B. J. Goodson

B.J. Goodson (born May 29, 1993)[1] is an American football linebacker for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Clemson University and was drafted by the New York Giants in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft.[2]

B.J. Goodson

Goodson in 2017
No. 93 – Cleveland Browns
Position:	Linebacker
Personal information
Born:	May 29, 1993 Lamar, South Carolina
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	242 lb (110 kg)
Career information
High school:	Lamar (Lamar, South Carolina)
College:	Clemson
NFL Draft:	2016 / Round: 4 / Pick: 109
Career history
New York Giants (2016–2018) Green Bay Packers (2019) Cleveland Browns (2020–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2020
Total tackles: 251 Sacks: 1.0 Forced fumbles: 2 Forced recoveries: 2 Pass deflections: 12 Interceptions: 4 Player stats at NFL.com

High school career

A native of Lamar, South Carolina, Goodson attended Lamar High School where he played linebacker, tight end, and kick returner.[3] An All-State selection in his junior year, Goodson was credited with 96 tackles and six tackles for loss and added 16 receptions for 220 yards and two touchdowns on offense. Lamar finished the 2009 season with a 12–2 record as the SCHSL Class A runner-up, losing 36–6 to Steve Taneyhill's Chesterfield in the state championship game.[4] In his senior year, Goodson recorded 156 tackles on the season and was invited to the North-South All-Star Game in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Regarded as a three-star recruit by ESPN, Goodson was ranked as the No. 29 outside linebacker prospect in the class of 2011.[5] He verbally committed to Clemson on the eve of his senior season, over scholarship offers from Tennessee and Louisiana State, among others.[3]

College career

After redshirting his initial year at Clemson, Goodson steadily progressed from a backup linebacker and valuable special teams player to starting linebacker and leading tackler of the Tigers defense. Appearing in 47 career games with 21 starts, he was credited with 205 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 21 quarterback pressures, five pass breakups and five recovered fumbles.

Professional career

External video
B.J. Goodson’s NFL Combine Workout

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand size	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
6 ft 0 ^5⁄8 in (1.84 m)	242 lb (110 kg)	33 ^1⁄4 in (0.84 m)	10 in (0.25 m)	4.69 s	1.60 s	2.71 s	4.51 s	7.05 s	34.5 in (0.88 m)	9 ft 10 in (3.00 m)	30 reps
All values from NFL Combine[6]

2016

The New York Giants selected Goodson in the fourth round (109th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. Goodson was the 15th linebacker drafted in 2016.[7]

External video
Giants draft B.J. Goodson 109th overall

On June 19, 2016, the New York Giants signed Goodson to a four-year, $2.92 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $582,207.[8]

Throughout training camp, Goodson competed against Keenan Robinson and Jasper Brinkley to be the starting middle linebacker after it was left vacant due to the retirement of Jon Beason.[9] Head coach Ben McAdoo named Goodson the backup middle linebacker to start the regular season, behind starting middle linebacker Kelvin Sheppard.[10]

Goodson was inactive for the New York Giants’ season-opening 20–19 victory at the Dallas Cowboys.[11] On September 18, 2016, Goodson made his professional regular season debut in the New York Giants’ 16–14 victory against the New Orleans Saints in Week 2. On December 18, 2016, Goodson collected a season-high four combined tackles and forced a fumble during a 17–6 victory against the Detroit Lions in Week 15.[12] He finished his rookie season in 2016 with nine combined tackles (five solo) and one forced fumble in 15 games and zero starts.[13] Goodson primarily played special teams and was limited to 14 snaps on defense.

2017

Goodson entered training camp slated as the starting middle linebacker. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo held a competition between Goodson, Keenan Robinson, and Mark Herzlich during training camp.[14] Head coach Ben McAdoo named Goodson the starting middle linebacker to begin the regular season. He started alongside outside linebackers Devon Kennard and Jonathan Casillas.[15]

He made his first career start in the New York Giants’ season-opener at the Dallas Cowboys and recorded a career-high 18 combined tackles (14 solo) during a 19–3 loss.[16] Goodson was sidelined for the next two games (Weeks 3–4) due to a shin injury.[17] In Week 6, he recorded six combined tackles and made a season-high two pass deflections in the Giants’ 23–10 victory at the Denver Broncos. He was inactive for four consecutive games (Week 9–12) and the Giants’ 30–10 loss against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14 after injuring his ankle.[18] On December 4, 2017, the New York Giants fired head coach Ben McAdoo after the Giants fell to a 2–10 record. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was named the interim head coach for the last four games of the season.[19] Goodson was also inactive for a Week 16 loss at the Arizona Cardinals and was subsequently placed on injured reserve on December 27, 2017.[20] He finished the season with 53 combined tackles (37 solo), two pass deflections, and one forced fumble in seven games and seven starts.[13]

2018

On January 22, 2018, the New York Giants announced their decision to hire Minnesota Vikings’ offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur as their new head coach.[21] Shumur hired James Bettcher as defensive coordinator and changed the base 4-3 defense into a base 3-4 defense. Goodson became a starting inside linebacker as a result of the change.[22] Head coach Pat Shurmur named Goodson and Alec Ogletree the starting inside linebacker to begin the regular season. They started alongside outside linebackers Olivier Vernon and Kareem Martin.[23][24]

