Sport: Football
Born: August 9, 1995
Town: Voorhees, New Jersey
Eli Apple was born Eli Woodard on August 9, 1995 in Philadelphis and, after a brief period in New York City, grew up in the Camden County town of Voorhees, NJ. His mother, Annie, met Tim Apple, a successful chef, when Eli was a toddler. Tim became stepfather to Eli and his sister, Jordan. Eli legally changed his name to Apple when he was 17.
Eli distinguished himself as a first-rate athlete—quick, strong, smart and powerful. He joined the Voorhees Eastern High football team in 2008, playing receiver and defensive back for coach Dan Spittal. The star of the team was quarterback Logan Ryan, who would go on to star for Rutgers and later for the NFL Patriots. By the time Eli graduated, he was ranked as the top prep player in New Jersey and the #6 cornerback in the country.
Eli accepted a scholarship from Ohio State. After red-shirting the 2013 season, he won a starting role in 2014. Eli was a big part of the Buckeyes’ march to the national championship. He made 53 tackles and was a freshman All-American. He played especially well in the 59–0 wipeout of Wisconsin In the Big Ten title game. In the National Championship game, OSU went in as underdogs to Oregon and QB Marcus Mariota. The Buckeye D held him in check and built a 42–20 4th quarter lead. Eli sealed the victory with an interception.
Eli and fellow DB Vonn Bell continued their fine play in 2015. Eli earned second-team all-Big Ten honors and was the Buckeyes’ defensive MVP. They lost one conference game, to Michigan State 17–14, but that turned out to be a division tiebreaker, so they did not make a return trip to the title game. Eli’s final college game was the Fiesta Bowl, against Notre Dame on January 1. Ohio State demolished the Fighting Irish 44–28, with Ezekiel Elliot scoring four times. That victory earned OSU a #4 national ranking.
Eli declared himself available for the 2016 NFL Draft and was snapped up at #10 by the Giants as part of their ambitious defensive makeover. Working opposite free agent Janoris Jenkins, Eli played a solid game in the season opener, recording four tackles in his pro debut to help the Giants beat the Cowboys, 20–19. He made his first NFL interception in a December game against the Steelers and finished the season with 51 tackles.
Instead of taking an expected step forward in 2017, Eli played unevenly and was disciplined by the coaching staff on at least three occasions, including for texting on the sidelines during a game. Eventually his teammates came down on him, suggesting he needed to grow up. Landon Collins actually described him as “a cancer.” In 2018, new Giants coach Pat Shurmur said Eli would have a clean slate. He began the year in the starting lineup, but was sidelined in September by a groin injury. On October 23rd, the Giants traded him to the Saints for draft picks.
The trade reunited Eli was Ohio State teammate Von Bell and gave him new life with a playoff contender. Eli picked off two passes with the Saints and forced a fumble. New Orleans finished 13–3 and beat the Eagles in the playoffs. They came up short of a Super Bowl berth when they lost the NFC title game to the Rams, 26–23. Eli had 4 solo tackles in that game. In 2019, Eli helped the Saints repeat their 13-win performance with a solid season at the corner. He was third on the team with 53 solo tackles. The Saints lost their Wild Card meeting with the Vikings with Eli watching from the sidelines with an ankle injury.
New Orleans declined to pick up Eli’s option for 2020, making him a free agent. He hoped to sign with the Raiders but they couldn’t come to terms, so he returned to the field in the uniform of the Carolina Panthers. The ankle injury slowed him early in the season and the Panthers released him at the end of October. Healthy again in 2021, Eli inked a one-year deal with the Bengals, and contributed a pair of interceptions to a franchise turnaround that took Cincinnati all the way to the Super Bowl. In the big game, however, the Bengals could not hold on to a 20–16 fourth-quarter lead. Eli allowed Cooper Kupp to haul in the winning score.
Eli had a good solid season with the Bengals in 2022, helping them cruise to the division title with a 12–4 record. He had six tackles in playoff wins over the Ravens and Bills, and lived up to his reputation as a trash-talker after the less-than-stellar performance by Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs. Eli suggested couples therapy for the duo. After the Chiefs defeated Cincinnati 23–20 in the AFC title game, however, Eli got taste of his own medicine from multiple KC players—as well as Patrick Mahomes’s wife. During the game, Eli committed an egregious third-down holding penalty but his teammates bailed him out by keeping the Chiefs off the scoreboard on the drive.
The 2023 season found Eli in a Miami Dolphins uniform.