BIOGRAPHY
Donovan Peoples-Jones was born on February 19, 1999, in Detroit, Michigan. He is a wide receiver and kick returner in the NFL.
Donovan Peoples-Jones was born in Detroit on February 19, 1999, to Roslyn Peoples and Eddie Jones. He attended Cass Technical High School where he was a five-star recruit and rated as the best wide receiver recruit from the state of Michigan since Charles Rogers in 2000. Peoples-Jones was named the 2016 Michigan High School Football Player of the Year by MLive Media Group on Nov. 22, 2016. As a senior at Cass Tech, Peoples-Jones had 60 receptions for 1,071 yards and 17 touchdowns. On December 15, 2016, he committed to play for the University of Michigan in a nationally televised press conference on ESPN2.
After committing to Michigan, Peoples-Jones enrolled early in January 2017. After watching Peoples-Jones and fellow freshman Tarik Black in spring practice, offensive lineman Mason Cole predicted the pair were "going to be unbelievable."
On September 2, 2017, Peoples-Jones started at punt returner as a true freshman in Michigan's season opener against Florida. He returned five punts for 40 yards, including an 18-yard return. In his second game, he ran 44 yards on a jet sweep in the first quarter against Cincinnati. In his third game, he returned two punts for 104 yards, including a 79-yard return for a touchdown in the third quarter against Air Force. His 79-yard return for a touchdown was the longest by any Michigan punt returner since Steve Breaston went 83 yards against Indiana in 2006. He finished with the second-most return attempts and eighth-most return yards in a single season by a Wolverine, and also caught 22 passes for 277 yards. Following an outstanding freshman season, he was named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America and 247 Sports and was named Michigan's Rookie of the Year. Peoples-Jones was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the sixth round with the 187th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.
He was traded to the Detroit Lions during the 2023 season.
