Jason Poe

American football player (born 1998)

American football player

Jason PoePersonal information

Born:|  (1998-07-27) July 27, 1998 (age 26)
Fitzgerald, Georgia, U.S.
Height:| 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:| 300 lb (136 kg)
Career information
High school:| Fitzgerald (GA)
College:| Hutchinson CC (2017)
Lenoir–Rhyne (2018–2020)
Mercer (2021)
Position:| Offensive guard
NFL draft:| 2022: undrafted
Career history

* San Francisco 49ers (2022–2023)*
* New York Jets (2023)*
* Philadelphia Eagles (2024)*
* DC Defenders (2025)*

* Offseason and/or practice squad member only

Stats at Pro Football Reference

Jason Poe (born July 27, 1998) is an American professional football offensive guard who is a free agent. He played college football at Hutchinson Community College, Lenoir–Rhyne and Mercer.

## Early life

[edit]

Poe was born on July 27, 1998, in Fitzgerald, Georgia, a town of under 10,000 people.[1][2] He attended Fitzgerald High School and tried out for the football team as a freshman, after having never before played organized sports.[3]

His coach initially thought of him as one of the worst players he had ever seen and suggested Poe not play, saying "Jason got to us as a ninth-grader at Fitzgerald and was literally one of the worst football players that I've ever seen. It was just horrendous, horrendous. And we thought the kid was really going to wind up getting hurt. We tried to convince him to just be a manager because he was so bad. We thought he'd be more valuable to us as a manager. But he wanted to play. And he stuck it out."[3] He saw limited action on the junior varsity team for his first two years, but afterwards saw more time on the varsity as a guard.[3][4] He was a zero-star recruit and committed to Hutchinson Community College.[3]

## College career

[edit]

Poe spent one year at Hutchinson, playing fullback in 2017 before transferring to play for the Division II Lenoir–Rhyne Bears.[2] He changed to being an offensive lineman with the Bears.[2] In 2018 with Lenoir–Rhyne, he played in 13 games while helping them rank top-10 nationally in rushing yards per game and scoring offense, being named a second-team All-American, first-team all-conference and all-region, and the recipient of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy for best blocker in the conference.[5] Poe started every game in 2019 and repeated as the Jacobs Blocking Trophy winner, being also named a first-team All-American, first-team all-conference and all-region despite playing through injury.[6] He sat out the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, afterwards transferring to Mercer for his final season.[3] Poe was named first-team all-conference in 2021.[2]

Off the field, Poe maintained high grades in school, earning an associate's degree in one year, a bachelor's degree (in information technology) in two, and later a Information technology master's degree with a perfect 4.0 GPA.[3] He also received an SAP certificate, becoming a recognized software technology consultant.[3]

## Professional career

[edit]

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 0+5⁄8 in
(1.84 m)  | 300 lb
(136 kg)  | 32 in
(0.81 m)  | 10+3⁄4 in
(0.27 m) | 4.95 s | 1.75 s | 2.94 s | 4.52 s | 7.52 s | 31.5 in
(0.80 m) | 9 ft 3 in
(2.82 m) | 34 reps
All values from Pro Day[7]

Poe was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, but at his pro day posted impressive numbers, including a 40-yard dash time that would have placed second and a bench press total that would have been first.[8] There were concerns made, however, about his size; had he been invited to the combine, he would have been the shortest lineman there (6 ft 1 in) and the sixth-lightest (300 lb), as well as had the shortest arm length, a key measurement for players at his position.[8]

### San Francisco 49ers

[edit]

Although some projected Poe to be chosen in the 2022 NFL draft, he went unselected; afterwards, he was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent.[9][10][11] Poe became the first player from Mercer to be signed since the program had been revived in 2013.[3] He impressed in training camp and was considered to have a chance to make the team, but ultimately was released at the final roster cuts on August 30, subsequently being re-signed to the practice squad.[12][13] He ended up spending the entire season on the practice squad, seeing no playing time.[14] Poe signed a reserve/future contract on January 31, 2023.[15] On August 29, 2023, Poe was waived by the 49ers.[16]

### New York Jets

[edit]

On August 31, 2023, Poe was signed to the New York Jets practice squad.[17] Poe was released by the Jets on November 6, 2023.[18]

### Philadelphia Eagles

[edit]

On January 18, 2024, Poe signed a reserve/future contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.[19] He was waived on August 5.[20] He was re-signed on August 21, but waived a week later.[21][22]

### DC Defenders

[edit]

On December 12, 2024, Poe signed with the DC Defenders of the United Football League (UFL).[23] He was released on February 14, 2025.[24]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Jason Poe Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
2. ^ a b c d Herder, Sam (April 13, 2022). "Jason Poe Has Risen The College Ladder Into An Intriguing NFL Draft Prospect". HERO Sports.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Branch, Eric (May 19, 2022). "49ers' Jason Poe was so bad in ninth grade, his coach urged him not to play". San Francisco Chronicle.
4. ^ Lombardi, David (June 7, 2022). "49ers' Jason Poe vies for a roster spot with his unique versatility". The Athletic.
5. ^ "Jason Poe". Lenoir–Rhyne Bears.
6. ^ McKinney, Josh (June 28, 2020). "College Senior Spotlight: Lenoir-Rhyne football offensive lineman Jason Poe". Hickory Daily Record.
7. ^ "2022 NFL Draft Scout Jason Poe College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
8. ^ a b Branch, Eric (August 24, 2022). "Undersized, undrafted, undaunted, 49ers' Jason Poe might be a roster lock". San Francisco Chronicle.
9. ^ Baxley, Justin (April 17, 2022). "UGA's Walker, Mercer's Poe prepping for NFL Draft". The Macon Telegraph. p. B1 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "NFL Draft Profile: Jason Poe, Interior Offensive Lineman, Mercer Bears". Sports Illustrated. April 23, 2022.
11. ^ "49ers Sign 14 Undrafted Rookie Free Agents". San Francisco 49ers. May 13, 2022.
12. ^ Barrows, Matt (August 23, 2022). "49ers practice report: 'Strong as an ox' Jason Poe zeroing in on a roster spot". The Athletic.
13. ^ Castillo, Jarrod (September 2, 2022). "Lynch admits 49ers 'hanging on for dear life' to keep Poe". NBC Sports Bay Area.
14. ^ Barrows, Matt (January 7, 2023). "Barrows: Re-ranking the 49ers' 15 rookies (You'll never guess who's No. 1)". The Athletic.
15. ^ "2023 NFL January Transactions". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
16. ^ "49ers Announce Moves for Initial 53-Man Roster". 49ers.com. August 29, 2023.
17. ^ Lange, Randy (August 31, 2023). "Jets Sign 6 More Players to Complete Their Practice Squad". NewYorkJets.com.
18. ^ Greenberg, Ethan (January 6, 2023). "Jets Elevate OL Xavier Newman, WR Malik Taylor vs. Chargers". NewYorkJets.com.
19. ^ "Eagles sign 20 players to Reserve/Futures deals". Eagles Wire. USA Today. January 18, 2024.
20. ^ "Minor NFL Transactions: 8/5/24". profootballrumors.com. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
21. ^ "Eagles Roster Moves: C.J. Uzomah Out, Jason Poe Back In". sportstalkphilly.com. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
22. ^ "Get your first look at the Eagles' initial 53-man roster". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. August 27, 2024.
23. ^ "UFL Transactions". UFLBoard.com. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
24. ^ @UFL_pr (February 14, 2025). "The #UFL has announced the following transactions for Friday, February 14" (Tweet). Retrieved February 15, 2025 - via Twitter.