Nicklaus O'Leary (born August 31, 1992) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, earning consensus All-American honors in 2014. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL draft.
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Position: | Tight end | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | North Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. | August 31, 1992||||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 252 lb (114 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | William T. Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Florida) | ||||||
College: | Florida State (2011–2014) | ||||||
NFL draft: | 2015 / Round: 6 / Pick: 194 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
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As a coach: | |||||||
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Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Early life edit
Nicklaus O'Leary is one of five children of Bill and Nan (Nicklaus) O'Leary.[1][2] He attended Dwyer High School in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where he played football and lacrosse.[1] He won state titles in both football and lacrosse. As a senior, he had 51 receptions for 875 yards and 12 touchdowns.[3] Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was listed as the top-ranked tight end recruit in his class.[4]
College career edit
As a true freshman in 2011, O'Leary played in all 13 games with two starts. He finished the season with 12 receptions for 164 yards and one touchdown. As a sophomore in 2012, he started 11 of 13 games, recording 21 receptions for 252 yards and three touchdowns. As a junior in 2013, he was a John Mackey Award finalist after recording 33 receptions for 557 yards with seven touchdowns.[5] After considering entering the 2014 NFL draft, O'Leary returned to Florida State for his senior season.[6] During his senior season, he set Florida State's record for career receptions for a tight end.[7] He again was a finalist for the John Mackey Award, this time winning it.[8] He was also named a consensus All-American.[9] O'Leary finished the season with 48 receptions for 618 yards and six touchdowns.[10] For his career, O'Leary had 114 receptions for 1,591 yards and 17 touchdowns.
College statistics edit
Season | Team | GP | Receiving | ||
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Rec | Yds | TD | |||
2011 | Florida State | 13 | 12 | 164 | 1 |
2012 | Florida State | 13 | 21 | 252 | 3 |
2013 | Florida State | 12 | 33 | 557 | 7 |
2014 | Florida State | 13 | 48 | 618 | 6 |
Totals | 51 | 114 | 1,591 | 17 |
Professional career edit
Buffalo Bills edit
O'Leary was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round (194th overall) of the 2015 NFL draft.[11]
On September 8, 2015, the Bills cut O'Leary and re-signed him to the practice squad two days later.[12] On December 8, 2015, he was promoted to the active roster after Matthew Mulligan was cut.[13]
On November 12, 2017, in a 47–10 loss to the New Orleans Saints, he caught his first career touchdown, a seven-yard pass from quarterback Nathan Peterman.[14]
On September 1, 2018, O'Leary was released by the Bills.[15]
Miami Dolphins edit
On September 20, 2018, O'Leary was signed to the Miami Dolphins' practice squad.[16] He was promoted to the active roster on October 5, 2018.[17] He scored his first touchdown with the Dolphins in Week 6 against the Bears on a five-yard pass from Brock Osweiler.[18] On December 1, 2018, O'Leary signed a one-year contract extension with the Dolphins through the 2019 season.[19]
On October 29, 2019, O’Leary was released by the Dolphins.
Jacksonville Jaguars edit
On November 18, 2019, O'Leary was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars.[20]
Las Vegas Raiders edit
On April 6, 2020, O'Leary was signed by the Las Vegas Raiders.[21] He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list on May 28, 2020.[22] On June 23, 2020, it was revealed that O'Leary underwent a heart procedure because there was a 100% blockage in one artery adjacent with the heart. Some sources surfaced that O'Leary was retiring from football, but O'Leary still intended to play in 2021, regardless of his recent procedure.[23]
Coaching career edit
In 2023, O'Leary joined Florida State as a student assistant coach, working with the offense.[24]
NFL career statistics edit
Year | Team | Games | Receiving | ||||||||
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GP | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | R/G | Y/G | ||
2015 | BUF | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 37 | 37.0 | 37 | 0 | 0.3 | 9.3 |
2016 | BUF | 16 | 7 | 14 | 9 | 114 | 12.7 | 28 | 0 | 0.6 | 7.1 |
2017 | BUF | 15 | 5 | 32 | 22 | 322 | 14.6 | 32 | 2 | 1.5 | 21.5 |
2018 | MIA | 12 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 86 | 10.8 | 19 | 1 | 0.7 | 10.2 |
2019 | MIA | 7 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 37 | 9.3 | 19 | 0 | 0.6 | 5.3 |
JAX | 5 | 3 | 13 | 9 | 72 | 8.0 | 15 | 1 | 1.8 | 14.4 | |
Career | 59 | 24 | 77 | 53 | 668 | 12.6 | 37 | 4 | 0.8 | 11.3 |
Personal life edit
O'Leary's maternal grandfather is golfing legend Jack Nicklaus.[25][26] Nick's father, Bill, was a highly recruited tight end who played at the University of Georgia, and his mother, Nan, played volleyball at Georgia.[27]