Cameron Jordan

Cameron Tyler Jordan (born July 10, 1989) is an American football defensive end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL).

Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Jordan was listed as the #37 strongside defensive end of the class of 2007.

Also an outstanding track & field athlete, Jordan was one of the state's top performers in the discus throw.

He captured the state title in the discus at the 2007 5A I State Meet, recording a top-throw of 53.54 meters (175 ft 7 in), while also placing 10th in the shot put event, with a throw of 14.01 meters (45 ft, 11 in).

Jordan primarily played defensive end for the University of California at Berkeley.

He was coached by head coach Jeff Tedford and defensive coordinator Bob Gregory.

He played in 50 of 51 possible games and made 32 starts at California from 2007 to 2010.

A member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, Jordan is an eight-time Pro Bowler, a three-time All-Pro selection, and is the Saints' all-time franchise sack leader.

Jordan was born in Chandler, Arizona, the son of former Minnesota Vikings tight end Steve Jordan.

He attended Chandler High School in Chandler, Arizona, where he was a two-sport star in football and track for the Chandler Wolves.

In football, he earned All-State honors his senior year after registering 85 tackles and 17.5 quarterback sacks.

Jordan achieved honorable mention All-American (Pro Football Weekly) and first-team All-Pac-10 Conference choice as a senior in 2010 after two consecutive honorable mention All-Pac-10 campaigns in 2008 and 2009.

He finished his collegiate career with 175 tackles, while adding 34.0 tackles for loss (-122 yards) and 16.5 sacks (-89 yards) to rank just outside the school's all-time top 10 in each of the latter two categories.

He also had one interception that he returned for three yards, five pass breakups, four forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries that he returned for a total of 41 yards and two touchdowns.

He played college football at California, and was selected by the Saints in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft.

On January 29, 2011, Jordan played in the 2011 Senior Bowl and was part of Marvin Lewis's North team that lost 24–10 to the South.

His overall performance during Senior Bowl practice helped his draft stock and made him a definitive first round pick in the upcoming draft.

Jordan attended the NFL Scouting Combine and performed all of the combine and positional drills.

On March 9, 2011, he participated at California's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed defensive end drills.

At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Jordan was projected to be a first round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts.

He was ranked as the second best defensive end prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and Sports Illustrated and was ranked the third best defensive end in the draft by NFL analysts Gil Brandt and Brian Billick.

The New Orleans Saints selected Jordan in the first round (24th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Jordan was the fifth defensive end drafted in 2011, behind J. J. Watt, Robert Quinn, Ryan Kerrigan, and Adrian Clayborn.

He was mistakenly called by the Cleveland Browns after the draft ended, who meant to call USC tight-end Jordan Cameron for "Biographical Information".

On August 2, 2011, the Saints signed Jordan to a four-year, $7.73 million contract that includes $6.30 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $4.12 million.

Jordan entered training camp slated as a starter, but saw competition for his job after the Saints signed veteran free agent Turk McBride.

Head coach Sean Payton named Jordan and McBride the starting defensive ends to begin the regular season after Will Smith was suspended for the first two games of the regular season.

He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Saints' season-opener at the Green Bay Packers and made three combined tackles in their 42–34 loss.

Jordan made his first career tackle on running back Ryan Grant and ended a four-yard rush on the opening drive.

On October 16, 2011, Jordan collected a season-high six combined tackles in the Saints' 26–20 loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6.

Jordan finished his rookie season in 2011 with 31 combined tackles (18 solo), four pass deflections, and a sack in 16 games and 15 starts.

The Saints finished first in the NFC South with a 13–3 record and earned a playoff berth.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was not re-signed after the 2011 season and was replaced by former St. Louis Rams' head coach Steve Spagnuolo.

Spagnuolo retained Jordan and Will Smith as the starting defensive ends to begin the regular season.

Jordan started in the Saints' season-opener against the Washington Redskins and collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (six solo) in their 40–32 loss.

On January 1, 2012, Jordan recorded three combined tackles and made his first career sack during a 45–17 win against the Carolina Panthers in Week 17.

Jordan sacked quarterback Cam Newton for a five-yard loss in the second quarter, but was penalized for a horse collar tackle.

On January 7, 2012, Jordan appeared in his first career playoff game and made one tackle in the Saints' 45–28 victory against the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card Round.

The following week, Jordan was credited with his first career playoff start.

He made six solo tackles and a pass deflection during a 35–32 Divisional Round loss at the San Francisco 49ers.