David Onyemata
Onyemata in 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| New York Jets | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Nose tackle | ||||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | November 13, 1992 Lagos, Nigeria | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 310 lb (141 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Chrisland Schools (Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria) | ||||||||||||||
| University | Manitoba (2012–2015) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2016: 4th round, 120th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| CFL draft | 2016: 4th round, 35th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||||||||
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David Onyemata (born November 13, 1992) is a Nigerian professional American football nose tackle for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Manitoba Bisons.
Early life
Onyemata is a native of Lagos, Nigeria, where he attended the Chrisland Schools but he graduated from Rainbow College. He immigrated, on his own, to Winnipeg in 2011 to attend college the University of Manitoba.
University career
Onyemata had never seen a gridiron football game until he came to Winnipeg, but he became a standout player for the Manitoba Bisons. He won the 2015 J. P. Metras Trophy as the top down lineman in CIS football,[1] was invited to play in the East–West Shrine Game, and became the top Canadian prospect in the 2016 draft.[2]
Professional career
| 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 3+1⁄4 in (1.91 m) |
300 lb (136 kg) |
33+1⁄4 in (0.84 m) |
10+3⁄8 in (0.26 m) |
5.06 s | 1.66 s | 2.89 s | 4.65 s | 7.25 s | 33.0 in (0.84 m) |
9 ft 11 in (3.02 m) |
33 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[3][4] | ||||||||||||
New Orleans Saints
Onyemata was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft as the 120th overall pick.[5] He was the first player from the University of Manitoba ever selected for the NFL draft, and the twelfth NFL draft pick from the CIS (now U Sports). The Saints traded their fifth round picks for 2016 and 2017 to Washington in order to draft Onyemata.[6][7] He was also selected by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the fourth round of the 2016 CFL draft.[8]
In 2018, Onyemata played in all 16 games with four starts, recording 35 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and a forced fumble.[9]
Onyemata was suspended the first game of the 2019 season for violating the league's substances of abuse policy.[10] He was reinstated to the active roster on September 10, 2019.
On March 18, 2020, Onyemata signed a three-year, $27 million contract extension with the Saints.[11]
In Week 9 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football, Onyemata recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Tom Brady during the 38–3 win.[12]
On March 3, 2021, Onyemata agreed to convert part of his $7 million base salary into a signing bonus to free up cap space for New Orleans. On July 16, Onyemata was suspended six games by the NFL after testing positive for a banned substance.[13]
Atlanta Falcons
On March 16, 2023, Onyemata signed a three-year, $35 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons, reuniting him with his former Saints position coach, Ryan Nielsen, who was named the Falcons defensive coordinator.[14]
In his three years in Atlanta, Onyemata was an every-game starter as an interior defensive lineman, posting career numbers across the board.
New York Jets
On March 12, 2026, Onyemata signed a one-year, $10.5 million contract with the New York Jets.[15]
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | Lng | TD | PD | FF | Fum | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2016 | NOR | 16 | 0 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | NOR | 16 | 6 | 38 | 18 | 20 | 2.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | NOR | 16 | 4 | 35 | 23 | 12 | 4.5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | NOR | 15 | 15 | 32 | 22 | 10 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | NOR | 15 | 15 | 44 | 20 | 24 | 6.5 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | NOR | 11 | 11 | 34 | 12 | 22 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -6 | 0 |
| 2022 | NOR | 17 | 17 | 43 | 25 | 18 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | ATL | 14 | 14 | 50 | 25 | 25 | 4.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | ATL | 17 | 16 | 45 | 23 | 22 | 3.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | ATL | 17 | 17 | 62 | 29 | 33 | 1.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 154 | 115 | 401 | 208 | 193 | 31.0 | 49 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | -6 | 0 | |
Postseason
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | Lng | TD | PD | FF | Fum | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2017 | NOR | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | NOR | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | NOR | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | NOR | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 7 | 4 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
References
- ^ Kirk Penton, "Manitoba Bisons David Onyemata wins J.P. Metras trophy as top down lineman in CIS", Winnipeg Sun, November 26, 2015.
- ^ "David Onyemata only Canadian with good shot at NFL draft", Toronto Sun, April 26, 2016.
- ^ "David Onyemata College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ^ "Manitoba's Onyemata Dominates Pro Day". CFL.ca. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ^ "2016 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ^ Larry Holder, "Saints trade up for mystery man Canadian DT David Onyemata", The Times-Picayune, April 30, 2016.
- ^ "Bison defensive lineman David Onyemata makes history as first Manitoba Bisons football player selected in NFL Draft by New Orleans Saints in the 4th round (120th overall pick) in the 2016 NFL Draft", Manitoba Bisons, April 30, 2016.
- ^ Dabe, Christopher (May 11, 2016). "CFL team selects Saints defensive lineman David Onyemata in draft". nola.com. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- ^ Knox, Kristopher. "2023 NFL Free Agency Big Board: Top 50 Available Players". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
- ^ Bergman, Jeremy (June 28, 2019). "Saints DT David Onyemata suspended one game". NFL.com.
- ^ Triplett, Mike (March 16, 2020). "Saints to re-sign DT David Onyemata on 3-year, $27M deal, source says". ESPN.com.
- ^ "New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - November 8th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
- ^ Patra, Kevin (July 16, 2021). "Saints DT David Onyemata suspended six games for violation of PED policy". NFL.com. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
- ^ McElhaney, Tori (March 16, 2023). "Falcons sign defensive tackle David Onyemata". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved August 24, 2025.
- ^ "Jets Sign DT David Onyemata". NewYorkJets.com. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
External links
- Career statistics from NFL.com · ESPN · CBS Sports · Yahoo Sports · Pro Football Reference
- New York Jets bio
- Manitoba Bisons bio