Cory Durden (born January 26, 1999) is an American football defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State and NC State.
Early years
Durden grew up in Newberry, Florida and attended Newberry High School. In his senior season, he had 52 tackles, 18 going for a loss, 6 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries, 2 forced fumbles, and a blocked field goal. He also added 22 catches for 229 yards and 3 touchdowns as a tight end on offense. Durden was named the named the Florida Athletic Coaches Association's District 7 Player of the Year and The Sun's Small School Athletes of the Year.[1][2] On February 20, 2016, Durden committed to play football at Florida State University.[3][4]
College career
Durden played three years at Florida State. In his time with the Seminoles he posted 68 tackles, 13.5 going for a loss, 7.5 sacks, 3 pass deflections, and 2 forced fumbles.[5] His best season for the Seminoles occurred during the 2019 season where he totaled 39 tackles, 6.5 for loss, 5 sacks, 2 pass deflections, and a forced fumble.[6] After the 2020 season concluded, Durden decided to transfer to NC State.[7][8] Durden played at NC State for 2 years, in those years he totaled 58 tackles, 7.5 going for a loss, 3.5 sacks, and a pass deflection.[5] His best year for the Wolfpack happened during the 2021 season where he put up 31 tackles, 4.5 being for a loss, and 3.5 sacks. For his efforts he was named to the First team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).[9][10] In 2022, he was named Third team All-ACC after notching 27 tackles, 2.5 going for a loss, and a pass defelction.[11][12]
On December 9, Durden declared for the NFL draft.[13]
Professional career
| 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 4 in (1.93 m) |
290 lb (132 kg) |
33+1⁄2 in (0.85 m) |
10+1⁄8 in (0.26 m) |
5.22 s | 1.90 s | 2.89 s | 4.80 s | 7.56 s | 31.0 in (0.79 m) |
9 ft 2 in (2.79 m) |
16 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[14] | ||||||||||||
Detroit Lions
After not being selected in the 2023 NFL draft, Durden signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent.[15] He was waived on August 29, 2023.[16]
Los Angeles Rams
On September 19, 2023, Durden signed with the practice squad of the Los Angeles Rams.[17] He was promoted to the active roster on October 19.[18] Durden was waived by the Rams on November 7,[19] but re-signed with the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 15, 2024.[20]
References
- ^ "Cory Durden". Seminoles.com. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ Savage, Larry. "Small School Athletes of Year: Kailya Jackson, Cory Durden". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ Kramer, Daniel. "Cory Durden to FSU: Seminoles Land 4-Star DT Prospect". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ Vissler, David. "FSU football adds blue-chip defensive tackle Cory Durden". Tomahawk Nation. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Cory Durden". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ "2019 Florida State Seminoles Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ "NC STATE LANDS A PAIR OF FSU TRANSFERS: DT CORY DURDEN, S CYRUS FAGAN COMMIT TO PACK". ACC Sports.com. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- ^ "BREAKING: FSU transfer DT Cory Durden commits to NC State". 247Sports. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- ^ "2021 North Carolina State Wolfpack Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- ^ "2021 ALL-ACC FOOTBALL TEAM". ACC Sports.com. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ "Clemson Leads With 12 Selection to All-ACC Football Teams". Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ "2022 North Carolina State Wolfpack Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ "Former Florida State defensive tackle declares for 2023 NFL Draft". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- ^ "2023 NFL Draft Scout Cory Durden College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
- ^ Rogers, Justin. "Detroit Lions' 2023 undrafted free agent tracker". Detroit News. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
- ^ "Lions announce roster moves". DetroitLions.com. August 29, 2023.
- ^ @RamsNFL (September 19, 2023). "LA Rams Transactions: • Signed to Practice Squad DT Cory Durden" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ DaSilva, Cameron. "Rams sign CB Shaun Jolly to practice squad, add DT Cory Durden to active roster". Rams Wire. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
- ^ DaSilva, Cameron. "Rams waive Cory Durden, Myles Gaskin in flurry of roster moves". Rams Wire. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- ^ Jackson, Stu (January 15, 2024). "Rams sign 10 players to Reserve/Future contracts". TheRams.com.