Jamel Dean

Jamel Dean (born October 15, 1996) is an American professional football cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers.

College career After spending a semester at Ohio State while medically disqualified, Dean announced that he would transfer to Auburn in May 2015. Following his sophomore year at Auburn where he had 43 tackles and eight pass breakups, Dean was named to Bruce Feldman's college football freaks list. On December 29, 2018, Dean announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility and declare for the 2019 NFL draft.

Professional career Pre-draft On December 28, 2018, Dean officially announced his decision to forgo his senior season and declared himself eligible for the 2019 NFL Draft. Although his collegiate career was hampered by injuries, Dean was able to perform well as the NFL Scouting Combine to establish himself as an ideal draft prospect. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the ninth best cornerback prospect in the draft. He was ranked as the 15th best cornerback prospect (126th overall) by Scouts Inc. Sports Illustrated ranked Dean as the 16th best cornerback (142nd overall) in the draft. NFL draft analysts including NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein projected Dean to be drafted in the third or fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He reportedly attended a pre-draft visit with the Detroit Lions.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2019 The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Dean in the third round (94th overall) of the 2019 NFL draft. He was the second cornerback selected by the Buccaneers after second round pick (39th overall) Sean Murphy-Bunting and was the 11th cornerback taken overall.

On July 8, 2019, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Dean to a four–year, $3.55 million contract that includes an initial signing bonus of $846,852.

Throughout training camp, he competed for a role at starting cornerback against Vernon Hargreaves, Ryan Smith, M. J. Stewart, and fellow rookie Sean Murphy-Bunting. Head coach Bruce Arians named Dean a backup cornerback to begin the season and listed him as the fourth cornerback on the depth chart, behind starters Carlton Davis and Vernon Hargreaves III and primary backup and starting nickelback M. J. Stewart.

On September 8, 2019, Dean made his professional regular season debut, seeing limited snaps on special teams, as the Buccaneers lost their home-opener 17–31 to the San Francisco 49ers. He was inactive for three consecutive games (Weeks 3-5) due to an ankle injury. On November 3, 2019, Dean saw his first significant playing time on defense after No. 1 starting cornerback Carlton Davis suffered a hip injury during pre-game warmups. On November 10, 2019, in another attempt to exploit a weakness in the secondary, the Arizona Cardinals targeted the rookie Dean as he recorded two solo tackles, had a team-high four pass deflections, and made his first career interception on a pass attempt by Kyler Murray to wide receiver Trent Sherfield with less than four minutes left in the fourth quarter to interrupt a possible comeback by Arizona during a 30–27 victory. He improved his performance and was only responsible for giving up one reception for a two-yard loss in Week 10. Dean was subsequently listed as the third cornerback on the depth chart and first-team nickelback behind starters Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting. In Week 16, he made one solo tackle, one pass deflection, and an intercepted a pass by Deshaun Watson to wide receiver Kenny Stills during a 20–23 loss against the Houston Texans. He finished his rookie season with a total of 21 combined tackles (16 solo), 17 pass deflections, two interceptions, and one forced fumble in 13 games and five starts.

2020

He entered training camp slated to return as the No. 3 cornerback on the depth chart under defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. Head coach Bruce Arians had Dean listed as the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season, behind starting tandem Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting.

On September 13, 2020, Dean collected a season-high seven solo tackles in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' season-opening 23–34 loss at the New Orleans Saints. In Week 3, he earned his first start of the season and racked up a season-high eight combined tackles (six solo) during a 28–10 win at the Detroit Lions. In Week 5, he produced three combined tackles (two solo) and set a season-high with four pass deflections during a 19–20 loss at the Chicago Bears. On October 18, 2020, Dean made two combined tackles (one solo), broke up a pass, and returned an interception that was thrown by Aaron Rodgers to wide receiver Davante Adams for 32–yards to score his first career touchdown as the Buccaneers defeated the Green Bay Packers 38–10. He became the third player to ever have a pick-six off Aaron Rodgers, joining Tanard Jackson and William Jackson III as the only players to accomplish the rare feat. Head coach Bruce Arians named Dean a starting cornerback beginning in Week 8. On November 23, 2020, Dean produced four combined tackles (three solo) before exiting in the third quarter of a 24–27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams as he was evaluated for a possible concussion after taking a helmet-to-helmet collision with wide receiver Robert Woods. He was diagnosed with a concussion and remained sidelined for a 24–27 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12. He remained inactive for a 26–14 victory against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 14 after injuring his knee. He earned an overall grade of 74.4 from Pro Football Focus.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished the 2020 NFL season second in the NFC South with an 11–5 record and earned a Wildcard berth. On January 9, 2021, Dean started in his first career playoff appearance and had seven solo tackles as the Buccaneers defeated the Washington Football Team 31–23 in the Wild Card Round. The Buccaneers had a 30–20 victory at the New Orleans Saints in the Divisional Round. In the NFC Championship Game, they had a 30–26 victory at the Green Bay Packers to advance to the Super Bowl. On February 7, 2021, Dean started in Super Bowl LV and recorded four solo tackles and made one pass deflection as they routed the Kansas City Chiefs 31–9. Dean earned the first and only Super Bowl ring of his career.

