Patrick Jeffers

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.{{Cite web |title=1996 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1996/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19980124&id=cbUsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2yYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5623,3479877&hl=es|title=Time for guard to operate|publisher=Star-News|access-date=February 19, 2018}} On August 30, 1998, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for past considerations.{{cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1998/08/31/nfl-transactions-9/|title=NFL transactions|publisher=The Baltimore Sun|access-date=February 19, 2018}}

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.{{Cite news |date=1998-12-04 |title=New Cowboy's receiver makes big impression |pages=69 |work=Amarillo Daily News |agency=Associated Press |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/texas/amarillo/amarillo-daily-news/1998/12-04/page-69/ |access-date=2023-01-22 |via=NewspaperArchive}} 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,{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19991231&id=YY9XAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KvIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6601,6942184&hl=es|title=Leaf, slow to recover, placed on IR|publisher=The Spokesman-Review|access-date=February 19, 2018}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://newsok.com/article/2649348/nfl|title=NFL|date=13 April 1999|publisher=The Oklahoman|access-date=February 19, 2018}}

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).{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1683&dat=19991230&id=r6YcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cC8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6792,8399234&hl=es|title=Hot streak earns Jeffers big money|publisher=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|access-date=February 19, 2018}} He also set several franchise records:

• 17.2 yards per reception average.
• 6 consecutive games with a touchdown reception.
• 12 touchdown receptions in a season (tied the team record).
• 88-yard reception against the Pittsburgh Steelers (second longest in team history)
• Teamed with Muhsin Muhammad (1,253 yards) to become the first tandem in Panthers history to each register 1,000 receiving yards in the same season.

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.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=20000812&id=cHpaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tB4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=3881,3381845&hl=es|title=Panthers lose major part of high-powered passig game|publisher=Star-News|access-date=February 19, 2018}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=20020505&id=0w1PAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WR8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4850,1179158&hl=es|title=Panthers' Jeffers has more surgery|publisher=Star-News|access-date=February 19, 2018}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1980&dat=20020824&id=PH4iAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Kq8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=5893,4256323&hl=es|title=Panthers release receiver Jeffers, 3 others|publisher=The Item|access-date=February 19, 2018}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://utsports.com/news/2012/11/18/Dooley_Will_Not_Return_As_Vols_Head_Coach.aspx|title=Dooley Will Not Return As Vols' Head Coach|publisher=University of Tennessee|access-date=February 19, 2018}}

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• [https://virginiasports.com/news/1999/11/11/Patrick_Jeffers_Is_Still_In_The_Fairytale.aspx Patrick Jeffers Is Still In The Fairytale]

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Category:1973 births

Category:Living people

Category:Players of American football from Fort Worth, Texas

Category:American football wide receivers

Category:Virginia Cavaliers football players

Category:Denver Broncos players

Category:Dallas Cowboys players

Category:Carolina Panthers players