No. 82, 81, 83, 10 | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | Fort Campbell, Kentucky, U.S. | February 2, 1973||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 217 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Fort Worth (TX) Country Day | ||||||||
College: | Virginia | ||||||||
NFL draft: | 1996 / round: 5 / pick: 159 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
|
Patrick Christopher Jeffers (born February 2, 1973) is an American former professional football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, and Carolina Panthers. With the Broncos, he won Super Bowl XXXII. He played college football at the University of Virginia.
Jeffers attended Fort Worth Country Day School, where he was a two-time All-conference selection, playing as a wide receiver, cornerback, free safety, punter, placekicker. He finished his career with 52 receptions for 980 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He was a two-time All-conference selection in soccer. In track, he won the conference title in the 400 metre dash twice and set school records in the 200 and 400 metres.
Jeffers walked-on at the University of Virginia. As a redshirt freshman, his first reception was a 20-yard touchdown against the University of Maryland. He appeared in 11 games, tallying 9 receptions for 128 yards and 3 touchdowns.
As a sophomore, he played in the first 9 games (2 starts), before suffering a broken clavicle against Wake Forest University and missing 2 games. He led the team with 32 receptions for 580 yards and 6 touchdowns.
As a junior in 1994, he played in 11 games (4 starts), registering 33 receptions for 560 yards (17 yards avg.) and 3 touchdowns. His best game came against North Carolina State University, where he had 6 receptions for 153 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown.
As a senior, he missed 4 games with a hamstring injury, but still led the team with 34 receptions for 517 yards (15.2 yards avg.) and 3 touchdowns. At the time, he finished his college career with 108 receptions (fourth in school history) for 1,785 yards (fourth in school history) and 15 touchdowns. He also holds the school record for the longest streak of games with at least one reception (31).
Jeffers was selected by the Denver Broncos in the fifth round (159th overall) of the 1996 NFL draft. [1] As a rookie, he was used mostly on special teams, appearing in the first three games, before being declared inactive for the next 12 and playing again in the season finale against the San Diego Chargers.
The next year, he was the team's fourth wide receiver, appearing in 10 games and being declared inactive in 6. He played primarily on special teams, as part of a team that won Super Bowl XXXII. [2] On August 30, 1998, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for past considerations. [3]
In 1998, Jeffers spent the first half of the season learning the Dallas Cowboys offense and playing mainly on the scout team. He appeared in 8 games, finishing with 18 receptions for 330 yards and 2 touchdowns. [4] He also led the team with 7 receptions for 92 yards, in the first-round playoff loss against the Arizona Cardinals.
He was declared a restricted free agent at the end of the season and although he was seen as a player on the rise, the Cowboys gambled and tendered him a qualifying offer at his original draft round. The Carolina Panthers signed him to a one-year offer sheet for a $1.2 million base salary, [5] that the Cowboys did not to match. The team received a fifth round pick as compensation, that was eventually used to trade up to select Ebenezer Ekuban. [6]
Jeffers' new contract made him the highest paid wide receiver on the Carolina Panthers roster, but he still had to work his way into the starting lineup. He played in 15 games (10 starts) and had a breakout season, registering 63 receptions for 1,082 yards (17.2 yards avg.) and 12 touchdowns.
He finished strong, recording 5 straight 100-yard receiving games (two short of the NFL record). [7] He also set several franchise records:
On August 10, 2000, he was lost for the year after tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament, while playing in a preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. [8] Besides repairing the ligament, he had additional procedures performed in both knees and although he was able to rehabilitate his right knee, the left one deteriorated until needing microfracture surgery. [9]
Jeffers returned in 2001 to play 9 games in a reserve role, but was not able to regain his previous form. He was released on August 23, 2002. [10]
His sister is Allison Jeffers Dooley, who is married to Derek Dooley, former head coach at the University of Tennessee. He also has four children. [11]
Terry Tyree Glenn was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, and Dallas Cowboys. He was selected by the New England Patriots seventh overall in the 1996 NFL draft. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, earning consensus All-American honors in 1995.
Terrance Terrel Copper is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs. He played college football at East Carolina University.
Cedric James is an American former professional football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, and New England Patriots. He played college football at Texas Christian University.
Michael McColly "Butch" Johnson is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. He played college football for the UC Riverside Highlanders and was selected in the third round of the 1976 NFL draft.
Travis Wilson is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys. He was selected by the Browns in the third round of the 2006 NFL draft. He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners.
Michael Ray Renfro is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs.
Derek Dooley is an American football coach and former player who last served as a senior offensive analyst for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He served as the head football coach at Louisiana Tech University from 2007 to 2009 and the University of Tennessee from 2010 to 2012.
Ernest Lee Mills, III is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football for the Florida Gators.
Willie Aaron Green is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for the Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, and Denver Broncos in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Mississippi.
Willie Bernard Jackson Jr. is an American former professional football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of Florida. As a football coach, he was the wide receivers coach for the Orlando Apollos of the Alliance of American Football (AAF).
Keith O'Neal Jennings is an American former professional football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. He also was a member of the Las Vegas Outlaws in the XFL. He played college football at Clemson University.
Virgil Leo Green is an American college football coach and former professional tight end. He is the tight ends coach for the University of Nevada, Reno, a position he has held since 2023. He played college football at Nevada and was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL draft.
Terrance Tyrone Williams is an American professional football wide receiver who last played for the Galgos de Tijuana of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA). He played college football for the Baylor Bears, earning unanimous All-American honors in 2012. He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft, and played six seasons with the Cowboys.
Adam John Thielen is an American professional football wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Minnesota State Mavericks and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2013, playing for them for ten seasons. Thielen holds several NFL records, including eight straight games over 100+ yards receiving, and 74 receptions in the first half of a season.
Kelvin Benjamin is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles and was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft. He also played for the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.
Devontae Booker is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Utah. He was selected by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft.
Michael Gallup is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Butler Community College before transferring to Colorado State, where he was a consensus All-American in 2017. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round of the 2018 NFL draft.
Cedrick Wilson Jr. is an American professional football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boise State.
Malik Turner is an American professional football wide receiver for the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini, and was signed by the Seattle Seahawks in 2018 as an undrafted free agent. He has also played for the Dallas Cowboys.
Ventell Jamal Bryant is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Temple University.