BIOGRAPHY
Devante Downs was born on October 18th, 1995, in Mountlake Terrace, Washington, and currently plays linebacker for the New York Giants in the NFL.
He attended Mountlake Terrace high school where he was named to the Rivals Preseason All-American Watch List and the MaxPreps Washington Preseason All-State Football Team, while also being rated as Scout's top fullback in the West before his 2013 season.
He rushed for 1,271 yards and 24 touchdowns on offense during his 2012 junior campaign, while adding 63 tackles, 17.0 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks on defense to earn an AP Washington Class 3A All-State honorable mention selection as a running back and spots on both the 3A Wesco South All-League offensive and defensive teams; he Lettered four years in track, three years in football and one year in basketball.
He played college football at the University of California Golden; as a freshman in 2014, he played in all 12 games (all off the bench) while leading all rookies in tackles (34), tackles for loss, tackle for loss yards, sacks and sack yards. He led the team in sacks with a career-high-tying 3.0 (career-high-tying -14 yards) while adding 5.0 tackles for loss (-18 yards).
In 2015 as a sophomore he played in nine games including his first career start and contributed 29 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss (-1 yard), two interceptions to rank tied second on the team that he returned for eight yards and his lone collegiate touchdown, one forced fumble a team-high-tying one fumble recovery and one pass breakup.
As a junior in 2016 he started all 12 games and led Cal with a career-high 84 tackles, while adding 3.5 tackles for loss (-16 yards), 2.0 sacks (-12 yards), one interception that he returned 12 yards and three pass breakups; he ranked tied ninth in the Pac-12 with an average of 7.0 tackles per game.
In 2017 as a senior he finished second on the team with 65 tackles while adding a career-high 5.5 tackles for loss (career-high -29 yards), career-high-tying 3.0 sacks (career-high-tying -14 yards), a career-high-tying and team-high-tying two interceptions that he returned for a career-high 39 yards, a career-high and team-high four quarterback hurries, a career-high and team-high-tying two fumble recoveries that he returned for a career-high four yards and a career-high and team-high-tying two forced fumbles. He earned Cal's Bear Backers Defensive MVP honors and honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors.
The Minnesota Vikings drafted downs in the seventh round (225th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft; he finished his rookie year with two tackles. On October 1st, 2019, Downs was signed to the New York Giants practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 22, 2019. In Week 1 of the 2020 season against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football, Downs recovered a muffed punt by Diontae Johnson during the 26–16 loss. Downs re-signed with the Giants on March 24, 2021.