2021

He returned as the No. 3 cornerback on the depth chart behind starting cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting. On September 9, 2021, he collected a season-high nine combined tackles (four solo) and broke up a pass during a 31–29 win against the Dallas Cowboys in the Buccaneers' home-opener. He was inactive during a 19–17 win at the New England Patriots in Week 4 due to a knee injury. He finished the season with 53 combined tackles (44 solo), nine pass deflections, and two interceptions in 15 games and 11 starts.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finished the 2021 NFL season a top the NFC South with a 13–4 record, clinching a playoff berth. On January 17, 2022, Dean recorded eight combined tackles (seven solo) and made one pass deflection during a 31–15 win against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wildcard Game. The following week, he made seven combined tackles (five solo) as the Buccaneers lost 27–30 to the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round.

On September 18, 2022, Dean made six combined tackles (three solo), two pass deflections, and a career-high two interceptions off passes thrown by Jameis Winston during a 20–10 win at the New Orleans Saints. He received an overall grade of 77.4 from Pro Football Focus.

2023

On March 13, 2023, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Dean to a four–year, $52.00 million contract extension that includes $24.50 million guaranteed, $21.50 million guaranteed upon signing, and an initial signing bonus of $11.42 million. He was inactive during a 26–9 victory at the New Orleans Saints in Week 4 due to a neck injury. In Week 7, Dean racked up a season-high ten combined tackles (nine solo) and recovered a fumble as the Buccaneers lost 13–16 to the Atlanta Falcons. The following week, he made eight solo tackles and a season-high two pass deflections during an 18–24 loss at the Buffalo Bills in Week 8. He injured his ankle and was unable to participate in three consecutive games (Weeks 12–14). He earned an overall grade of 74.3 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 26th among 127 qualifying cornerbacks.

2024

He entered training camp slated as the de facto No. 1 starting cornerback following the departure of Carlton Davis. Head coach Todd Bowles named him a starting cornerback to begin the season and paired him with Zyon McCollum.

In Week 3, he collected a season-high 13 combined tackles (nine solo) during a 7–26 loss against the Detroit Lions. He injured his hamstring and was sidelined for four consecutive games (Weeks 7–10). He was inactive as the Buccaneers defeated the New Orleans Saints 27–19 after injuring his knee. He received an overall grade of 75.1 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 25th among 223 qualifying cornerbacks.

2025 In Week 6, Dean recorded four tackles, a sack, interception, and a forced fumble in a 30-19 win over the San Francisco 49ers, earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On March 13, 2026, Dean signed a three-year, $36.75 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

NFL career statistics Legend Won the Super Bowl Led the league Bold Career high Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Sfty PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF Fum FR Yds TD 2019 TB 13 5 21 16 5 0.0 1 0 17 2 31 15.5 31 0 0 1 0 0 0 2020 TB 14 7 62 51 11 0.0 2 0 7 1 32 32.0 32 1 0 0 0 0 0 2021 TB 15 11 53 44 9 0.0 2 0 9 2 6 3.0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 2022 TB 15 15 57 45 12 0.0 1 0 8 2 24 12.0 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 2023 TB 13 13 61 46 15 0.0 0 0 4 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 2 7 0 2024 TB 12 12 59 45 14 0.0 0 0 7 1 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2025 TB 14 14 46 38 8 1.0 1 0 9 3 74 24.7 55 1 2 0 0 0 0 Career 96 77 359 285 74 1.0 7 0 61 11 167 15.2 55 2 3 1 2 7 0

Postseason Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Sfty PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF Fum FR Yds TD 2020 TB 4 4 16 15 1 0.0 0 0 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2021 TB 2 2 15 12 3 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2022 TB 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2023 TB 2 2 15 13 2 0.0 1 0 4 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2024 TB 1 1 4 3 1 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 10 9 50 43 7 0.0 1 0 9 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Buccaneers franchise records

Rookie records Most pass deflections by a rookie – 17