State.

Oliver played at SJSU from 2015 to 2018.[6][7][8] During his career, he had 98 receptions for 1,067 yards and seven touchdowns, and was a Mountain West Conference All-Academic honoree in all four of his years.[9][10]

As a freshman, his blocking was reportedly recognized to be a significant contributing factor toward Tyler Ervin breaking the program's single-season rushing yardage record.[11] He also emerged as a receiving threat, with his first collegiate touchdown catch coming during the Spartans' Cure Bowl victory over Georgia State.

Midway through the 2018 season, Oliver won a John Mackey Award as the national tight end of the week after producing eight catches for 158 yards against Hawai'i on September 27 (setting a school single-game receiving yardage record by a tight end).[12]

He earned first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection and served as a team captain in 2018, during a season in which his 56 receptions ranked third among FBS-level tight ends.[13][14] Oliver was invited to the Senior Bowl after the season.

Professional career

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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
6 ft 4+5⁄8 in
(1.95 m) 		249 lb
(113 kg) 		33+1⁄2 in
(0.85 m) 		10+3⁄4 in
(0.27 m)		 4.63 s 1.66 s 2.76 s 4.47 s 7.21 s 34.0 in
(0.86 m)		 9 ft 9 in
(2.97 m)		 22 reps
All values from NFL Combine[15][16]

Jacksonville Jaguars

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Oliver was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round, 69th overall, of the 2019 NFL draft.[17] He was placed on injured reserve on November 18, 2019.[18]

Oliver had surgery on a broken bone in his foot and was placed on injured reserve again on August 20, 2020.[19]

Baltimore Ravens

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On March 18, 2021, Oliver was traded to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for a conditional 2022 seventh-round selection.[20]

In Week 3 of the 2022 season against the New England Patriots, he caught his first career touchdown pass from a yard out from quarterback Lamar Jackson. He finished the game with two receptions for eight yards and the aforementioned touchdown in the 37–26 win.[21] Per Pro Football Focus, Oliver graded as the top run-blocking tight end in the NFL amongst the 53 tight ends who played at least 200 blocking snaps for the year.

Minnesota Vikings

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On March 15, 2023, Oliver signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings.[22]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Josh Oliver". SJSUSpartans.com. San Jose State University. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  2. ^ Wallner, Peter J. (April 22, 1989). "Mustang football players looking forward to draft". San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune. pp. B2.
  3. ^ Gibson, Travis (August 26, 2015). "Bearcats seek another title". The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, CA). pp. B6.
  4. ^ Jankowski, Alex (January 14, 2015). "Paso Robles sweeps Northern Division all-star honors". The San Luis Obispo Tribune. pp. S1.
  5. ^ Jankowski, Alex (February 5, 2015). "Football stars excited for college: Gaither, Oliver, Baldwin all may have chance at immediate playing time as true freshmen". The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, CA). pp. S1.
  6. ^ Gibson, Travis (January 15, 2016). "Paso Robles High grad Josh Oliver finishes football season at San Jose State on high note". sanluisobispo.com. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  7. ^ Allen, Connor (March 7, 2019). "Josh Oliver shines at Scouting Combine". Paso Robles Press. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  8. ^ Vera, Vicente (August 23, 2018). "Oliver named on Mackey award list". sjsunews.com. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  9. ^ San Jose State Football Record Book. San Jose State University Athletics Department. 2022. p. 36.
  10. ^ Allen, Connor (February 25, 2019). "Former Bearcat going to 2019 NFL Combine". Paso Robles Press. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  11. ^ Gibson, Travis (January 17, 2016). "College football - Paso grad Oliver proves quite a catch at San Jose State". The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, CA). pp. 1B.
  12. ^ Gonzalez, Ernie (February 7, 2019). "Josh Oliver accepts combine call". The Spear SJSU.
  13. ^ Middlecamp, Scott (April 28, 2019). "NFL Draft - Former Paso Robles High star taken by Jacksonville Jaguars". The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, CA). pp. 1C.
  14. ^ Ho, Matthew (March 16, 2023). "Former Paso Robles football star signs $21M deal with Vikings". The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, CA). pp. 1B.
  15. ^ "Josh Oliver Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  16. ^ "2019 Draft Scout Josh Oliver, San Jose State NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  17. ^ Oehser, John (April 26, 2019). "Round 3: Oliver is the selection". Jaguars.com.
  18. ^ Day, Ryan (November 18, 2019). "Jaguars place Oliver and McCray on season-ending IR". Big Cat Country. SB Nation. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  19. ^ DiRocco, Michael (August 20, 2020). "Jaguars' Josh Oliver has surgery for broken bone in foot, goes on IR". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  20. ^ "Ravens Trade for Tight End Josh Oliver, a Former Third-Round Pick". BaltimoreRavens.com. March 18, 2021. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  21. ^ "Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots - September 25th, 2022". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  22. ^ Peters, Craig (March 15, 2023). "Vikings Agree to Terms with Oliver, Davenport & Murphy". Vikings.com. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
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