| No. 12 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Wide receiver, Return specialist | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | (1993-11-21)November 21, 1993 (age 31) Cameron, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 178 lb (81 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | C. H. Yoe (Cameron, Texas) | ||||||||||||
| College: | |||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2017: 4th round, 110th pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Decrick De'Shawn "Dede"Westbrook (/ˈdiːd/; born November 21, 1993) is an American former professionalfootballwide receiver andreturn specialist. He playedcollege football for theOklahoma Sooners, winning theBiletnikoff Award in 2016. He was selected 110th overall in the2017 NFL draft by theJacksonville Jaguars, where he played until 2020. He also played for theMinnesota Vikings in 2021.
Westbrook attendedC. H. Yoe High School inCameron, Texas, where he playedhigh 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 25touchdowns. He also started atdefensive back, racking 77 careertackles, 2sacks, and 3interceptions 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. 97wide receiver prospect in the Class of 2012 byESPN.[4] After getting scholarship offers fromOklahoma State,Texas Tech,UTEP,Utah State, andWyoming, Dede committed toTexas State University to play for theTexas 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 atBlinn College.
While in high school, Dede excelled in basketball and track.[citation needed]
After fully recovering from his injury, Westbrook had a breakout season atBlinn College where he caught passes for 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 theUniversity of Oklahoma to play under head coachBob Stoops.[6][7] In his first year at Oklahoma in 2015, he started all 13 games and had 46receptions for 743 yards and fourtouchdowns.[8] Westbrook became Oklahoma's number one wide receiver during his senior year in 2016. AgainstTexas, he set a school record with 232 receiving yards in a single game, breaking the previous record of 217 held byRyan Broyles.[9][10][11] He led theBig 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 quarterbacksDeshaun Watson,Lamar Jackson,Baker Mayfield, and defensive backJabrill Peppers, from Clemson, Louisville, Oklahoma, and Michigan, respectively.[13] He ended up finishing in fourth place in theHeisman Trophy voting behind Mayfield (3rd), Watson (2nd), and Jackson (1st).[14]
| Season | Team | GP | Receiving | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | TD | |||
| 2015 | Oklahoma | 13 | 46 | 743 | 4 |
| 2016 | Oklahoma | 13 | 80 | 1,524 | 17 |
| Totals | 26 | 126 | 2,208 | 21 | |
Westbrook declined an invitation to play in theSenior Bowl. He received an invitation to theNFL Scouting Combine, but decided to not perform any drills. At Oklahoma'sPro 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 byPro Football Focus, the 14th best bySports Illustrated, and was ranked the 15th best by NFLDraftScout.com.[15][16]
| 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 ft11+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 fromOklahoma's Pro Day[17][18] | ||||||||||||
TheJacksonville Jaguars selected Westbrook in the fourth round (110th overall) of the2017 NFL draft.[19] He was the 15th wide receiver selected in 2017.[20] On May 16, 2017, the Jaguars signed Westbrook to a four-year, $3.07 million contract with a signing bonus of $676,156.[21] He was placed oninjured 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 theAmerican Football Conference (AFC).[25] In theWild Card Round, they defeated theBuffalo 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 theDivisional Round against thePittsburgh Steelers, he had an eight-yard reception in the 45–42 victory.[27] In theAFC Championship loss to theNew England Patriots, he had a 24-yard reception.[28]
In Week 2 against the Patriots, Westbrook recorded a 61-yard touchdown reception in the 31–20 victory.[29] In Week 4, in a victory over theNew York Jets, he had a career-high nine receptions for 130 receiving yards in the 31–12 victory.[30] In Week 15, against theWashington 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]
In Week 7, a 27–17 victory over theCincinnati 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]
Westbrook entered 2020 fourth on the Jaguars wide receiver depth chart. In Week 7, he suffered atorn ACL and was placed on injured reserve on October 26.[37]
On July 26, 2021, Westbrook signed with theMinnesota Vikings on a one-year contract.[38] In the 2021 season, Westbrook appeared in 15 games and recorded ten receptions for 68 receiving yards to go along with some punt return duties.[39]
On October 25, 2022, theMiami Dolphins hosted Westbrook for a workout.[40] Four days later, the Bengals also hosted Westbrook for a workout.[41]
On November 15, 2022, Westbrook signed to thepractice squad of theGreen Bay Packers.[42] He was released on December 13, 2022.[43]
| 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 | 717 | 11.2 | 61T | 5 |
| 2019 | JAX | 15 | 11 | 66 | 660 | 10.0 | 39 | 3 |
| 2020 | JAX | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 |
| 2021 | MIN | 15 | 0 | 10 | 68 | 6.8 | 17 | 0 |
| Career | 55 | 24 | 170 | 1,788 | 10.5 | 61T | 9 | |