Derrick Alexander (wide receiver)

This article is about the wide receiver. For the defensive lineman, see Derrick Alexander (defensive end).

Derrick Alexander

Position(s) Wide Receiver Jersey #(s) 82, 85
Born	November 6, 1971 (1971-11-06) (age 40) Detroit, Michigan
Career information
Year(s)	1994–2002
NFL Draft	1994 / Round: 1 / Pick: 29
College	Michigan
Professional teams
Cleveland Browns (1994-1995) Baltimore Ravens (1996-1997) Kansas City Chiefs (1998-2001) Minnesota Vikings (2002)
Career stats
Receptions	417
Receiving Yards	6,971
Touchdowns	40
Stats at NFL.com
Career highlights and awards
Chiefs single season receiving yards record with 1,391

Derrick Scott Alexander (born November 6, 1971) is a former American football wide receiver of the National Football League. He was drafted in the first round of the 1994 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns and in 2000 set the Kansas City Chiefs record of 1,391 receiving yards in a single season.

College career

Alexander was a wide receiver for the University of Michigan from 1989-1993. After the graduation of Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard, he became the Wolverines top receiver. In his junior and senior seasons he led the team in receptions and receiving yards.^[1] In 1993 he had a career game against Illinois, catching seven passes from quarterback and future teammate in the NFL as well, Todd Collins for 188 yards and two touchdowns. His 90-yard touchdown reception stood as the longest completion in Michigan football history until Mario Manningham surpassed it with a 97-yard reception on November 10, 2007 at Wisconsin.^[2]

In his final college game, he returned a punt for 79 yards, the longest punt return in Outback Bowl history, as well as the only punt returned for a touchdown.^[3]

Alexander was twice named to the All-Big Ten Conference team, and was honored as an All-American in 1992.^[2]

Professional career

Derrick Alexander was taken by the Cleveland Browns with the final pick in the first round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He had an immediate impact, leading the playoff-bound Browns in receiving as a rookie.^[4]

After playing only sporadically in 1995, Alexander recorded two consecutive 1,000 yard seasons for the Baltimore Ravens. He is the Ravens all-time leader in yards-per reception (16.6). He also has the most 100-yard receiving games in Ravens history, as well as the longest pass reception.^[5]

For the 1998 season, he signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs. Although the Chiefs signed him as a complement to Pro Bowl receiver Andre Rison,^[6] Alexander led the team in receiving yards.^[7] In 2000, he set a team record for receiving yards in a season, with 1,391.^[8] The Chiefs quarterback that year was his former Michigan teammate, Elvis Grbac.

After playing through 2001 with a persistent abdominal injury, Alexander was released by Kansas City and signed with the Minnesota Vikings.^[9] Again, he was signed to line up opposite a premiere receiver; this time, Randy Moss. However, he was only occasionally effective. A knee injury ended his season prematurely, and the Vikings released him in the off-season.^[10]

On July 22, 2003, he signed a one-day contract to retire as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs.^[11] He ended his career with 417 receptions for 6,971 yards and 40 touchdowns.

See also

• Lists of Michigan Wolverines football receiving leaders

References

1. ^ "Michigan Football Statistic Archive". MGoBlue.com. Regents of the University of Michigan. http://stats.ath.umich.edu/football/schedlist.php. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Derrick Alexander, Football All-American". University of Michigan Athletic History. Bentley Historical Library. http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/fballam/aaalexde.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-21. 
3. ^ "Outback Bowl Individual Records". Outback Bowl.com. Outback Bowl. http://www.outbackbowl.com/facts/individual.html. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
4. ^ "1994 Cleveland Browns statistics". pro-football-reference.com. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cle1994.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-21. 
5. ^ "Ravens Records". Baltimore Ravens 2006 Media Guide. Baltimore Ravens. http://www.baltimoreravens.com/docs/mediaGuide/2006_ravens_records.pdf. Retrieved 2007-01-20. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Alexander Is Signed To Pair With Rison". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 1998-03-03. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E4D91531F930A35750C0A96E958260. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 
7. ^ "1998 Kansas City Chiefs statistics". pro-football-reference.com. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/kan1998.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-21. 
8. ^ "All-Time Records". KC Chiefs.com. Kansas City Chiefs. Archived from the original on 2006-10-18. http://web.archive.org/web/20061018050332/http://www.kcchiefs.com/alltime/. Retrieved 2007-01-21. 
9. ^ "Alexander signs with Vikings". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. 2002-06-08. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00EED8123DF93BA35755C0A9649C8B63. Retrieved 2007-01-21. 
10. ^ Pasquarelli, Len (2003-08-13). "Moss plan doesn't pan out for receiver". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. http://static.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/pasquarelli_len/1595170.html. Retrieved 2009-03-11. 
11. ^ "WR Alexander retires with Chiefs". NFL.com. NFL Enterprises LLC. 2005-07-22. Archived from the original on 2006-12-10. http://web.archive.org/web/20061210094126/http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/KC/8667434. Retrieved 2007-01-20. 

Persondata
Name	Alexander, Derrick
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 6, 1971
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death