| Dell Pettus | |
| Currentteam: | New England Patriots |
| Number: | 24 |
| Position: | Safety |
| Birth Date: | 2 June 2001 |
| Birth Place: | Huntsville, Alabama, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 11 |
| Weight Lb: | 200 |
| Highlights: | |
| High School: | Sparkman (Harvest, Alabama) |
| College: | Troy (2019–2023) |
| Undraftedyear: | 2024 |
| Pastteams: |
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| Status: | Active |
| Pfr: | PettDe00 |
Dell Pettus (born June 2, 2001) is an American professional football safety for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Troy Trojans.
Pettus grew up in Harvest, Alabama and attended Sparkman High School, where he lettered in football, baseball and track & field. He finished his high school football career with 10 interceptions, 132 tackles, two forced fumbles and 17 tackles for loss. He was a three-star rated recruit and was named one of the top 50 players in the state of Alabama.[1] He committed to play college football at Troy University.[2]
During Pettus's true freshman season in 2019, he played in all 12 games and started 10 of them at free safety. He finished the season with a freshman leading 63 total tackles. He also averaged 5.9 tackles during his starting games.[3] He was named to the All-Sun Belt team as an honorable mention.[4] During the 2020 season, he played in and started all 11 games at strong safety. He finished the season with 58 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, five pass breakups, 44 intercepted yards for an interception and a touchdown.[5] He was named to the All-Sun Belt Third Team.[6] During the 2021 season, he played in and started all 12 games, finishing the season with 54 tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss and a field goal attempt against Liberty.[7] During the 2022 season, he played in and started all 14 games at strong safety. He finished the season with 66 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery.[8] During the 2023 season, he played in and started all 14 games, finishing the season with 74 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks, four pass breakups and a fumble recovery.[9] He was named to the All-Sun Belt Second Team.[10]
Pettus went undrafted in the 2024 NFL draft and was signed shortly after by the New England Patriots.[11]