Dede Westbrook

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Dede Westbrook
No. 12 – Minnesota Vikings
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1993-11-21) November 21, 1993 (age 28)
Cameron, Texas
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:178 lb (81 kg)
Career information
High school:C. H. Yoe
(Cameron, TX)
College:Oklahoma
NFL Draft:2017 / Round: 4 / Pick: 110
Career history
  • Jacksonville Jaguars (2017–2020)
  • Minnesota Vikings (2021–present)
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 16, 2021
Receptions:169
Receiving yards:1,784
Return yards:770
Rushing yards:125
Total touchdowns:10
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Decrick De'Shawn "Dede" Westbrook (/ˈdiːd/; born November 21, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma.

Early years[]

Westbrook attended C. H. Yoe High School in Cameron, Texas, where he played high school football for the Yoemen.[1] As a three-year letterer and starter, Westbrook caught a career total of 116 passes for 1,670 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also started at defensive back, racking 77 career tackles, 2 sacks, and 3 interceptions throughout his career.[2] Although he was originally a highly touted recruit, Dede received a season-ending injury early into his senior year when a bad tackle ruptured his lower intestine. He spent over a month recovering in a hospital bed and several more months recovering through therapy, which took a toll on his physical and mental health; many recruiters withdrew their interest when his weight and grades both started to plummet. Many believed Dede's football career was permanently over.[3]

Dede was regarded as a three-star recruit and was ranked the No. 97 wide receiver prospect in the Class of 2012 by ESPN.[4] After getting scholarship offers from Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, UTEP, Utah State, and Wyoming, Dede committed to Texas State University to play for the Texas State Bobcats. However, Dede's grades were still not good enough to allow him to be admitted into the school, so he ultimately went the junior college route and played at Blinn College.

While in high school, Dede also excelled in basketball and track.

College career[]

After fully recovering from his injury, Westbrook had a breakout season at Blinn College where he caught 1,471 yards and 13 touchdowns.[5] Dede was named one of the top junior college recruits and received over 30 scholarship offers, including from some who rescinded their offers when he was injured in high school. He ultimately transferred to the University of Oklahoma to play under head coach Bob Stoops.[6][7] In his first year at Oklahoma in 2015, he started all 13 games and had 46 receptions for 743 yards and four touchdowns.[8] Westbrook became Oklahoma's number one wide receiver during his senior year in 2016. Against Texas, he set a school record with 232 receiving yards, breaking the previous record of 217 held by Ryan Broyles.[9][10][11] He led the Big 12 Conference with 1,524 receiving yards and 17 receiving touchdowns in 2016.[12]

On December 5, 2016, Westbrook was announced as one of the finalists for the 2016 Heisman Trophy, along with quarterbacks Deshaun Watson, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, and defensive back Jabrill Peppers, from Clemson, Louisville, Oklahoma, and Michigan, respectively.[13] He ended up finishing in fourth place in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Mayfield (3rd), Watson (2nd), and Jackson (1st).[14]

College statistics[]

Dede Westbrook Receiving
Year Team GP Rec Yards TDs
2015 Oklahoma 13 46 743 4
2016 Oklahoma 13 80 1,524 17
College Totals 26 126 2,208 21

Source:[15]

Professional career[]

Westbrook declined an invitation to play in the Senior Bowl. He received an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine, but decided to not perform any drills. At Oklahoma's Pro Day, he elected to run all the required combine drills. After finally performing for scouts and team representatives, Westbrook draft projections varied from the second round to the fourth round from draft experts and analysts. He was ranked the third best wide receiver by Pro Football Focus, the 14th best by Sports Illustrated, and was ranked the 15th best by NFLDraftScout.com.[16][17]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 11+7⁄8 in
(1.83 m) 		178 lb
(81 kg) 		30+5⁄8 in
(0.78 m) 		9 in
(0.23 m)		 4.39 s 1.54 s 2.54 s 4.34 s 7.24 s 34.5 in
(0.88 m)		 10 ft 0 in
(3.05 m)		 8 reps
All values from Oklahoma's Pro Day[18][19]

Jacksonville Jaguars[]

The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Westbrook in the fourth round (110th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft. He was the 15th wide receiver selected in 2017.[20]

2017 season[]

On May 16, 2017, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Westbrook to a four-year, $3.07 million contract with a signing bonus of $676,156.[21] He was placed on injured reserve with a designation to return on September 8, 2017, after dealing with a core muscle injury.[22] On November 18, he was activated off injured reserve.[23] Overall, in his rookie season, he totaled 27 receptions for 339 yards and one touchdown.[24]

The Jaguars made the 2017 NFL playoffs as the #3-seed in the AFC.[25] In the Wild Card Round, they defeated the Buffalo Bills, 10–3. In his first career postseason game, Westbrook caught five passes for 48 yards on eight targets, which included a 20-yard reception in the beginning of the third quarter. He was the game's leading receiver.[26] In the Divisional Round against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he had an eight-yard reception in the 45–42 victory.[27] In the AFC Championship loss to the New England Patriots, he had a 24-yard reception.[28]

2018 season[]

