New Orleans Saints: Coby Fleener (original) (raw)
A combination of athleticism, strength and speed, Fleener’s sure hands and ability to get open are expected to become an important facet of the New Orleans offense. Fleener, originally a second round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2012, comes to New Orleans, after spending his first four seasons as an important part of the Colts offense. In 2015, he played in all 16 games with 11 starts and recorded a career-high 54 receptions for 491 yards and three touchdowns. He has career totals in 60 games with 45 starts of 183 receptions for 2,154 yards (11.8 avg.) with 17 touchdowns.
NFL CAREER – A combination of athleticism, strength and speed, Fleener’s sure hands and ability to get open are expected to become an important facet of the New Orleans offense. Fleener, originally a second round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2012, comes to New Orleans, after spending his first four seasons as an important part of the Colts offense. In 2015, he played in all 16 games with 11 starts and recorded a career-high 54 receptions for 491 yards and three touchdowns. He has career totals in 60 games with 45 starts of 183 receptions for 2,154 yards (11.8 avg.) with 17 touchdowns.
CAREER TRANSACTIONS – Agreed to terms with Saints to a five-year contract (UFA-IND), 3/9/16; Signed by Indianapolis Colts to a four-year contract, 7/25/12; Selected by Indianapolis in the second round (34th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft.
2015 – Participated in 16 games (11 starts) and posted a career-high 54 receptions totaling 491 yards and three touchdowns…Caught one pass for five yards in the team’s opening loss at Buffalo, Sept. 13. Also added a two-point conversion following a third quarter touchdown catch from Donte Moncrief…In Week Three victory at Tennessee (9/27), started and caught four passes for 51 yards with a long of 19…Posted career-high nine receptions while leading team with 83 receiving yards and one touchdown in a Week Four win against Jacksonville, Oct. 4. Tied game at 10-10 with his two-yard touchdown catch from Matt Hasselbeck in second quarter. 28-yard catch in overtime helped set up Adam Vinatieri’s 27-yard game-winning field goal…Finished with three catches for 47 yards with a long of 27 yards in a Week Seven loss vs. New Orleans, Oct. 25…Started in a Week Eight overtime loss at Carolina, Nov. 2. Led team with seven receptions totaling 43 yards and added a touchdown. His eight-yard TD with 2:27 remaining in the fourth quarter cut Carolina’s lead to 23-20 and led to an eventual overtime period…Started and caught three passes for 45 yards with a long reception of 26 yards in a Week 11 win at Atlanta, Nov. 22. Intercepted his first career pass on the final play of the game when the Falcons attempted a Hail Mary pass…In Week 17 victory vs. Tennessee, 1/3/16, caught seven passes for 88 yards and one touchdown. Gave the Colts a 10-7 lead with his 57-yard TD reception in the first quarter, his longest grab of the year. 2014 – Saw action in all 16 games (12 starts) and totaled 51 receptions for 774 yards (15.2 avg.), eight touchdowns and a long catch of 73 yards for a score. Started all three postseason contests and caught seven passes for 97 yards…Started in a Week three victory at Jacksonville, Sept. 21 and caught four passes for 49 yards and one touchdown…Finished with two receptions for 26 yards and one touchdown, starting in a Week Four victory against Tennessee, Sept. 28…Recorded two receptions for 11 yards and one touchdown in a Week Six victory at Houston, Oct. 9. The score came on Andrew Luck’s second touchdown pass of the game (four yards) giving the Colts a 24-0 lead. The touchdown was his third in the last four games…Started in a Week Seven win against Cincinnati, Oct. 19 and caught four passes for 64 yards (16.0 avg.) with a long of 26 yards…In a Week Nine victory at the N.Y. Giants, Nov. 3, led the team with 77 receiving yards on four receptions. Logged his fourth touchdown of the season on a 32-yard grab in the second quarter to give the Colts a 10-0 lead. Also added a 21-yard gain on the play prior to his touchdown. With four receptions, reached 100 for his career…Started in a Week 11 loss against New England, Nov. 16 and caught seven passes for a career-high 144 yards with a long reception of 45 yards. It was the second 100-yard performance of his career. The 144 receiving yards tie the third highest total by a tight end in club history and are the most since Dallas Clark registered 183 receiving yards in 2009…In a Week 13 victory against Washington, Nov. 30, caught four passes for 127 yards (31.8 avg.) and two touchdowns. It was Fleener’s third career 100-yard contest and second of the season. Also posted his first career multiple touchdown game. On his first reception of the game, caught a 30-yard touchdown to give the Colts a 7-3 lead. Established a new career-long with a 73-yard touchdown in the third quarter. The score gave the Colts a 42-24 lead. Became the first tight end with touchdown catches of 70-plus yards and 30-plus yards in the same game since 1972 (Rich Caster)…Started in a Week 14 win at Cleveland, Dec. 7 and caught five passes for 56 yards. Was on the receiving end of Andrew Luck’s 1,000th career completion…Started in a Week 17 win at Tennessee, Dec. 28 and caught five passes for 56 yards and two touchdowns. Gave the Colts a 7-0 lead in the first quarter with his seven-yard touchdown reception. Added his second score on an eight-yard catch from Matt Hasselbeck in the fourth quarter to give the Colts a 27-10 lead. With the two touchdowns, finished the regular season with a single-season career-high of eight and tied Dwayne Allen (eight in 2014) and Marcus Pollard (eight in 2001) for the fourth-most
