| No. 40 – Atlanta Falcons | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Linebacker | ||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (2000-05-05) May 5, 2000 Alpharetta, Georgia, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Georgia) | ||||||||
| College | Notre Dame (2019–2023) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2024: 5th round, 143rd overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 14, 2025 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
James David Bertrand (born May 5, 2000) is an American professional football linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Early life
Bertrand attended Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in Roswell, Georgia, winning back-to-back Georgia Class AAAA State Championships in 2017 and 2018.[1] He committed to play college football at the University of Georgia before changing his commitment to the University of Notre Dame.[2][3]
College career
As a true freshman, Bertrand played exclusively on special teams in four games. In his junior season, he started in all 13 games and recorded 101 tackles, leading the Irish defense.[1] He was named a team captain for the 2022 season and finished the year with a team-leading 82 tackles.[1]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | Bench press | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0+7⁄8 in (1.85 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | 30+5⁄8 in (0.78 m) | 9+3⁄4 in (0.25 m) | 6 ft 2+7⁄8 in (1.90 m) | 20 reps | |||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[4][5] | ||||||||||||
The Atlanta Falcons selected Bertrand in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft, 143rd overall.[6][7]
Career statistics
NFL
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Total | Solo | Ast | Sck | Sfty | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | TD | ||
| 2024 | ATL | 12 | 0 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | ATL | 15 | 2 | 35 | 13 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 27 | 2 | 58 | 29 | 29 | 1.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
College
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Total | Solo | Ast | Sack | PD | Int | Yds | TD | FF | FR | TD | ||
| 2019 | Notre Dame | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | Notre Dame | 10 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | Notre Dame | 13 | 13 | 101 | 63 | 38 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | Notre Dame | 12 | 10 | 82 | 45 | 37 | 2.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Notre Dame | 12 | 12 | 76 | 41 | 35 | 2.5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 50 | 35 | 266 | 154 | 112 | 6.0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
Personal life
Bertrand has two older brothers, Chris and John Michael, the latter of whom plays baseball in the San Francisco Giants organization. Their great-grandfather, Cecil Muellerleile, played football, coached, and served as the athletic director at Saint Louis University.[8]
References
- "JD Bertrand". Notre Dame Fighting Irish Athletics. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- Cooper, Jon (July 15, 2017). "Georgia gains commitment from in-state LB J.D. Bertrand". Saturday Down South. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- Smith, Cam (November 20, 2018). "Ga. four-star LB J.D. Bertrand picks Notre Dame". USA TODAY High School Sports. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- Reuter, Chad; Zierlein, Lance. "JD Bertrand Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- "2024 NFL Draft Scout JD Bertrand College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- McElhaney, Tori; Waack, Terrin; Subhan, Amna (April 27, 2024). "Falcons select ILB JD Bertrand with the No. 143 pick overall in 2024 NFL Draft". NFL.com. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- McElhaney, Tori (May 10, 2024). "Falcons sign inside linebacker JD Bertrand to rookie deal". Atlanta Falcons. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- Houk, Phil (November 22, 2021). "JD Bertrand's Ireland Connection". Fighting Irish Preview. Retrieved June 22, 2024.