John Paddock (American football)

John Paddock (born March 27, 2000) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ball State and Illinois.

Early life and high school
Paddock was born in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he attended Bloomfield Hills High School. Coming out of high school, Paddock was rated as a two star quarterback. Paddock committed to play college football at the Ball State University.

Ball State
In Paddock's first four seasons with Ball State, he appeared in only four games as a backup quarterback. In those four games, Paddock completed 24 of his 32 passes for 180 yards and an interception. In 2022, Paddock earned the starting quarterback job heading into week one. In week three of the 2022 season, Paddock completed 27 of his 44 passing attempts for 227 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception, as he got his first win as a starter shuting out Murray State. Paddock finished the 2022 season completing 286 of his 480 pass attempts for 2,719 yards and 18 touchdowns, with 14 interceptions, going 5-7 as a starter. After the conclusion of the 2022 season, Paddock decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Illinois
Paddock transfer to the University of Illinois as a walk on to play the final season of his college career. In week nine of the 2023 season, Paddock entered the game in the fourth quarter down by one score after starter Luke Altmyer went down with an injury. Paddock completed all three of his passes for 85 yards including the game winning touchdown, as he helped Illinois beat Minnesota 27-26. Paddock started the following week, throwing for 507 yards and four touchdowns with one interception and leading the Fighting Illini to a win in overtime over Indiana, 48–45.

Professional career
Paddock signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2024.