Malone attended Station Camp High School in Gallatin, Tennessee, where he played high school football for the Bison. He had a successful high school career at Station Camp. As a junior in 2012, he had 28 receptions for 408 yards and five touchdowns. In addition, he had 15 rushes for 101 yards and a rushing touchdown. He had numerous accomplishments during his senior season in 2013. He had 71 receptions for 1,404 yards and 19 receiving touchdowns and 23 rushes for 227 yards and three rushing touchdowns during his senior season. His successful senior season warranted an invitation to play in the 2014 U.S. Army All-American Game.
In 2014, as a true freshman, Malone played in all 12 regular season games and the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl against Iowa. He made his collegiate debut against Utah State on August 31 at Neyland Stadium. In his collegiate debut, he had two receptions for 26 yards. Against SEC East rivalGeorgia on September 27, he had five receptions for 43 yards and a 20-yard rush in the loss at Sanford Stadium. Against Ole Miss, he had a season-high 75 yards on five receptions at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. He had his first career touchdown against Alabama in their annual rivalry game on October 25 at home. In the 2014 season, Malone had 23 receptions for 201 yards and a touchdown.
2015 season
In his sophomore season in 2015, Malone played in all 12 regular season games and the 2016 Outback Bowl against Northwestern. He started twelve games for the Volunteers. In the home opener, Malone had his first touchdown of the season in a 2OT loss to the Oklahoma Sooners. On October 10, he led the Vols in catches in their upset 38–31 victory over #19 Georgia at Neyland Stadium. He had his first career game with over 100 receiving yards at Kentucky at Commonwealth Stadium. In the game, he had a career-long 75-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Joshua Dobbs. He finished third on the team with 31 catches for 405 yards and two touchdowns. In the 2015 season, Malone had 31 receptions for 405 yards and two touchdowns.
2016 season
In his junior season in 2016, Malone appeared in all 12 regular season games and the bowl game. He had a 67-yard receiving touchdown in the season opening 20–13 overtime victory against Appalachian State on September 1. In the 2016 Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol against Virginia Tech, he had two receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown. Against the Ohio Bobcats the following week, he had five receptions for 69 yards and two touchdowns. He had four catches for 91 yards and a 42-yard touchdown in the 38–28 win against SEC East Rival Florida on September 24. On November 5, against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, he had five receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns. He had a career-high 121 receiving yards and one touchdown at Vanderbilt on November 26. In his final game with the Volunteers, he had five receptions for 120 yards and one touchdown in the 2016 Music City Bowl victory over Nebraska on December 30. In the 2016 season, he finished third in the SEC in receiving yards and touchdowns, with 972 and 11, respectively. After the 2016 season, Malone declared his intentions to enter the 2017 NFL Draft.
College statistics
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Professional career
Coming out of Tennessee, Malone was projected to be a third round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts. He received an invitation to the NFL combine and completed all of the required combine and positional drills. On March 31, 2017, Malone participated at Tennessee's pro day, along with Joshua Dobbs, Alvin Kamara, Cameron Sutton, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Derek Barnett, Jason Croom, former Saint's wide receiver Robert Meachem, and 17 other prospects. Around 100 scouts and team representatives from all 32 NFL teams attended, including Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin, as Malone performed all of the combine and positional drills. He was ranked the 12th best wide receiver prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.
The Cincinnati Bengals selected Malone in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He was the 18th wide receiver and the fifth of six Tennessee Volunteers to be selected in the 2017 NFL Draft. On May 17, 2017, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Malone to a four-year, $2.99 million contract with a signing bonus of $599,241. He joined a deep wide receiver group with the Bengals and competed with John Ross, Brandon LaFell, Tyler Boyd, and Cody Core throughout training camp for a job as the starting wide receiver. Head coachMarvin Lewis named Malone the fifth wide receiver on the Bengals' depth chart behind A. J. Green, Brandon LaFell, Cody Core, and Tyler Boyd. Although Malone was healthy, he was inactive for the first five games of the season. On October 22, 2017, he made his professional regular season debut during a 29–14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The following week, Malone caught two receptions for 35-yards and scored his first career touchdown on a 25-yard pass from Andy Dalton during a 24–23 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. On September 1, 2019, Malone was waived by the Bengals.
New York Jets
On September 4, 2019, Malone was signed to the New York Jets practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 19, 2019.
