Kyler Fackrell

BIOGRAPHY

Kyler Fackrell was born November 25, 1991, in Mesa, Arizona. He is an outside linebacker in the NFL. In his first year of eligibility with the Utah State Aggies, he started all 13 games for the Aggies and had a career-high in sacks against San Jose State University; the team set a school single-game record with 13 total sacks in the game. He went on to block a field goal against New Mexico State. He finished the year as the first player in the school's history to be named a Freshman All-American and the fourth to win All-Conference First Team honors.

As a sophomore, Fackrell continued to impress as he again started all 14 games and led the team with 13 tackles for loss and also had two forced fumbles and five sacks. He had a career-high in tackles against BYU and was the Mountain West's Defensive Player of the week. During the game against Hawaii, he intercepted a pass and returned it 99 yards for his first career touchdown; the return ranks as the third longest in school history. During a game later that year against Weber State, he caught a 4-yard pass and became the first person since 1964 in Utah State's history to have an offensive and defensive touchdown in the same season. His efforts earned him a spot on the All-Conference Second Team.

Fackrell's junior season was cut short by injury in the second quarter in the season opener against the Tennessee Volunteers as he suffered an ACL injury. He missed the rest of the year.

Coming back from the injury the next season, Fackrell started all 13 games and ranked first in the country with five fumble recoveries. On top of that, he also ranked first on the team with 15 tackles for loss and broke the school-record for 12 quarterback hurries; he also finished second in the season with 4 sacks. Two of those forced fumbles happened in a game against Boise State and he added a defensive touchdown when he recovered one of them in the endzone. He was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week two times that season. He finished his last year with the Aggies by being named a fourth-team All-American by Phil Steele and a First Team Conference selection. Fackrell was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round with the 88th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. The pick was criticized by ESPN Staff writer Rob Demovsky for failing to address what was believed to be the biggest need at inside linebacker. When Fackrell found out he was drafted by the Packers, he and his wife fell to their knees in celebration. Fackrell was believed to be drafted by the Packers in part because of Julius Peppers' age and the fact he was entering the final year of his contract.

On September 25, 2016, Fackrell registered his first career sack on Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford in a 34–27 victory.

On September 10, 2017, in the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks, Fackrell recovered a Russell Wilson fumble, which was forced by teammate Mike Daniels, in a 17–9 win.

On September 30, 2018, Fackrell registered a career-high three sacks in the fourth quarter on Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen in a 22–0 win. He had another three-sack performance on November 15 in a 27–24 loss to the Seattle Seahawks and registered an additional four tackles for loss and four hits on Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. He finished the 2018 season with a career-high 42 tackles and a team-leading 10.5 sacks. On March 26, 2020, Fackrell signed a one-year contract with the New York Giants.

In Week 2 against the Chicago Bears, Fackrell recorded his first sack as a Giant on Mitchell Trubisky during the 17–13 loss. In Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys, Fackrell intercepted a pass thrown by Dak Prescott and returned it for a 46-yard touchdown during the 37–34 loss. In Week 6 against the Washington Football Team, Fackrell recorded a strip-sack on Kyle Allen which was recovered and returned by teammate Tae Crowder for a 43-yard touchdown during the 20–19 win.

On December 1, 2020, Fackrell was placed on injured reserve with a calf injury. On January 2, 2021, Fackrell was activated off of injured reserve. On March 24, 2021, Fackrell signed with the Los Angeles Chargers.