Eli Austin

Eli Austin

No. 16     New England Patriots
Wide Receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: September 11, 1997 (age 25)
Place of birth: Stockton, MO
Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Weight: 217 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school: Stockton High School, Stockton, MO
College: Tennessee
NFL Draft: 2020 / Round: 1 / Pick: 30
Debuted in 2020 for the Arizona Cardinals
Career history
Arizona Cardinals (2020 - 2021) New York Jets (2022 - 2023) Detroit Lions (2024) New England Patriots (2025 - Present) *Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 0, 2020
Receptions 0 Receiving Yards 0 Touchdowns 0

Eli Austin is an American football wide receiver for the New England Patriots. He played college football at Tennessee. The Arizona Cardinals selected him with the 30th overall pick in the 2020 NFLHC Draft.

Early Life

Austin was born in Stockton, Missouri. With his lanky frame, Austin was used primarily as a tight end and linebacker in high school, becoming one of the top two way players in Missouri. He received quite a number of options coming out of Stockton High School, but after a visit from LDYo, Austin joined Tennessee and the #1 recruiting class in 2015.

Recruiting

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Eli Austin WR	Stockton, MO	Stockton High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	217 lb (98 kg)	Round 3
	Skill:   Potential:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

College Career

Austin attended Tennessee for 4 years, being redshirted his freshman season. He declared as a junior for the 2020 NFLHC Draft.

College Statistics

NCAA Collegiate Career statistics
Tennessee Volunteers
Season	Games		Receiving
	GP	GS	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD
2016	Redshirted
2017	13	13	36	457	12.69	2
2018	14	14	69	1091	15.81	6
2019	15	15	70	1007	14.39	6
NCAA Career Totals	42	42	175	2555	14.60	14

Professional Career

Pre-draft

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40-yd dash	Shuttle	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
6 ft 5 in	217 lb	4.56 s	4.36 s	7.08 s	37.0 in	10 ft 5 in	12 reps	N/A
All values from NFL Combine

Austin was considered the one of the top wide receivers in the 2020 NFLHC Draft. He was projected as a late first round, early second round selection

Draft

Austin was selected with the 30th pick of the 2020 NFLHC Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. He was the fourth wide receiver taken.

Arizona Cardinals (2020 - 2021)

Austin spent much of his rookie year as the 3rd wide receiver on the depth chart, behind Marcus Banks and Ricky Chambers.

Early in his sophomore campaign, Austin was lost for the season with a torn ACL. The injury and overall disappointment caused the newest Cardinals regime some contempt, and he was reportedly shopped around during the 2022 offseason prior to free agency, though no deals were met.

New York Jets (2022 - Present)

On Day 2 of the 2022 NFLHC Draft, Austin was traded along with defensive tackle Keith Hooks to the New York Jets, in return for the Jets 2022 2nd round selection (#60 overall) , and Jets 2022 6th round selection (#206 overall).

NFL career statistics

Legend
	Led the league
	NFL record
	Super Bowl champions
	Super Bowl MVP
	NFL MVP
Bold	Career high

Career Statistics (Regular Season) Year Team Games Receiving Rating GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost 2020 ARI 14 14 51 592 11.61 - 4 1 0 80 2021 ARI 3 3 5 70 14 - 0 0 0 83 2022 NYJ 13 13 39 495 12.69 - 4 0 0 82 2023 NYJ 2 2 4 47 11.75 - 0 0 0 83 2024 DET 12 12 33 303 9.2 - 2 1 0 82 2025 NE 17 0 37 507 13.7 - 5 0 0 83 2026 NE 0 0 0 0 0.0 - 0 0 0 81 Career 61 44 169 2,014 11.92 - 15 0 0