[OC] One-Hit Wonders- Part II: Patrick Jeffers (WR, Carolina, 1999)

I realized something while doing the Record Watch that was a bit odd. If I only did one a week, I wouldn’t be able to get to all of the records. That’s why I decided to do two a week, with one stat relating to the offense and another relating to the defense. However, if I did that, I’d run out of defensive stats pretty quickly. The offensive stats are fine, but there’s not enough defensive stats to fill out an offseason. So, because of this, a defensive stat will be every other Wednesday.

This doesn’t stop the One Hit Wonders series, though, from happening every Thursday. Last week, we looked at the curious case of Derek Loville, who was absolutely ineffective in his first five seasons, then became the starting halfback for the 49ers and played well before reverting back to his old ways, and somehow wound up running an international drug ring. We’re going to stay in the 90s for this one, and take a look at one of the first stars that the Carolina Panthers ever had.

The Panthers didn’t exactly have a whole lot of star power when they first started off, unlike their expansion counterparts in Jacksonville. During the first four seasons, only one offensive player made it to a Pro Bowl, and that was Kerry Collins in 1996 (and he followed that up in 1997 by throwing 21 interceptions, and then essentially quit and forced his way out of Carolina in 1998).

But things were starting to change in 1999. They had a borderline Hall of Fame receiver in Muhsin Muhammad. They had a Pro Bowl quarterback in Steve Beuerlein. And they got help from an unlikely source with the emergence of wide receiver Patrick Jeffers. Towards the latter half of the 1999 season, he went from a complete unknown to one of the best receivers in football. And just as quickly as he came onto the scene, he disappeared.

So what happened to Patrick Jeffers? How did he go from bouncing around the league to becoming a star, to falling off just as fast? This is the story of today’s Oneder of the week. This is the story of Patrick Jeffers.

Part I: From Walk-On to Glory

In November of 1999, the Virginia football team put out an article essentially comparing Jeffers’ story to a movie. Oddly enough, little did Virginia know that the best part of the movie had yet to come, and was only about a month away. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here.

Let’s start at the very beginning with Jeffers. He was a freshman at Virginia in 1992, and did not have any scholarship. He had to walk onto the football team in order to make it. Obviously, Jeffers ended up making the team, and even though he didn’t play a whole lot in 1992 (he had just 9 catches his freshman year), he had earned a spot on the team. In fact, by 1993, he was in the starting lineup, and finished the year with 32 receptions, 580 yards, and 6 touchdowns. He went from a walk-on to a starting wide receiver in a matter of two years.

He missed part of the 1993 season with a broken collarbone, but I love how the article starts. The article starts with a quote from the starting long snapper. Mike Rosenwald, the author of this article, is one of us. He was a large part as to why Virginia was relevant for a while in the 90s; I know it seems hard to believe now, since Virginia hasn’t won a bowl game since the 2005 Music City Bowl and has only finished at .500 or better once in the last five seasons, but there was a time where Virginia was good under head coach George Welsh.

Jeffers played for Virginia from 1992-95, and he capped his senior year off in style, winning the ACC (the last time Virginia won the conference) and winning the Peach Bowl. They split the conference title that year with Florida State (who had the same record in the conference), but seeing as they beat Florida State, you could make the argument that the Cavaliers were actually better. They finished the year ranked #16 in the country, and at one point, were ranked #9.

He was part of a very good Virginia football team, but the odd part isn’t that Virginia was good, but rather, just how consistent Jeffers was. In 1993, he had 32 receptions for 580 yards. In 1994, he had 33 receptions for 560 yards. And, in 1995, he had 34 receptions for 517 yards. I don’t think it’s possible to be more consistent than he was. There was no improvement or regression from his sophomore year to his senior year- he was the same exact player. Regardless, he was still a very good player; he was in the top 10 in the ACC in receiving yards in 1993 and 1994, and had the fourth most receiving touchdowns in the conference in 1993, when he had 6.

By the time Jeffers finished his career at Virginia, he finished as the fourth leading receiver in school history, only behind Herman Moore (who went onto have a pretty successful NFL career), John Ford, and Tyrone Davis. Oddly enough, the top two receivers at the time in Virginia history by receiving yards were drafted by the Detroit Lions. Jeffers was fourth in receiving touchdowns as well; today, he ranks tied for seventh in both receiving yards and touchdowns. Remember- Jeffers was a walk-on. He didn’t have a scholarship. And yet, he put up fantastic numbers for a very good Virginia football team.