receiving touchdowns in a single season by a tight end in Colts history…In the team’s AFC Wild Card Playoff victory against Cincinnati, 1/4/15, started and caught one pass for 18 yards…Started in the team’s AFC Divisional Playoff win at Denver, 1/11/15 and caught three passes for 49 yards with a long reception of 32 yards…Tallied three receptions for 30 yards, starting in the team’s AFC Championship Game loss at New England, 1/18/15. 2013 – Started 12-of-16 games and caught 52 passes for 608 yards and four touchdowns…Started in team’s Week Two loss against Miami, Sept. 15 and contributed with four catches for 69 yards (17.3 avg.) and one touchdown…In Week Four win at Jacksonville, Sept. 29, finished with five receptions for 77 yards (15.4 avg.) and one touchdown…Tied the team lead with five receptions while adding 38 receiving yards and a touchdown in team’s Week Seven victory vs. Denver, Oct. 20. On receiving end of the team’s third TD of the first half when Luck ran the two-minute drill and found him for an eight-yard TD and a 26-14 halftime lead…Finished second on team with three catches for 64 yards, starting, in the team’s Week Nine victory at Houston, Nov. 3. Logged a then career-long 44-yard reception in the first quarter and added a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter…Led the team in receiving with eight receptions while adding 107 yards in a Week 11 win at Tennessee, Nov. 14. The last Colts TE to record 100-plus receiving yards in a game prior to Fleener was Jacob Tamme who finished with 108 yards at Philadelphia on Nov. 7, 2010. Finished the game with three receptions over 15 yards (39, 17 and 16)…In a Week 12 loss at Arizona, Nov. 24 started and caught four passes for 55 yards and one touchdown on a 17-yard catch…Started in the team’s Week 13 victory against Tennessee, Dec. 1. Led the team with 50 receiving yards on three receptions while adding a long gain of 21 yards in the first quarter…Started the team’s AFC Wild Card Playoff victory against Kansas City, 1/4/14. Caught five passes for 46 yards and notched his first career postseason touchdown in the third quarter to cut Kansas City’s lead to 41-31…In team’s AFC Divisional Playoff loss at New England, 1/11/14, started and led the team with six receptions while adding 74 yards. Contributed with a long of 29 yards. 2009 – Played in 12 games (10 starts) in rookie season. Caught 26 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns…In first career NFL game, started against Chicago, Sept. 9 and ranked second on team in receiving with six receptions for 82 yards (13.7 avg.) and a long of 24 yards…Started and caught four passes for 42 yards against N.Y. Jets, Oct. 14…Returned from a shoulder injury to start at Detroit, Dec. 2. Caught his first career touchdown on a second quarter 26-yard toss from Luck. The catch was also his longest of the season…Caught a one-yard touchdown, against Houston, Dec. 30.
COLLEGE – Appeared in 51 games (16 starts) with the Stanford Cardinal, amassing 1,543 yards and 18 touchdowns on 96 receptions. Also contributed with three solo tackles and two blocked kicks…Earned first-team All-America honors from The Sporting News, adding second-team accolades from Yahoo! Sports and third-team recognition from The NFL Draft Report following his senior season…Named a first-team All-Pac-12 Conference selection in 2011 and a second-team All-Pac-10 Conference choice by the league’s coaches and media in 2010…Recorded 10 touchdown grabs in 2011 to tie wide receiver Troy Walters (1999) and Ken Margerum (1979) for third on the Cardinal single-season record list…Tied Tony Hill (1973-76) and Vincent White (1979-1982) for fifth on the school career record list with 18 touchdown receptions…Set the Stanford record for highest average per reception by a TE (19.6) as a senior, ranking fifth on the school’s overall annual record chart…Majored in science, technology and society at Stanford and earned a master’s degree in media studies.
PERSONAL – Attended Joliet (Ill.) Catholic Academy and was regarded as one of the best TEs in the state…Named All-Conference, All-Area, All-State, Academic All-State and All-East Suburban Catholic Football League…Finished senior season with 34 receptions for 706 yards (20.8 avg.) and eight touchdowns and alsoarned all-area honors for basketball…Working with Wish For Our Heroes and Colts P Pat McAfee, helped renovate the house of an Army veteran…Was a volunteer for the Colts IndyHumane Visit and served as a reader for the Colts Day in Schools event…Serves as a co-spokesperson for “Find Your Favorite” Campaign encouraging youth to be healthy by eating fruits and vegetables…Participated in the Colts QB Shopping event with Shepherd Community
Center as a volunteer shopper…Participated in the 2012 Colts Rookie Community Blitz at Concord Neighborhood Center, helping local children with reading, crafts and
fitness activities…As a part of the Colts Community Ticket Block program, joined 2012 rookie teammates in donating 10 tickets per game to youth organizations…A native of Lemont, Ill.