Lifelong dreams don’t fade easily, even when life takes an unexpected turn. For Avonte Maddox, baseball was always the goal. He spent his childhood playing shortstop in high school while covering center field and second base for his travel team. Football wasn’t even on his radar—the only thing he cared about was MLB and baseball. Until fate had other plans. While growing up, he played shortstop in high school and center field and second base on his travel team. Years later, he wouldn’t be standing on a baseball diamond at the World Series but hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LIX with the Philadelphia Eagles.
“Oh, you’re too small to play football, you’re too small to play football,” CB Avonte Maddox often heard while growing up. Yet he recently came to the Lions, coached by Dan Campbell, as a Super Bowl Champion. The ultimate achievement for any football player. Maddox got emotional after winning the trophy in New Orleans. The child inside the beast came out as he joyously said, “My dream was always to play in the World Series. I think things happen for a reason and me having an opportunity to play in the Super Bowl again and not being in the World Series, I kind of look at it as the same thing. I mean, it’s the highest level, so it’s just fun.” He poured out his feelings while celebrating the win.
His NFL career came full circle with the victory. Though Nick Sirianni handed him to Dan Campbell this year, Maddox was drafted in 4th-round (125th overall) pick in 2018. The Eagles had won their first Super Bowl 2 months prior. So, the environment was full of excitement. He suffered the painful moments of a Super Bowl LVII loss to the Chiefs. Then, revenge. A Lombardi. The pinnacle of football glory. The sense of being a champion seeping in.
After 7 seasons with the Eagles, he is a Super Bowl winner. Avonte Maddox played 81 games (41 started) and recorded 4 interceptions, 36 defended passes, 8 forced fumbles, 3 sacks, and 270 tackles (200 solo). In playoffs, he played 11 games (6 started) and had 5 defended passes and 40 tackles (30 solo).
When the trade was announced, Dan Campbell & co. were excited. Even the cornerback was excited as he was moving to his second-most preferred team after the Eagles. Maddox said last month, “Philadelphia’s No. 1, but Detroit is definitely No. 2.” However, he still loves baseball. It was his first love until an incident forced him to change his dreams.
Dan Campbell’s new player dreamed of playing in the MLB
As mentioned above, Maddox’s childhood love was baseball and nothing but baseball. But while studying at Martin Luther King School, he started playing football in his junior year. This helped him get a football scholarship to the Pittsburgh Panthers. He planned to play both sports. But he broke his elbows, forcing him to quit his MLB dreams.
In his own words, “I feel like I would’ve continued playing it in college if I didn’t dislocate both of my elbows.” This forced him to reconsider his choices. He ended up changing his sport. The first two years, 2014 and 2015, weren’t up to the mark. But one of his coaches gave him confidence, telling him he could make it to the draft grade.
He was happy to take even the 7th grade. He worked hard. And when the college ended, his numbers were above average, if not the best. In 4 years of college football, Avonte Maddox played 43 games with 8 interceptions, 34 defended passes, 7 sacks, and 183 tackles (136 solo). The CB’s efforts paid off in 2018 when the Eagles drafted him. So, Dan Campbell is getting a fighter who has toiled hard and forged a hard path to greatness.
Avonte Maddox is now a famous face in the league. However, the dreams die hard, particularly if you saw them growing up. Now, after winning it all in the world’s toughest football league, he still finds it hard to avoid baseball. At least from his heart, as he said, “Baseball, I still love it.”
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