Jerry Dewayne Tillery Jr. (born October 8, 1996) is an American professional football defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame.

Jerry Tillery
refer to caption
Tillery with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021
No. 99 – Minnesota Vikings
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1996-10-08) October 8, 1996 (age 28)
Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Height:6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight:295 lb (134 kg)
Career information
High school:Evangel Christian Academy (LA)
College:Notre Dame (2015–2018)
NFL draft:2019 / round: 1 / pick: 28
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 10, 2024
Total tackles:164
Sacks:12.5
Forced fumbles:3
Fumble recoveries:2
Pass deflections:4
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Tillery attended Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, Louisiana.[1] As a senior he had 93 tackles and seven sacks. He committed to the University of Notre Dame to play college football.[2]

College career

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Tillery with the Notre Dame in 2018

Tillery was originally going to play offensive tackle as a freshman at Notre Dame in 2015, but it was later decided he would play defensive tackle.[3][4] That season, he played in 12 games with three starts and recorded 12 tackles and a sack.[5] As a sophomore in 2016, he started 11 of 12 games, recording 37 tackles. As a junior in 2017, Tillery started all 13 games, finishing the season with 56 tackles and 4.5 sacks.[6] He returned to Notre Dame for his senior year in 2018.[7][8]

College statistics

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Season Class Pos GP Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Solo Ast Cmb TfL Sck Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
2015 FR DL 6 9 3 12 2.0 1.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2016 SO DL 11 19 18 37 3.5 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2017 JR DL 13 25 31 56 9.0 4.5 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 1
2018 SR DL 12 17 11 28 8.5 7.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Career 43 60 63 123 23 12.5 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 3

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 Wonderlic
6 ft 6+12 in
(1.99 m)
295 lb
(134 kg)
34+14 in
(0.87 m)
10+58 in
(0.27 m)
4.93 s 1.69 s 2.88 s 4.33 s 7.45 s 32 in
(0.81 m)
9 ft 7 in
(2.92 m)
23 reps 31[9]
All values are from the NFL Combine[10][11]
 
Tillery in 2019

Los Angeles Chargers

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Tillery was drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers 28th overall in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft.[12] As a rookie, he appeared in 15 games and made three starts. He had two sacks and 17 total tackles (nine solo).[13]

In Week 9 of the 2020 season against the Las Vegas Raiders, Tillery recorded a strip sack on Derek Carr that he also recovered during the 27–25 loss. This was Tillery's first forced fumble and fumble recovery in the NFL.[14] In the 2020 season, he had three sacks, 30 total tackles (19 solo), two passes defended, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.[15] In the 2021 season, Tillery had 4.5 sacks and 51 total tackles (24 solo) in 16 games and starts.[16]

The Chargers declined the fifth-year option on Tillery's contract on May 2, 2022, making him a free agent after the season.[17] Tillery was waived on November 10, 2022.[18]

Las Vegas Raiders

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On November 14, 2022, Tillery was claimed off waivers by the Las Vegas Raiders.[19] He finished the 2022 season with one sack, 18 total tackles (13 solo), and one forced fumble over 15 games and four starts with both teams.[20]

Tillery re-signed with the Raiders on March 17, 2023.[21] In an October 1 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Tillery was ejected after a late hit on former teammate Justin Herbert.[22] In the 2023 season, he finished with two sacks, 31 total tackles (11 solo), and one fumble recovery in 17 games and six starts.[23] Tillery was released by the Raiders on March 13, 2024.[24]

Minnesota Vikings

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On March 14, 2024, Tillery signed with the Minnesota Vikings.[25]

References

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  1. ^ Zanke, Susan (March 30, 2015). "Defensive lineman Jerry Tillery of Evangel Christian (La.) 'far and away the story' at Notre Dame". USA TODAY High School Sports. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  2. ^ Smith, James (December 5, 2014). "Jerry Tillery affirms commitment to Notre Dame, shuts down recruitment". NOLA.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  3. ^ Lopez, Andrew (January 1, 2015). "Evangel's Jerry Tillery set to switch to defensive tackle at Notre Dame". NOLA.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  4. ^ Lang III, Roy (March 29, 2015). "Notre Dame coach: Jerry Tillery far and away the story". Shreveport Times. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  5. ^ Litman, Laken (October 18, 2017). "Why Jerry Tillery is Notre Dame football's most interesting player". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  6. ^ Noie, Tom (April 30, 2018). "Noie: Having lived and learned, Notre Dame DT Jerry Tillery ready to be better". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  7. ^ Burlage, Todd (October 4, 2018). "Travels and tribulations have shaped Irish DL Jerry Tillery". Associated Press. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  8. ^ "BREAKING: Jerry Tillery Will Return To Notre Dame For Senior Year". Irish Sports Daily. January 15, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  9. ^ Hladik, Matt (April 22, 2019). "The Wonderlic Scores for NFL Draft's Top Prospects Have Leaked". TheSpun.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  10. ^ "Jerry Tillery Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  11. ^ "Jerry Tillery, Notre Dame, DT, 2019 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". DraftScout.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  12. ^ Miller, Jeff (April 26, 2019). "Chargers take Notre Dame DT Jerry Tillery with 28th pick in NFL draft". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  13. ^ "Jerry Tillery 2019 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  14. ^ "Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers - November 8th, 2020". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  15. ^ "Jerry Tillery 2020 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  16. ^ "Jerry Tillery 2021 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  17. ^ "Fifth-year option tracker for first-round picks from the 2019 NFL Draft". NFL.com. April 25, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  18. ^ Cothrel, Nicolas (November 11, 2022). "Why the Chargers Waived Former First-Round Pick DL Jerry Tillery". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  19. ^ "Raiders claim DL Jerry Tillery". Raiders.com. November 14, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  20. ^ "Jerry Tillery 2022 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  21. ^ "Raiders re-sign DT Jerry Tillery". Raiders.com. March 17, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  22. ^ Greenspan, Dan (October 1, 2023). "Ex-Charger Jerry Tillery ejected for late hit on LA QB Justin Herbert". AP News. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  23. ^ "Jerry Tillery 2023 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  24. ^ Gutierrez, Paul (March 13, 2024). "Raiders release Jimmy Garoppolo, Hunter Renfrow, two others". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  25. ^ Young, Lindsey (March 14, 2024). "Vikings Agree to Terms with Defensive Lineman Jerry Tillery & Receiver Trent Sherfield". Vikings.com. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
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