External video
B.J. Goodson intercepts deflected pass by Mullens

He started in the New York Giants’ season-opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars and made three combined tackles and was credited with half a sack to mark the first of his career during a 20–15 loss. Goodson made his first career sack on Jaguars’ quarterback Blake Bortles for an eight-yard loss during the first quarter with teammate Kerry Wynn.[25] On November 12, 2018, Goodson recorded six combined tackles, deflected two passes, and made two interceptions during a 27–23 victory at the San Francisco 49ers in Week 10. Goodson made his first career interception off a pass by 49ers’ quarterback Nick Mullens during the game. The pass was intended for wide receiver Kendrick Bourne and was returned by Goodson for a five-yard gain during the first quarter.[26] Goodson was inactive during the Giants’ Week 13 victory against the Chicago Bears due to a neck injury.[27] In Week 15, he collected a season-high nine solo tackles and broke up a pass attempt as the Giants lost 17–0 against the Tennessee Titans.[28] He finished the 2018 NFL season with 61 combined tackles (44 solo), four pass deflections, two interceptions, and was credited with half a sack in 15 games and 13 starts.[13] He received an overall grade of 66.2 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked as the 41st best grade among all linebackers in 2018.[29]

Green Bay Packers

On September 2, 2019, Goodson was traded to the Green Bay Packers while swapping seventh-round picks.[30]

Cleveland Browns

On March 20, 2020, Goodson signed a one-year contract with the Cleveland Browns.[31]

In Week 3 against the Washington Football Team, Goodson recorded his first interception and fumble recovery as a Brown during the 30–24 win. [32]

NFL career statistics

Regular season statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	Tackles					Interceptions						Fumbles
				Total	Solo	Ast	Sck	SFTY	PDef	Int	Yds	Avg	Lng	TDs	FF	FR
2016	NYG	15	0	9	5	4	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
2017	NYG	7	7	53	37	16	0.0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
2018	NYG	15	13	61	44	17	0.5	0	4	2	8	4.0	5	0	0	1
2019	GB	15	9	37	23	14	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2020	CLE	14	14	91	59	32	0.5	0	6	2	7	3.5	7	0	0	1
Total		66	43	251	168	83	1.0	0	12	4	15	3.8	7	0	2	2
Source: NFL.com

Postseason statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	Tackles					Interceptions						Fumbles
				Total	Solo	Ast	Sck	SFTY	PDef	Int	Yds	Avg	Lng	TDs	FF	FR
2016	NYG	1	0	1	1	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
2019	GB	2	1	6	5	1	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total		3	1	7	6	1	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Source: pro-football-reference.com

References

1. http://www.clemsontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205529428
2. Schwartz, Paul (April 30, 2016). "Giants draft middle linebacker of the future". New York Post.
3. Robinson, Manie (December 26, 2015). "B.J. Goodson was molded in tiny Lamar football factory". Greenville News.
4. "S.C. football playoff results; updated schedule". The State. November 28, 2009.
5. "2011 ESPN Top Outside linebackers". ESPN.
6. "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles – B. J. Goodson". National Football League.
7. Salomone, Dan (April 30, 2016). "New York Giants Draft Clemson LB B.J. Goodson in fourth round". Giants.com. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
8. "Spotrac.com: B.J. Goodson contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
9. Benton, Dan (August 22, 2016). "Giants' Ben McAdoo: 'Good competition' at middle linebacker will continue". USA Today. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
10. Valentine, Ed (September 5, 2016). "New York Giants' unofficial depth chart as 2016 season is set to begin". bigblueview.com. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
11. "New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys: Week 1 inactives". USA Today. September 11, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
12. "NFL Player stats: B. J. Goodson (2016)". National Football League. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
13. "NFL Player stats: B. J. Goodson (career)". National Football League. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
14. Benton, Dan (May 12, 2017). "Giants will have open competition at middle linebacker". USA Today. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
15. Raanan, Jordan (August 24, 2017). "B.J. Goodson will be Giants' Week 1 starting MLB, if it was ever in doubt". ESPN.
16. "New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys – September 10th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
17. "Giants injury report: Good news on B.J. Goodson, Olivier Vernon". USA Today. September 26, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
18. "The Giants' injuries are somehow worse than before". New York Post. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
19. Patra, Kevin (December 4, 2017). "New York Giants fire coach Ben McAdoo after 2–10 start". National Football League. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
20. Eisen, Michael (December 27, 2017). "LB B.J. Goodson placed on IR, Giants promote WR Marquis Bundy". Giants.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
21. "Giants officially hire Pat Shurmur to be head coach". National Football League. January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
22. Benton, Dan (April 17, 2018). "B.J. Goodson 'embracing' Giants' new defensive scheme". USA Today. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
23. "New York Giants depth chart: What the depth chart looks like after roster makeover". bigblueview.com. September 6, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
24. "Giants success on defense could hinge on these two linebackers". New York Post. August 22, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
25. "Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Giants – September 9th, 2018". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
26. "New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers – November 12th, 2018". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
27. "Giants-Bears final injury report: Evan Engram, B.J Goodson won't play". bigblueview.com. November 30, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
28. "NFL Player stats: B. J. Goodson (2018)". National Football League. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
29. "Pro Football Focus: B. J. Goodson". profootballfocus.com. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
30. "Packers trade for LB B.J. Goodson". packers.com. September 3, 2019.
31. Gribble, Andrew (March 20, 2020). "Browns add depth at LB with signing of B.J. Goodson". ClevelandBrowns.com.
32. "Washington Football Team at Cleveland Browns - September 27th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.

External links

Media related to B. J. Goodson at Wikimedia Commons

• B. J. Goodson at Pro-Football-Reference.com
• New York Giants bio
• Clemson Tigers bio
• Profile at ESPN.com