Duke Riley

BIOGRAPHY

Duke Riley was born on August 9, 1994, in Buras, Louisiana. He is an outside linebacker in the National Football League.

In his early years, Riley attended John Curtis Christian High School where he was honored as the 2012 Most Outstanding Defensive Player in Class 2A by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association and was also named to the 2012 Class 2A All-State Team by LSWA. He recorded 124 tackles in his senior season and led John Curtis to the Class 2A State Championship in his junior and senior seasons. He racked up 10 total tackles and scored a touchdown on an 80-yard fumble recovery in the 2012 Class-2A State Championship Game and earned MVP honors as a sophomore in the 2010 Class-2A Title Game where he recorded 21 tackles. He was a four-star recruit according to ESPN.com, was given three stars by Rivals.com, 247sports.com, and Scout.com and was listed as the No. 17 prospect in Louisiana by ESPN.com. He also ranked as the No. 23 prospect in Louisiana by 247sports.com and was rated as the No. 26 linebacker in the nation by ESPN.com. 

After he finished high school, Riley committed to the University of LSU where as a freshman in 2013, he registered 13 appearances at linebacker and on LSU's special team units, posted a half tackle for a loss of eight yards when Auburn's punter dropped the ball and tried to get off the punt and collected a season's best two tackles versus Arkansas. As a sophomore in 2014, Riley saw action in all 13 games with one start and earned his first career start versus Louisiana-Monroe at the SAM linebacker spot. He racked up a career-high eight tackles in place of Lamar Louis against Louisiana-Monroe and posted two tackles versus No. 14 Wisconsin, Mississippi State, Kentucky, and Alabama. He recovered a fumble at Texas A&M on kickoff coverage in the second quarter that led to an LSU field goal and a 17-7 Tiger lead, was also a valuable member on LSU's special team's units and tied for the team lead with nine tackles on special teams. As a junior in 2015, Riley played in all 12 games, seeing time as a reserve linebacker and also on special teams units and was one of the team's leading tacklers on special teams coverage. He finished the year with 24 tackles and half a tackle for a loss, recorded seven tackles and half a tackle for a loss versus Eastern Michigan and posted five tackles in the win over Auburn. 

In his senior year in 2016, Riley took over as a starter at outside linebacker for the Tigers and quickly became one of the leaders on the LSU defense and started all 12 games for the Tigers and finished with 93 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He led the Tigers in total tackles with 93 and ranked second on the team in solo tackles with 40 and ranked No. 6 in the SEC in tackles per game with 7.8. He teamed with Kendell Beckwith to form the only duo from the same school to finish in Top 10 in the SEC in tackles and he was a key member of LSU defense that allowed an FBS best 16 touchdowns all season, just 1.33 a contest. After he graduated from college, Riley entered the 2017 NFL Draft where he was selected in the third round by the Atlanta Falcons and on May 11, 2017, the Atlanta Falcons signed Riley to a four-year contract and was named as the backup linebacker to start the season. He earned his first start in the Falcons season-opener against the Chicago Bears and made six combined tackles in the 24-17 victory. Riley earned his first career start at weakside linebacker with De'Vondre Campbell starting at the strongside linebacker position over Vic Beasley. He finished his rookie season with 30 combined tackles, where 15 were solo, in 12 games and six starts and on January 6, 2018, Riley appeared in his first career playoff game and made two combined tackles during a 26–13 victory at the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card Round. The following week, he made one tackle as the Falcons lost 15–10 in the NFC Divisional Round to the Philadelphia Eagles. 

He started the season alongside De’Vondre Campbell and middle linebacker Deion Jones and in Week 3, he collected a season-high 13 combined tackles with nine solo tackles, during a 43-37 loss against the New Orleans Saints. He finished the season with 60 combined tackles with 37 solo tackles, and two pass deflections in 16 games and ten starts. He received an overall grade of 44.2 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 87th among all qualifying linebackers in 2018. 

On September 30th, 2019, Riley was trade to the Philadelphia Eagles for safety Johnathan Cyprien. On January 2, 2020, Riley was named special teams captain for the Eagles Wild card match up with Seattle. In Week 5 of the 2020 season against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Riley led the team with 13 tackles (7 solo) and injured himself when forcing a fumble on tight end Eric Ebron and he had to be carted off the field. Without Riley, the Eagles lost 38–29. In Week 14 against the New Orleans Saints, Riley recorded his first interception off a pass thrown by Taysom Hill during the 24–21 win. He was placed on injured reserve on January 1, 2021. He finished the season with 55 tackles, one forced fumble and one interception through 13 games and eight starts.

Riley signed with the Miami Dolphins on March 22, 2021.