Vance McDonald

Vance McDonald
refer to caption
McDonald with the 49ers in 2016
No. 89 – Pittsburgh Steelers
Position: Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1990-06-13) June 13, 1990
Winnie, Texas
Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight: 267 lb (121 kg)
Career information
High school: East Chambers (Winnie, Texas)
College: Rice
NFL Draft: 2013 / Round: 2 / Pick: 55
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-C-USA (2012)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 3, 2018
Receptions: 85
Receiving yards: 1,192
Receiving touchdowns: 9
Player stats at NFL.com

Vance Coman McDonald (born June 13, 1990) is an American football tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rice.

Early years

McDonald was born in Winnie, Texas. He attended East Chambers High School in Winnie, and played for the East Chambers Buccaneers high school football team.[1] He was a three-year letterman, earning all-district 24-2A honors as both a tight end and defensive end as a senior. East Chambers won district titles in both his junior and senior year. He also competed in basketball and was a standout athlete for the East Chambers High School track team. He was a member of the relay team. He also had personal bests of 6.28 meters in the long jump and 12.53 meters in the triple jump.[2]

College career

McDonald attended Rice University, where he played for the Rice Owls football team from 2009 to 2012 under head coach David Bailiff.[3][4] He earned Conference USA All-Freshman honors after catching 12 passes in his first season. As a sophomore, he posted a career-high eight touchdowns, to go along with 396 yards receiving on 28 receptions. In his final two seasons, he recorded 999 receiving yards on 80 receptions and seven touchdowns. He was a first-team All-C-USA selection at tight end as a senior.

McDonald's position coach at Rice was former NFL Pro Bowl tight end David Sloan.[5]

Professional career

Pre-draft

Coming out of college, McDonald was projected by many analysts to be a second to third round selection. He was ranked the fourth best tight end out of the 97 available in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com. McDonald was invited to the NFL Combine and was able to complete all the required workouts and positional drills. At Rice's Pro Day, he stood on his combine numbers and only participated in positional drills.

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert jump Broad BP
6 ft 4 in
(1.93 m)		 267 lb
(121 kg)		 34 3⁄8 in
(0.87 m)		 10 1⁄8 in
(0.26 m)		 4.69 s 1.71 s 2.81 s 4.53 s 7.08 s 33.5 in
(0.85 m)		 9 ft 11 in
(3.02 m)		 31 reps
All values from NFL Combine.[6]

2013 NFL Draft

McDonald was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round, with the 55th overall pick, of the 2013 NFL Draft.[7] He was the fourth tight end to be selected that year.[8]

San Francisco 49ers

2013 season

On May 24, 2013, the San Francisco 49ers signed him to a four-year, $3.59 million rookie contract with $1.92 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $997,584.[9]

He started the regular season as the second tight end on the depth chart, behind veteran Vernon Davis and ahead of Garrett Celek. In the San Francisco 49er's season opener, he caught a 25-yard pass from Colin Kaepernick for his first career catch during a 28–34 victory over the Green Bay Packers. On September 22, 2013, he earned his first career start against the Indianapolis Colts and finished the loss with one catch for six receiving yards.

He had a total of eight receptions for 119 receiving yards while appearing in 15 games and starting four of them during his rookie season.[10]

2014 season

On September 14, 2014, McDonald started his first game of the season during a loss to the Chicago Bears and made his first catch of the season and only one of the game for 9-yards. He made his only other catch of the season during a Week 6 victory over the St. Louis Rams and finished the game with one reception for 21 receiving yards. On December 9, 2014, he was placed on season-ending injured-reserve with a back injury.[11] He finished his second season with two receptions for 30-yards and appeared in eight games with only four starts.[12]

2015 season

He started his first and only season under new head coach Jim Tomsula as the backup to Davis once again. He started the season-opener against the Minnesota Vikings and made one reception for 5-yards during the victory. On November 22, 2015, McDonald caught his first touchdown pass of his career, a 19-yarder from Blaine Gabbert against the Seahawks. The next game, McDonald made a season-high six catches for 71 receiving yards and a touchdown during a 13–19 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. He has finished 2015 with 30 receptions, 326 receiving yards, and three touchdowns while appearing in 14 games and starting 11.[12]

2016 season

McDonald started his first season under head coach Chip Kelly as the starting tight end for the first time in his career as Vernon Davis was traded midway through the previous season. In the San Francisco 49ers' season-opening victory over the Los Angeles Rams, McDonald caught two passes for 14-yards and an 8-yard touchdown pass from Blaine Gabbert. The next game, he caught a career-long 75-yard touchdown pass from Gabbert, during a 27–46 loss to the Carolina Panthers.[12] On November 6, 2016, McDonald caught three passes for 85 receiving yards and scored a 65-yard touchdown receptions during a 23–41 loss to the New Orleans Saints. In a Week 12 matchup against the Miami Dolphins, he made four receptions for 60-yards during the 24–31 loss. On December 9, 2016, the San Francisco 49ers signed McDonald to a five-year, $35 million extension that includes $16 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $7 million.[9][13][14] He was placed on injured reserve on December 12, 2016 after suffering a shoulder injury in Week 14 against the New York Jets.[15]

Pittsburgh Steelers

2017 season

On August 29, 2017, the 49ers traded McDonald and their 2018 fifth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for the Steelers 2018 fourth-round pick.[16]

He began the regular season as the backup tight end on the Steelers' depth chart behind Jesse James. On September 10, McDonald made his Steelers debut in a 21–18 victory over the Cleveland Browns.[17] In his first season with the Steelers, he recorded 14 receptions for 188 receiving yards and a touchdown.[18]

2018 season

During Monday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3, McDonald finished with a career-high 112 receiving yards, including a 75-yard touchdown, as the Steelers won 30-27.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "Different paths led Thomas, McDonald to similar dream". Beaumont Enterprise. 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  2. ↑ "footballtalentadvisors.com". footballtalentadvisors.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-10. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  3. ↑ "Vance McDonald College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  4. ↑ "McDonald's return helps Owls' bowl bid hopes". Houston Chronicle. 2012-11-24. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  5. ↑ "Opening Eyes in Mobile – The Sideline View". thesidelineview.com.
  6. ↑ "NFL Draft Profile: Vance McDonald". NFL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Vance McDonald selected by 49ers". SB Nation.
  8. ↑ "2013 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  9. 1 2 "Spotrac.com: Vance McDonald contracts". spotrac.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Vance McDonald 2013 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  11. ↑ "49ers Activate NaVorro Bowman, Place Vance McDonald on IR". 49ers.com. December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 "NFL Player Profile: Vance McDonald". NFL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  13. ↑ "49ers Sign TE Vance McDonald to a Five-year Contract Extension". 49ers.com. December 9, 2016.
  14. ↑ Meyer, Max (December 9, 2016). "Niners sign tight end Vance McDonald to extension". NFL.com.
  15. ↑ "49ers Place TE Vance McDonald on IR; Claim OL Josh Allen". 49ers.com. December 12, 2016.
  16. ↑ Varley, Teresa (August 29, 2017). "Steelers trade for McDonald". Steelers.com. Archived from the original on August 29, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns - September 10th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  18. ↑ "Vance McDonald 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  19. ↑ "Steelers' Vance McDonald: Career-high 112 yards in win". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
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