Former defensive lineman at Houston. 2020: 5 sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss, 25 tackles.
6′6″ · 270 lb · Houston, TX
Recruiting
WDE recruit
No. 2541 nationally · Signed with Houston
Statement game7 tackles · 4.5 TFL · 2 sacksvs Tulane (FBS) · W 49-31
Top 0.1% tackles for loss game since 2021.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Former defensive lineman at Houston. 2020: 5 sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss, 25 tackles.
Payton Turner
Payton Turner has played for two head coaches in four seasons at Houston. In 2020 the league put his name on paper for the first time: All-AAC. The receipt: 8 tackles, 2.5 TFL against Navy — Week 8, 2020.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Four seasons at Houston, 10 sacks — drafted at #28 overall by New Orleans.
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AAC · 2ND TEAM
All-AAC 2nd team (2020)
Coaching lineage · 2017–2020
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Major Applewhite → Dana Holgorsen. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · NFL
New OrleansEntering 6th NFL season
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: tackles for loss (98th percentile). Strength: sacks (97th percentile). Concern: passes defended (21st percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2020 season · 5 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 5.3 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 0.0 |
| Road2g | 4.5 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-72g | 6.5 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 4.0 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Willie Fritz
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2020
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 6 · 2020
W 49–31
vs Tulane
7 TOT · 5 SOLO · 2 SACKS
Edged out Tulane at home in a shootout.
With M. Stevenson — 8 rush yds (1 car) · C. Tune — 319 yds · 2 TD · 2 INT · 15 rush yds (12 car) · 1 TD
Game log · Week-by-week
2020 season · 5 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 6 | W 49-31vs Tulane | 7 | 5 | 4.5 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 2 sacks |
| Wk 7 | L 26-43vs BYU | 6 | 5 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 37-21@ Navy | 8 | 3 | 2.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 9 | L 21-44vs UCF | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 15 | L 27-30@ Memphis | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 25 | 17 | 10.5 | 5.0 | — | 0 |