He played college football at Penn State, and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft.

He has also been a member of the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders.

[5][6] During his junior season in 2014, James broke the school's record for career touchdowns by a tight end, passing Ted Kwalick's 10.

[10] Coming out of Penn State, James was projected to be drafted anywhere from the fourth to sixth round by the majority of NFL analysts and scouts.

[11] On March 19, 2015, James attended Penn State's annual Pro Day and succeeded in lowering his times in the 40, 20, and 10-yard dash from the combine.

[10][17] On November 8, 2015, James made his professional regular season debut and caught two passes for 13 yards and also scored his first touchdown on a four-yard reception in a 38–35 victory over the Oakland Raiders.

[20] On January 8, 2017, James started in his first career postseason game and caught one pass for nine yards as the Steelers defeated the Miami Dolphins 30–12 in the AFC Wild Card Round.

[21] He began the regular season as the Steeler's de facto starting tight end ahead of Vance McDonald.

[22] On September 10, in the season opening 21–18 victory over the Cleveland Browns, James had six receptions for 41 yards and two touchdowns for his first career multi-touchdown game.

The controversial moment loomed large as Ben Roethlisberger threw an interception two plays later, resulting in the Steelers losing 27–24 and giving the Patriots another AFC East title and eventual #1 seed.

[27] In Week 2 of the 2018 season, against the Kansas City Chiefs, James recorded a career-high 138 receiving yards and a touchdown on five receptions in the 42–37 loss.