Christopher Kelechi Paul (born November 19, 1998) is an American professional football guard for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane and was drafted by the Commanders in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft. Paul is the grandson of the former Nigerian president Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi and the older brother of NFL offensive tackle Patrick Paul. He has released R&B music under the stage name The Seventh.
Paul was ranked as a twostar recruit by 247Sports coming out of high school. He enrolled at The University of Tulsa in 2017 and played for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team, graduating with a bachelor's degree in computer information systems in May 2021. Paul played in the 2022 Senior Bowl for the American team.
Paul was selected by the Washington Commanders in the seventh round (230th overall) of the 2022 NFL draft and signed his four-year rookie contract on May 6, 2022. He made his first career start in the final game of his rookie season.
In the 2023 offseason, Paul lost out to Saahdiq Charles for the starting left guard position. After Charles was placed on injured reserve, Paul took over as starter in Week 8.
Starting in Week 3 of the 2025 season, the Commanders named Paul as the starting left guard replacing Brandon Coleman who started the first two games of the season. He played in all 17 games of the regular season, including 15 starts at left guard.
On March 19, 2026, Paul re-signed with Commanders on a one-year contract.
Paul's grandfather is Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, who served as the President of Nigeria in 1966 before being assassinated. His younger brother Patrick was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the second round of 2024 NFL draft. Paul has released R&B music under the stage name The Seventh.