Jourdan Lewis

BIOGRAPHY

Jourdan Lewis was born on August 31, 1995, in Detroit, Michigan. He is a cornerback in the NFL.

Lewis attended Cass Technical High School. As a junior, he tallied 8 interceptions and 11 touchdowns. As a senior, he had 751 receiving yards, 6 touchdowns and 742 return yards with 3 touchdowns on special teams. He and Delano Hill anchored the Cass Technical defensive backfield that won back-to-back (2011 and 2012) Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 championships for coach Thomas Wilcher.

Lewis accepted a football scholarship from the University of Michigan. As a freshman he appeared in 13 games, registering 17 tackles and 2 passes defensed. As a sophomore, he appeared in 12 games (7 starts), collecting 39 tackles, 28 solo tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions and 6 passes defensed. He was named a starter in the third game of the season. As a junior, he started 13 games, posting 52 tackles (3.5 for loss), 2 interceptions and 20 passes defensed (ranked third in the FBS). He also averaged 25.2 yards on kickoff returns. 

As a senior, he missed the first 3 games with injuries to his back, hamstring and quad. Through the first 10 games of the 2015 season, Lewis had 20 pass breakups, which set a new school record.He ranked second among all players in the NCAA Division I FBS with 21 passes defended. Lewis set a single-season school record with 21 pass breakups in 2015, surpassing the previous record of 18 held by Marlin Jackson (2002) and Leon Hall (2006). Following the 2015 season, Lewis was named to the All-Big Ten defensive first-team, by both the media and coaches. He was also named a First-Team All-American by USA Today, and Sports Illustrated, becoming the first Wolverine to earn the honor since Taylor Lewan in 2013, and the first Wolverine defensive back to earn the honor since Leon Hall in 2006.

During the 2016 season, Lewis was targeted 31 times, allowing 74 yards, with 14 total yards after catch and 0.36 yards per snap in coverage. Lewis has contributed 23 tackles, 3.5 tackles-for-loss, two interceptions and 12 pass breakups this season. Following the 2016 season, Lewis was named the Tatum–Woodson Defensive Back of the Year, and was once again named to the All-Big Ten defensive first-team, by both the media and coaches. He was also named a first-team All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, Associated Press, Sporting News, and Sports Illustrated.

Lewis was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round (92nd overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. He was the 14th cornerback selected in 2017. On June 28, the Dallas Cowboys signed Lewis to a four-year, $3.24 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $753,428. On September 17, Lewis made his professional regular season debut against the Denver Broncos after being a healthy scratch for their season-opener. He went into the game after Carroll suffered a concussion and he recorded six solo tackles and intercepted the first pass of his career off of Broncos' quarterback Trevor Siemian in a 42–17 loss. The next week, he earned his first career start in place of Carroll and recorded six solo tackles and deflected a pass in a 28–17 win at the Arizona Cardinals.

Lewis finished the 2018 season with 12 combined tackles, one interception, one pass defensed, and two fumble recoveries in 15 games.