Zaire Mitchell-Paden

Zaire Mitchell-Paden (born August 20, 1999) is an American football tight end for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame College and FAU.

Early life and high school
Mitchell-Paden grew up in Rockville, Maryland and attended Richard Montgomery High School where he lettered in football and basketball.

Notre Dame College
Mitchell-Paden began his college career at Notre Dame College. During his true freshman season in 2017, he appeared in 10 games and finished the season with two receptions, 16 yards, four kick returns for 26 yards and two tackles. During the 2018 season, he appeared in and started all 14 games and finished the season with 32 caught passes for 435 yards, four touchdowns, one blocked punt and another blocked punt for a touchdown. During the 2019 season, he appeared in 13 games and finished the season with 53 caught passes for 573 yards and six touchdowns. During the 2020 season, he appeared in all five games and finished the season with 14 caught passes for 182 yards.

On April 22, 2021, Mitchell-Paden announced that he would be transferring to Florida Atlantic.

Florida Atlantic
During the 2021 season, he played in 12 games and finished the season with 9 caught passes for 90 yards and a touchdown.

Professional career
On April 30, 2022, Mitchell-Paden was signed to the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent after going unselected in the 2022 NFL Draft. He was signed to the practice squad on August 31, 2022. On January 9, 2023, he was signed to a reserve/futures contract. He was waived on August 29, 2023 but was resigned to the practice squad two days later. On September 30, 2023, he was elevated to the active roster but was resigned back to the practice squad two days later. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 15, 2024.