Josh Oliver

Josh Oliver's Biography

Josh Oliver has been capturing the attention of sports enthusiasts since his early days of competing on the football field. Born on March 21, 1997, this Templeton, California native cultivated a life-long passion for football and made his mark as a prominent professional American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL). Currently, he is a key player for Minnesota Vikings, making significant contributions to his team’s success in the league.

Coming from a lineage of established sportsmen, Josh had football running through his veins right from the outset. His family lineage is marked by his uncle, Clancy Oliver, an NFL defensive back for the Pittsburgh Steelers during 1969 to 1970 and with the then-St. Louis Cardinals in 1973. Josh is also related to Darren Oliver, a Major League Baseball pitcher active from 1993 to 2013. His father, Rene Oliver, was recognized with All-Western Football Conference first-team accolades as a cornerback at Cal Poly for two consecutive years, 1987 and 1988.

A devotee of football since childhood, Josh attended Paso Robles High School in Paso Robles, California, where he exhibited versatile play and sportsmanship across an array of positions. Functioning as a tight end, defensive end, and outside linebacker on the football team, and playing as the leading forward on the basketball team, Josh earned first-team all-county accolades from the San Luis Obispo Tribune in both sports. He was also recognized as the CIF Southern Section Northern Division Defensive Player of the Year in January 2015, reflecting on his outstanding play and robust skills.

Josh’s high school athleticism earned him a place at San Jose State University, where he continued to impress with his proficient presence on the football field. He played at the university from 2015 to 2018 and was particularly lauded for his abilities during his final season. Throughout his college career, he recorded 98 receptions for 1,067 yards and seven touchdowns, and was consistently given the Mountain West Conference All-Academic honoree during all four years at SJSU.

As a freshman at SJSU, his significance as a blocking player was pivotal to Tyler Ervin establishing the program’s single-season rushing yardage record. Josh also started making noticeable strides as a receiving threat, with his first collegiate touchdown catch coming during the Spartans’ Cure Bowl victory over Georgia State.

During 2018, Josh’s performances were celebrated with a John Mackey Award as the national tight end of the week, after he delivered eight catches for 158 yards against Hawai’i in September 2018. His reception record earned him the honor of being the first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection, and he served as a team captain that year.

Josh entered the sphere of professional football after being drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft, marking the commencement of a promising professional career. He then experienced a setback when he was placed on the injured reserve in November 2019 following a surgery to fix a broken bone in his foot, pushing him back to the bench until August 2020.

Resilient as ever, Josh redirected his professional path and was traded to the Baltimore Ravens on March 18, 2021, in exchange for a conditional 2022 seventh-round selection. He later marked another milestone in his career capturing his first career touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson, the quarterback, in Week 3 of the 2022 season against the New England Patriots.

Further solidifying his place in the NFL, Pro Football Focus ranked Josh as the top run-blocking tight end amongst the 53 TEs who played at least 200 blocking snaps. His spectacular performances secured him a three-year, $21 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings in 2023. Today, while Josh continues to carve his niche in the world of professional football, he stands as a testament to perseverance, hard work, and the undying pursuit of excellence in one’s chosen field.