Justin Jamaal Ellis was born on December 27, 1990, he is an American football nose tackle for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisiana Tech.
Ellis attended Neville High School in Monroe, Louisiana, where he was a two-time first-team all-District 2-4A selection. He was named first-team all-state by the LSWA as a senior and was a two-time all-Northeast Louisiana selection by the Monroe News-Star.
Ellis also lettered three years in track & field, competing in the shot put, where he finished third in the state as a junior, the javelin throw (top throw of 47.2 meters), and the discus throw, where he captured the state title with a throw of 47.15 meters in 2009.
He was rated a two-star recruit by Rivals.com. Ellis attended Louisiana Tech University from 2009 to 2013. He redshirted as a true freshman in 2009. In 2010, Ellis played in four games and recorded three tackles. In 2011, he was a second-team All-WAC selection after appearing in all 13 games, recording 20 tackles, 3.5 for loss, one sack, and one fumble recovery.
In 2012, he recorded 21 total tackles with two forced fumbles. In 2013, he recorded a career-high 48 tackles and set career bests In tackles for loss with 5.5, and sacks with 1.5, earning himself conference honorable mention honors.
On November 12, 2019, Ellis was signed by the Baltimore Ravens. On March 21, 2020, Ellis re-signed with the Ravens. On March 5, 2021, Ellis signed a one-year contract extension with the Ravens.
He was released on August 31, 2021, and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on September 15, 2021. On March 23, 2022, the New York Giants signed Ellis to a one-year contract.
NFL career statistics
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sck | PD | Int | Yds | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2014 | OAK | 16 | 16 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | OAK | 12 | 12 | 22 | 17 | 3 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | OAK | 16 | 16 | 21 | 14 | 6 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | OAK | 16 | 16 | 48 | 21 | 21 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | OAK | 6 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | BAL | 4 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | BAL | 13 | 13 | 17 | 5 | 11 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | BAL | 11 | 11 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 94 | 94 | 142 | 82 | 63 | 0.5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |