Brandon LaFell
{{Short description|American football player (born 1986)}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Brandon LaFell
| image = Brandon LaFell Panthers.jpg
| caption = LaFell with the Carolina Panthers in 2011
| number = 11, 19
| position = Wide receiver
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1986|11|04|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Houston, Texas, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lbs = 210
| high_school = Lamar (Houston, Texas)
| college = LSU (2005–2009)
| draftyear = 2010
| draftround = 3
| draftpick = 78
| pastteams = * Carolina Panthers ({{NFL Year|2010}}–{{NFL Year|2013}})
- New England Patriots ({{NFL Year|2014}}–{{NFL Year|2015}})
- Cincinnati Bengals ({{NFL Year|2016}}–{{NFL Year|2017}})
- Oakland Raiders ({{NFL Year|2018}})
| highlights = * Super Bowl champion (XLIX)
- BCS national champion (2007)
- First-team All-SEC (2008)
- Second-team All-SEC (2009)
| statlabel1 = Receptions
| statvalue1 = 406
| statlabel2 = Receiving yards
| statvalue2 = 5,398
| statlabel3 = Receiving touchdowns
| statvalue3 = 31
| pfr = LaFeBr00
}}
Brandon Josiah LaFell{{cite web | title=ESPN Profile | work= ESPN.com | url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/12576 }} (born November 4, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers. He was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft, and has also played for the New England Patriots, where he was a member of the Super Bowl XLIX winning team, the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Oakland Raiders.
Early life
LaFell attended Lamar High School in Houston, where he played football, basketball, and ran track. He was coached by Tom Nolen. In football, LaFell caught 46 passes for 1,116 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior. Also starring on special teams, he returned punts of 65 and 58 yards for touchdowns. LaFell was a member of the Houston Chronicle Top 100 and named first-team All-Greater Houston Area in 2004. In basketball, LaFell was a standout point guard. In track and field, LaFell competed in the high jump event.
College career
After redshirting his initial year at LSU, LaFell saw action in 11 of the Tigers’ 13 games in 2006. His first career play was a 58-yard touchdown reception against Louisiana-Lafayette in week one. On the year, LaFell caught five passes that went for 140 yards and two touchdowns. He received Freshman All-SEC honors by the coaches.
In 2007, as a sophomore, LaFell played in all 14 games with nine starts. He ranked first on team in receiving yards (656) and second in receptions (50), while catching four touchdown passes and averaging 13.1 yards a reception. LaFell helped LSU to win the BCS National Championship that year.
As a junior, LaFell emerged as one of the top receivers in the country, as he caught 63 passes for 929 yards and eight touchdowns. He ranked second in the SEC in yards per game with 71.5 per contest and was third in the league with 4.8 receptions per contest. LaFell subsequently earned First-team All-SEC honors by the Associated Press.
Professional career
{{nfl predraft
| height ft = 6
| height in = 2 1/2
| weight = 211
| dash = 4.54
| ten split = 1.58
| twenty split = 2.60
| shuttle = 4.23
| cone drill = 6.81
| vertical = 36.0
| broad ft = 9
| broad in = 7
| bench = 11
| wonderlic =
| arm span = 32 3/4
| hand span = 8 3/4
| note = All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day{{Cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/prospects/brandon-lafell/32004c41-4618-4731-176f-c7442d9b308e |title=Brandon LaFell Draft and Combine Prospect Profile |website=NFL.com |access-date=January 20, 2022}}{{Cite web |url=http://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=57233&DraftYear=2010 |title=Brandon LaFell, LSU, WR, 2010 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football |website=draftscout.com |access-date=January 20, 2022}}
}}
LaFell was considered one of the best wide receivers in his draft class, and drew comparisons to Dwayne Bowe, another wide receiver out of LSU.{{Citation |last=Rang |first=Rob |date=July 10, 2009 |title=Top 32 seniors: Top heavy with the heftier prospects |newspaper=NFLDraftScout.com |url=http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/story/11942391 }}{{Citation |url=http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/prospectrankings/TSX/2010_WR |title=2010 NFL Draft WR ranking |work=CBS Sports |access-date=February 8, 2010 }}{{Cite web |last=Brandt |first=Gil |author-link=Gil Brandt |date=July 23, 2009 |title=Next year's top receiver prospects feature a variety of skills |url=http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d810f6578 |website=NFL.com}}
=Carolina Panthers=
On April 23, 2010, LaFell was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the third round, 78th overall.{{Cite web |title=2010 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2010/draft.htm |access-date=May 13, 2023 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} Despite not starting over Steve Smith and David Gettis, he gradually gained playing time, eventually taking the #3 slot at receiver. He recorded his first NFL touchdown in Week 8 against the St. Louis Rams, a 17-yard pass from Matt Moore.
He finished the season with 38 catches for 468 yards; his longest catch was of 44 yards. He also gained 60 additional yards on the ground, all of which came on a single end-around play in Week 17 against the Atlanta Falcons, his longest gain of the season.
LaFell set a Carolina Panthers franchise record on Christmas Eve in 2011 with a 91-yard touchdown catch from rookie quarterback Cam Newton. It was the longest pass play in Panther history.
=New England Patriots=
On March 15, 2014, LaFell signed a three-year, $9 million contract with the New England Patriots. He chose to wear #19 because friend and former teammate Ted Ginn Jr. wears the same number.{{cite web|work=NFL.com|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/brandon-lafell-to-sign-with-new-england-patriots-0ap2000000334408|title=Brandon LaFell to sign with New England Patriots|first=Gregg|last=Rosenthal|date=March 15, 2014|access-date=March 16, 2014}} Against the Chicago Bears in Week 8, LaFell recorded a career-high eleven catches for 124 yards and a touchdown.{{cite web|last=Mayer|first=Larry|url=http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-lunchWithLarry/Lunch-with-Larry-102814/edfd4e56-ca9c-4f51-8558-fc5c0e432dd5|title=Lunch with Larry 10.28.14|publisher=Chicago Bears|date=October 28, 2014|access-date=November 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113035312/http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-lunchWithLarry/Lunch-with-Larry-102814/edfd4e56-ca9c-4f51-8558-fc5c0e432dd5|archive-date=November 13, 2014|url-status=dead}} In 2014, LaFell had his most prolific season, recording 74 catches for 953 yards and 7 touchdowns. LaFell helped the Patriots finish 12–4. In the divisional round against the Baltimore Ravens, with the Patriots down 31–28, LaFell caught the game-winning touchdown to help the Patriots defeat the Ravens 35–31. In Super Bowl XLIX, LaFell had 4 catches for 29 yards and the first touchdown of the game as the Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28–24.
LaFell started the 2015 season on PUP with a foot injury and missed the first five games of the season before returning in New England's 30–23 win over the New York Jets.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/patriots-wideout-brandon-lafell-headed-to-pup-list-0ap3000000523227 |title=Patriots wideout Brandon LaFell headed to PUP list |last=Orr |first=Conor |date=September 5, 2015 |website=NFL.com |access-date=November 17, 2016}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/patriots-activate-wr-brandon-lafell-from-pup-0ap3000000564277 |title=Patriots activate WR Brandon LaFell from PUP |last=Patra |first=Kevin |date=October 24, 2015 |website=NFL.com |access-date=November 17, 2016}} LaFell struggled throughout the 2015 season with multiple drops and failed to live up to his career performance the previous year.
On March 2, 2016, LaFell was released by the Patriots.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/patriots-release-brandon-lafell-scott-chandler-0ap3000000640824 |title=Patriots release Brandon LaFell, Scott Chandler |last=Sessler |first=Marc |date=March 2, 2016 |website=NFL.com |access-date=November 17, 2016}}{{cite web|title=Patriots release TE Scott Chandler and WR Brandon LaFell|url=http://www.patriots.com/news/2016/03/02/patriots-release-te-scott-chandler-and-wr-brandon-lafell|website=Patriots.com|date=March 2, 2016|access-date=November 17, 2016}}
=Cincinnati Bengals=
On March 30, 2016, LaFell signed with the Cincinnati Bengals.{{cite web|work=NFL.com|url=http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000648994/article/cincinnati-bengals-agree-to-deal-with-brandon-lafell|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330234706/http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000648994/article/cincinnati-bengals-agree-to-deal-with-brandon-lafell|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 30, 2016|title=Cincinnati Bengals agree to deal with Brandon LaFell|first=Kevin|last=Patra|date=March 30, 2016|access-date=March 30, 2016}}
On September 11, 2016, LaFell made his Bengals debut in a 23–22 victory over the New York Jets. He had four receptions for 91 yards.{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201609110nyj.htm|title=Cincinnati Bengals at New York Jets - September 11th, 2016|work=Pro-Football-Reference.com|access-date=November 27, 2017}} He played 16 games in 2016, starting 14 of them as the Bengals went 6–9–1 and missed the playoffs. He finished the season with 64 receptions for 862 yards and six touchdowns.{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LaFeBr00.htm|title=Brandon LaFell|work=Pro-Football-Reference.com|access-date=November 27, 2017}}
On March 8, 2017, LaFell signed a two-year contract extension with the Bengals.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/bengals-re-sign-wr-brandon-lafell-0ap3000000791533 |title=Bengals re-signing WR Brandon LaFell |last=Patra |first=Kevin |date=March 8, 2017 |website=NFL.com |access-date=March 31, 2019}}
On September 10, 2017, LaFell began the 2017 season with three receptions for 24 yards in a 20–0 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201709100cin.htm|title=Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals - September 10th, 2017|work=Pro-Football-Reference.com|access-date=September 24, 2017}} He finished the season with 52 receptions for 548 yards and three touchdowns.
On August 2, 2018, Lafell was released by the Bengals.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/bengals-release-veteran-receiver-brandon-lafell-0ap3000000944048 |title=Bengals release veteran receiver Brandon LaFell |last=Patra |first=Kevin |date=August 2, 2018 |website=NFL.com |access-date=March 31, 2019}}
=Oakland Raiders=
On September 3, 2018, LaFell signed with the Oakland Raiders.{{cite web|work=NFL.com|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/raiders-sign-receiver-brandon-lafell-to-one-year-deal-0ap3000000957775|title=Raiders sign receiver Brandon LaFell to one-year deal|first=Nick|last=Shook|date=September 3, 2018|access-date=September 3, 2018}} He played in six games, recording 12 catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns, before suffering a torn Achilles in Week 11.{{Cite web |title=Brandon LaFell 2018 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LaFeBr00/gamelog/2018/ |access-date=2024-10-18 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He was placed on injured reserve on November 19, 2018.{{Cite web |date=November 19, 2018 |title=Raiders sign wide receiver Keon Hatcher, place LaFell on IR |url=https://www.raiders.com/news/raiders-sign-wide-receiver-keon-hatcher-place-lafell-on-ir |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=Raiders.com}}
NFL career statistics
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" | |||||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="6"| Receiving ! colspan="5"| Rushing ! colspan="2"| Fumbles | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Tgt | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | |
| 2010 | CAR
| 14 || 2 || 38 || 75 || 468 || 12.3 || 44 || 1 || 1 || 60 || 60.0 || 60 || 0 || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 2011 | CAR
| 16 || 6 || 36 || 56 || 613 || 17.0 || 91 || 3 || — || — || — || — || — || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 2012 | CAR
| 14 || 12 || 44 || 76 || 677 || 15.4 || 62 || 4 || 3 || 35 || 11.7 || 25 || 0 || 1 || 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 2013 | CAR
| 16 || 16 || 49 || 88 || 627 || 12.8 || 79 || 5 || 2 || 15 || 7.5 || 9 || 0 || 1 || 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 2014 | NE
| 16 || 13 || 74 || 119 || 953 || 12.9 || 56 || 7 || 2 || 13 || 6.5 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 2015 | NE
| 11 || 7 || 37 || 74 || 515 || 13.9 || 54 || 0 || 2 || 9 || 4.5 || 9 || 0 || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | CIN
| 16 || 14 || 64 || 106 || 862 || 13.5 || 86 || 6 || 1 || -2 || -2.0 || -2 || 0 || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 2017 | CIN
| 16 || 15 || 52 || 88 || 548 || 10.5 || 45 || 3 || — || — || — || — || — || 1 || 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 2018 | OAK
| 6 || 5 || 12 || 16 || 135 || 11.3 || 24 || 2 || — || — || — || — || — || 0 || 0 | ||||||||||||||
| colspan="2"| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LaFeBr00.htm Total] | 125 | 90 | 406 | 704 | 5,398 | 13.3 | 91 | 31 | 11 | 130 | 11.8 | 60 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110517163243/http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=27812&SPID=2164&DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=174062&Q_SEASON=2007 LSU Tigers bio]
{{2007 LSU Tigers football navbox}}
{{Panthers2010DraftPicks}}
{{Super Bowl XLIX}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lafell, Brandon}}
Category:Players of American football from Houston
Category:Lamar High School (Houston) alumni
Category:American football wide receivers
Category:LSU Tigers football players
Category:Carolina Panthers players
Category:New England Patriots players