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No. 81 | |||||||
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Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | May 28, 1957||||||
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | St. Mark's (DE) | ||||||
College: | Temple | ||||||
Undrafted: | 1979 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
As a player: | |||||||
As a coach: | |||||||
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Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Steve Ross Watson (born May 28, 1957) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He later became a wide receivers coach.
After high school at St. Mark's High School in Wilmington, Delaware, Watson attended Temple University. In four seasons for the Owls, Watson caught 98 passes for 1,629 yards (5th in school history) and 7 touchdowns. He was also a star on the track and field team as a long jumper, winning two conference titles. He was inducted into the school's athletic hall of fame in 1995. [2]
Watson signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 1979 and played his entire nine year NFL career for the team, appearing in 125 games. After recording only six receptions in each of his first two seasons, in 1981 Watson had 60 receptions for a career-best 1,244 yards and league-leading 13 TDs (including a 95-yard reception in game 6, the longest in the NFL that season and 3rd longest in franchise history [3] ). His 20.73 yards per catch remains a Broncos franchise record, and earned him a spot in the 1981 Pro Bowl. [4] Watson had 555 receiving yards the 9-game strike-shortened season in 1982, hauled in 59 receptions for 1,133 yards in 1983 and a career-best 69 receptions for 1,170 in 1984. The 13-3 Broncos lost to Pittsburgh in the first round of the playoffs, but Watson had 11 receptions for a franchise record 177 yards. [5] Watson started 31 of 32 games over the next two years, but saw his production fall to 915 yards, then 699. In the 1986 season, Watson assisted the team to a championship appearance in Super Bowl XXI, catching 2 passes for 54 yards in the game. After starting just one game in the 1987 season, Watson retired with career totals of 353 receptions for 6,112 yards and 36 touchdowns.
Legend | |
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Led the league | |
Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
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GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
1979 | DEN | 16 | 0 | 6 | 83 | 13.8 | 22 | 0 |
1980 | DEN | 16 | 1 | 6 | 146 | 24.3 | 52 | 0 |
1981 | DEN | 16 | 13 | 60 | 1,244 | 20.7 | 95 | 13 |
1982 | DEN | 9 | 9 | 36 | 555 | 15.4 | 41 | 2 |
1983 | DEN | 16 | 16 | 59 | 1,133 | 19.2 | 78 | 5 |
1984 | DEN | 16 | 16 | 69 | 1,170 | 17.0 | 73 | 7 |
1985 | DEN | 16 | 15 | 61 | 915 | 15.0 | 60 | 5 |
1986 | DEN | 16 | 16 | 45 | 699 | 15.5 | 46 | 3 |
1987 | DEN | 5 | 1 | 11 | 167 | 15.2 | 49 | 1 |
126 | 87 | 353 | 6,112 | 17.3 | 95 | 36 |
Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
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GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
1979 | DEN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
1983 | DEN | 1 | 1 | 4 | 51 | 12.8 | 22 | 0 |
1984 | DEN | 1 | 1 | 11 | 177 | 16.1 | 52 | 1 |
1986 | DEN | 3 | 3 | 6 | 130 | 21.7 | 31 | 0 |
1987 | DEN | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
9 | 5 | 21 | 358 | 17.0 | 52 | 1 |
In 1993, Watson was inducted into the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame. [6] In 2000, he rejoined the Broncos as a defensive assistant. Since 2003 he has been a wide receivers coach. [7] In 2010, he was hired by the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team to be their wide receivers coach.
Lionel Thomas Taylor is an American former football player and coach. He played as a wide receiver primarily with the Denver Broncos of American Football League (AFL), he led the league in receptions for five of the first six years of the league's existence. The second player to lead a league in receptions for at least five seasons, Taylor is currently the last to do so. He was the third wide receiver to reach 500 receptions in pro football history. He was also a longtime assistant coach in the league, winning two Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2024, he was given the Award of Excellence by the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his work as an assistant. However, despite all of his accomplishments as a player and coach, he has yet to be inducted into the hall of fame.
William Arthur Johnson, better known as Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL) from 1974 through 1988. A 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time NFL Team selection, Johnson was one of the first players to display elaborate celebrations in the end zone.
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