In Week 2 against the New England Patriots, Westbrook recorded a 61-yard touchdown reception in the 31–20 victory.[29] In Week 4, in a victory over the New York Jets, he had a career-high nine receptions for 130 receiving yards in the 31–12 victory.[30] In Week 15, against the Washington Redskins, he recorded a 74-yard punt return touchdown in the 16–13 loss.[31][32] Overall, he finished the 2018 season with 66 receptions for 717 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.[33] He led the Jaguars in receptions, yards, and touchdowns in 2018.[34]

2019 season[]

Over the first six games of the 2019 season, Westbrook totaled 26 receptions for 280 receiving yards and one touchdown. In Week 7, a 27–17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, he had six receptions for 103 receiving yards.[35] Overall, he finished the season with 66 receptions for 660 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.[36]

2020 season[]

Westbrook entered 2020 fourth on the Jaguars wide receiver depth chart. In Week 7, he suffered a torn ACL and was placed on injured reserve on October 26.[37]

Minnesota Vikings[]

On July 26, 2021, Westbrook signed with the Minnesota Vikings on a one-year contract.[38]

NFL career statistics[]

Year Team Games Receiving
GP GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2017 JAX 7 5 27 339 12.1 29 1
2018 JAX 15 8 63 707 11.2 61T 5
2019 JAX 15 11 66 660 10.0 39 3
2020 JAX 2 0 1 4 4.0 4 0
Career 40 24 160 1,720 10.8 61T 9

References[]

  1. ^ "Cameron Yoe product Dede Westbrook picked by Jacksonville". KBTX. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  2. ^ "Maxpreps".
  3. ^ "Dede Westbrook's road to the Heisman ceremony".
  4. ^ "Recruiting Profile". ESPN.
  5. ^ "Blinn Football Roster".
  6. ^ Marshall, Kendrick. "OU football: Dede Westbrook talks NFL life, Bob Stoops during autograph signing". Tulsa World. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  7. ^ Tramel, Berry (April 14, 2015). "Oklahoma football: Dede Westbrook can have an impact". NewsOK.com. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  8. ^ Bailey, Eric (August 24, 2016). "Oklahoma football: Dede Westbrook will be No. 1 target of Mayfield, opposing defenses". Tulsa World. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  9. ^ Vardeman, Brady (October 8, 2016). "Dede Westbrook sets Oklahoma record for receiving yards in a game". SportsDay. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  10. ^ Pryor, Brooke (October 9, 2016). "OU football: Dede Westbrook emerges as go-to receiver". NewsOK.com. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  11. ^ Olson, Max (October 8, 2016). "Inside the play: Dede Westbrook's TD reception sets tone for Oklahoma". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  12. ^ "2016 Big 12 Conference Leaders". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  13. ^ Adelson, Andrea (December 6, 2016). "L'ville's Jackson leads group of Heisman finalists". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  14. ^ "2016 Heisman Trophy Voting". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  15. ^ "Dede Westbrook College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  16. ^ Burke, Chris (April 24, 2017). "2017 NFL draft rankings: Top prospects by position". si.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  17. ^ "Top 32 Prospects for the 2017 NFL Draft". Profootballfocus.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  18. ^ "NFL Draft Profile: Dede Westbrook". NFL.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  19. ^ "Dede Westbrook, DS #15 WR, Oklahoma". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  20. ^ Sessler, Marc (April 29, 2017). "Jaguars draft WR Dede Westbrook in fourth round". NFL.com.
  21. ^ "Spotrac.com: Dede Westbrook contract". spotrac.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  22. ^ "Jaguars Sign Offensive Lineman Josh Walker; Claim Safety Calvin Pryor Off Waivers". Jaguars.com. September 8, 2017. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017.
  23. ^ "Jaguars make roster moves". Jaguars.com. November 18, 2017.
  24. ^ "Dede Westbrook 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  25. ^ "2017 Jacksonville Jaguars Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  26. ^ "Wild Card - Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars - January 7th, 2018". Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  27. ^ "Divisional Round - Jacksonville Jaguars at Pittsburgh Steelers - January 14th, 2018". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  28. ^ "AFC Championship - Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots - January 21st, 2018". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  29. ^ "Jaguars' Dede Westbrook: Burns Patriots with 61-yard score". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  30. ^ "Jaguars' Dede Westbrook: Racks up 141 scrimmage yards". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  31. ^ "Watch: Dede Westbrook returns punt for TD vs. Redskins". SI.com. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  32. ^ Long, Mark (December 16, 2018). "Johnson leads Redskins to late scores, 16-13 win at Jaguars". The Edwardsville Intelligencer. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  33. ^ "Dede Westbrook 2018 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  34. ^ "2018 Jacksonville Jaguars Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  35. ^ "Jacksonville Jaguars at Cincinnati Bengals - October 20th, 2019". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  36. ^ "Dede Westbrook 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  37. ^ Alper, Josh (October 26, 2020). "Report: Jaguars fear torn ACL for Dede Westbrook". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
  38. ^ Smith, Eric (July 26, 2021). "Vikings Boost Receiving & Returner Options by Signing Dede Westbrook". Vikings.com.

External links[]

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