A massive run-stuffing tackle who has bounced between rosters while staying a reliable presence up front.
Leki Fotu built his reputation at Utah as a two-way force in the trenches, and at 6-foot-5 and over 300 pounds he has spent his NFL career as a space-eating interior defender. His 2025 season took him through two different rosters, a reminder of how thin the margins are for defensive tackles fighting for snaps.
Path to the league
Fotu played four seasons at Utah from 2016 to 2019, twice earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors and picking up All-America recognition as a senior. The Arizona Cardinals selected him in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, 114th overall.
Career highlights
Fotu spent his first four NFL seasons with Arizona before moving on to the Jets, Raiders and Texans. Across his career he has totaled 103 tackles, 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble in 66 regular-season games, carving out a role as a rotational run-defense specialist along the interior line.
2025 season recap
Fotu split the 2025 season between two teams, appearing in six games for the Las Vegas Raiders before his release in mid-December. He signed with the Houston Texans' practice squad later that month and got into two postseason games for Houston.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Leki Fotu
- Pro Football Reference: Leki Fotu
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Defense
6 games played▶Defense · career
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | SACK | INT | FF | FR | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | raiders | 6 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | texans | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 2025 Totals | 8 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | jets | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | cardinals | 11 | 28 | 15 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | cardinals | 17 | 31 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | cardinals | 17 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 2020 | cardinals | 11 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Defensive Tackle
- Group
- defense
- College
- Utah
- Hometown
- West Valley City, UT, USA
- Age
- 27
- Status
- active
