Chukwuemeka Kingsley Jonathan (born April 28, 1998) is a Nigerian-born American football defensive end for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Syracuse and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Buffalo Bills in 2022. He was also the number one overall pick in the 2022 CFL Global Draft.
Jonathan was born on April 28, 1998, in Lagos, Nigeria. He grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, and attended Saint Frances Academy. He also attended Eastern Alamance High School. He played defensive end and linebacker and also participated in basketball, soccer, and track and field.
As a senior with Saint Frances, he recorded 65 tackles and 16 sacks, leading his team to a 10–2 record and the MIAA Class A championship. Jonathan was ranked the 24th-best defensive end by Rivals.com and was the 29th weakside defensive end according to 247Sports.
Jonathan committed to Syracuse University and made his college football debut in 2017 against Central Connecticut. Overall, as a freshman, he appeared in eight games and made four tackles. Jonathan appeared in all 13 games in his sophomore year, 2018, and started two. He recorded 21 tackles and placed third on the team with five sacks. He was an ACC honor roll selection.
Jonathan played as a reserve defensive end in 2019 and made 12 appearances. He recorded 24 tackles, three for loss, and 1.5 sacks, earning All-ACC Academic honors. In his senior year, 2020, Jonathan was awarded the Jim Tatum Award for best ACC student-athlete. He started all 11 games and finished the year with 32 total tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble. He was a Campbell Trophy semifinalist, Wuerffel Trophy watch-listed player, Senior CLASS Award candidate, and a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award.
Jonathan was given an extra year of eligibility in 2021 and decided to return to the Syracuse program as a fifth-year senior.[2] He appeared in all 12 games and started one, making 20 tackles and 4.5 sacks. He was a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy, and Witten Award, and was a watch-listed player for the Wuerffel Trophy. He won the Joseph Alexander Award for “excellence in football, scholarship, and citizenship.”
Jonathan finished his college career with 101 tackles (60 solo), 21.5 for loss, 15 quarterback sacks, two fumble recoveries, and three forced fumbles in a total of 56 games.
After going unselected in the 2022 NFL Draft, Jonathan was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. He was also the top pick in the 2022 CFL Global Draft, being selected by the Montreal Alouettes, but chose to stay with Buffalo. He was released at the final roster cuts on August 30, 2022. Jonathan was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Bears on September 1, 2022.
Stats
Receiving
| YEAR | TEAM | G | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | 1st | 1st% | 20+ | 40+ |
| 2022 | Buffalo Bills | 2 | 20 | 270 | 13.5 | 53 | 4 | 11 | 55 | 3 | 2 |
| 2021 | Buffalo Bills | 17 | 103 | 1225 | 11.9 | 61 | 10 | 66 | 64.1 | 12 | 4 |
| 2020 | Buffalo Bills | 16 | 127 | 1535 | 12.1 | 55 | 8 | 73 | 57.5 | 20 | 5 |
| 2019 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | 63 | 1130 | 17.9 | 66 | 6 | 41 | 65.1 | 20 | 8 |
| 2018 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | 102 | 1021 | 10 | 75 | 9 | 49 | 48 | 13 | 2 |
| 2017 | Minnesota Vikings | 14 | 64 | 849 | 13.3 | 59 | 8 | 42 | 65.6 | 14 | 3 |
| 2016 | Minnesota Vikings | 13 | 84 | 903 | 10.8 | 46 | 3 | 47 | 56 | 10 | 3 |
| 2015 | Minnesota Vikings | 13 | 52 | 720 | 13.8 | 40 | 4 | 31 | 59.6 | 13 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 105 | 615 | 7653 | 12.4 | 75 | 52 | 360 | 58.5 | 105 | 28 |
Rushing
| YEAR | TEAM | G | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | 1st | 1st% | 20+ | 40+ | FUM |
| 2022 | Buffalo Bills | 2 | ||||||||||
| 2021 | Buffalo Bills | 17 | ||||||||||
| 2020 | Buffalo Bills | 16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | 5 | 61 | 12.2 | 27 | 0 | 3 | 60 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | 10 | 62 | 6.2 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | Minnesota Vikings | 14 | 8 | 13 | 1.6 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 12.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | Minnesota Vikings | 13 | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 33.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | Minnesota Vikings | 13 | 3 | 13 | 4.3 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 33.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 105 | 30 | 160 | 5.3 | 27 | 0 | 9 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Passing
| YEAR | TEAM | G | ATT | COMP | PCT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | INT | 1st | 1st% | 20+ | SCK | SCKY | RATE |
| 2022 | Buffalo Bills | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Buffalo Bills | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| 2020 | Buffalo Bills | 16 | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 |
| 2018 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | ||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Minnesota Vikings | 14 | ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Minnesota Vikings | 13 | ||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Minnesota Vikings | 13 | ||||||||||||||
| TOTAL | 105 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2.1 |
Kick Return
| YEAR | TEAM | G | RET | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | 20+ | 40+ | FC | FUM |
| 2022 | Buffalo Bills | 2 | |||||||||
| 2021 | Buffalo Bills | 17 | |||||||||
| 2020 | Buffalo Bills | 16 | |||||||||
| 2019 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | |||||||||
| 2018 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | |||||||||
| 2017 | Minnesota Vikings | 14 | |||||||||
| 2016 | Minnesota Vikings | 13 | |||||||||
| 2015 | Minnesota Vikings | 13 | 1 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 105 | 1 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Punt Return
| YEAR | TEAM | G | RET | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | 20+ | 40+ | FC | FUM |
| 2022 | Buffalo Bills | 2 | |||||||||
| 2021 | Buffalo Bills | 17 | |||||||||
| 2020 | Buffalo Bills | 16 | |||||||||
| 2019 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | |||||||||
| 2018 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | |||||||||
| 2017 | Minnesota Vikings | 14 | |||||||||
| 2016 | Minnesota Vikings | 13 | 6 | 45 | 7.5 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015 | Minnesota Vikings | 13 | |||||||||
| TOTAL | 105 | 6 | 45 | 7.5 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Fumbles
| YEAR | TEAM | G | FUM | LOST | FF | OWN FR | OPP FR | TD |
| 2022 | Buffalo Bills | 2 | ||||||
| 2021 | Buffalo Bills | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2020 | Buffalo Bills | 16 | 0 | |||||
| 2019 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | 4 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2017 | Minnesota Vikings | 14 | 0 | |||||
| 2016 | Minnesota Vikings | 13 | 0 | |||||
| 2015 | Minnesota Vikings | 13 | 0 | |||||
| TOTAL | 105 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Defense
| YEAR | TEAM | G | Total | Solo | AST | SCK | SFTY | PDEF | INT | TDS | YDS | AVG | LNG |
| 2022 | Buffalo Bills | 2 | |||||||||||
| 2021 | Buffalo Bills | 17 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2020 | Buffalo Bills | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2019 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2018 | Minnesota Vikings | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2017 | Minnesota Vikings | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2016 | Minnesota Vikings | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2015 | Minnesota Vikings | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| TOTAL | 105 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Weight
He is 83 kg
Contract and Salary
He signed a 4 year, $705,000 contract, including a $0 signing bonus, $705,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $705,000.
Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth of between $1 million to $3 million.
Height
He is 6 feet tall