Nathan T. Adkins (born July 9, 1999) is an American professional tight end for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at East Tennessee State and South Carolina.
 | |||||||||
| No. 45 – Denver Broncos | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | July 9, 1999 Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 252 lb (114 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Bearden (TN) | ||||||||
| College: | East Tennessee State (2018–2021) South Carolina (2022) | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2023 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 16, 2024 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Early life
editAdkins was born on July 9, 1999, the son of coach Greg Adkins.[1][2] He attended Bearden High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, and played football and baseball.[3] He played tackle in football and totaled 76 tackles and six sacks as a senior while also having a career batting average of .354 while playing third baseman for the baseball team.[3] He committed to play college football for the East Tennessee State Buccaneers.[4]
College career
editAdkins transitioned to playing tight end at East Tennessee State, despite having never played the position before.[2] After being a backup as a true freshman in 2018, he earned a starting role in 2019 and was named first-team all-conference.[3] He earned first-team all-conference honors again in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, catching 10 passes for 101 yards while starting four of six games.[3] He caught 33 passes for 357 yards in 2021 and was named second-team all-conference.[5][6] He opted to transfer after the season, finishing his stint at East Tennessee State University with 73 catches for 749 yards and four touchdowns.[7] Adkins ended up transferring to play for the South Carolina Gamecocks.[8] In his only season with them, he played all 13 games, nine as a starter, and had 13 receptions for 168 yards.[3]
Professional career
edit| 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 2 3⁄4 in (1.90 m) |
252 lb (114 kg) |
31 3⁄8 in (0.80 m) |
9 in (0.23 m) |
4.87 s | 1.72 s | 2.82 s | 4.40 s | 7.33 s | 31.0 in (0.79 m) |
10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) |
14 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[9] | ||||||||||||
After going unselected in the 2023 NFL draft, Adkins was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent.[10] He made the team's final roster as a rookie.[11]
Adkins scored his first professional touchdown in a 28–14 win against the Carolina Panthers on October 27, 2024.[12]
References
edit- ^ "Nate Adkins". ESPN.
- ^ a b Avento, Joe (December 9, 2021). "Converted tackle Adkins thriving at tight end for Bucs". Kingsport Times-News.
- ^ a b c d e "Nate Adkins". South Carolina Gamecocks.
- ^ Nearhos, Diana C.; Hauck, Holly (December 20, 2017). "Knoxville area high school football players who have signed with colleges". Knoxville News Sentinel.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Heath, Jon (May 22, 2023). "Check out these highlights of new Broncos TE Nate Adkins". USA Today.
- ^ Jones, Alex (August 21, 2022). "Adkins details transfer process, father-son dynamic". 247Sports.
- ^ Low, Chris (April 26, 2022). "South Carolina lands ETSU tight end transfer Nate Adkins". ESPN.
- ^ Dart, Christian (December 9, 2022). "Nate Adkins' Rare Opportunity". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Nate Adkins College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
- ^ Kelberman, Zack (July 5, 2023). "Rookie UDFA Nate Adkins Provides Positional Flexibility for Broncos". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ Williams, Heather (August 29, 2023). "Nate Adkins makes Denver's 53 man roster". WCYB-TV.
- ^ Jensen, Chad (October 28, 2024). "Broncos TE's Brother Dreamed his First NFL TD into Existence". Denver Broncos On SI. Retrieved December 6, 2024.