Nate Adkins

American football player (born 1999)

American football player

Nate Adkins

No. 45 – Denver Broncos

Position:

Tight end

Personal information

Born:

(1999-07-09) July 9, 1999 (age 24)
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

Denver Broncos (2023–present)

Roster status:

Active

Career NFL statistics as of 2023

Receptions:	4
Receiving yards:	22

Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Nathan T. Adkins (born July 9, 1999) is an American football tight end for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at East Tennessee State and South Carolina.

Early life

Adkins 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

Adkins 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

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
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]

References

^ "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.