Jeffers defied the odds once already by making it this far in college. The next step was the NFL.

Part II: Stint with Denver

I was able to find a scouting report from 1996 that talked about Jeffers. The positive for Jeffers was that he had a very good frame, and was 6’3”. The bad news was that he was slow; he ran a 4.60. Because of this, he was projected as a third or fourth rounder. Unfortunately for Jeffers, he slipped to the fifth round, where he was taken with the 159th pick in the draft by the Denver Broncos. The team that originally held this pick was the Carolina Panthers, and you’ll see why that becomes relevant later on.

Now in 1996, Jeffers didn’t play a whole lot. In fact, he didn’t record a single reception, and was only targeted twice all season. He was made active for the first three games of the season, and for the final game of the season. The fact that he even made the roster was a bit of a surprise; the Broncos had twelve picks that year, and only seven of them actually made the roster. They drafted a punter who didn’t even make the roster. Even though Jeffers didn’t play much in 1996, there really wasn’t a spot for him. Denver had two solid receivers already with Anthony Miller and Ed McCaffrey, and you’re not going to play 3-wide sets when you have Shannon Sharpe, one of the best tight ends of all-time, out there. So, Jeffers rode the pine his first season.

But he would maybe have an opportunity in 1997. During the offseason, the Broncos released Anthony Miller. This came as a surprise; in terms of receivers (excluding tight ends), he had 56 receptions and 735 yards, which led the team. And in 1995, he finished the season with 14 receiving touchdowns and over 1,000 receiving yards. The Broncos didn’t spend a draft pick on a receiver that year; they only had three picks in the entire draft, and only one (Dan Neil at guard) was spent on the offensive side of the ball.

This could’ve been an opportunity for Jeffers. Unfortunately for him, there was an up and coming receiver on the team named Rod Smith. He earned the starting spot in place of Miller, and performed extremely well, recording 70 receptions for 1,180 yards and 12 touchdowns. That year, he was second in the NFL in receiving touchdowns, only behind Cris Carter of the Vikings, and was eighth in the league in receiving yards. Combined with Ed McCaffrey still playing well (and he would only get better; in 1998, he would go over 1,000 yards and make the only Pro Bowl of his career), and Shannon Sharpe still playing like Shannon Sharpe, and Jeffers never really saw the field. He was only able to record 3 receptions that year for 24 yards. While Jeffers would win Super Bowl XXXII as a member of the Broncos that year, he didn’t do anything.

Part III: Second Chance in Dallas

By 1998, there was absolutely no need for Jeffers on the Broncos. They had Ed McCaffrey and Rod Smith, two very good receivers (and Smith should be in the Hall of Fame), and they drafted Marcus Nash in the first round. At the time, nobody knew that Nash would flame out and become one of the biggest busts that nobody talks about (he finished his NFL career with 4 receptions and no touchdowns, though he was very good in the Arena Football League), but there was no need for Jeffers with the top three receivers seemingly established.

Because of this, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys towards the end of the 1998 preseason. Head coach Mike Shanahan put in a good word for Jeffers, but in the end, he was nothing more than a role player who came in once Ernie Mills got hurt. He did average a fantastic 18.33 yards per reception, but aside from two regular season games against the Vikings and Chiefs, he didn’t do a whole lot outside of pedestrian numbers. Here’s one of his 2 touchdowns that year, but the Cowboys would lose that game because Randy Moss decided to become a machine that day.

Even though Jeffers didn’t play a lot in his first three seasons, the foundation was there. He had played with some of the greatest offensive players of all-time. He had played with John Elway, Terrell Davis, Rod Smith, and Shannon Sharpe in Denver, and had played with Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin in Dallas. Jeffers said in a 1999 interview:

As a young player coming into the league, you look to the veterans and you have to understand there is a reason why they stick around as long as they do. Guys that have been around seven or eight years are hard workers. You see it on the practice field. They work harder than anyone else. In the meeting room, they are never confused about what they are supposed to do and know exactly what is going on in the game plan. I looked at veterans like Irvin, Aikman, and Elway, and I realized it’s not all about ability. It’s about hard work, and that’s why these guys are successful.

In a matter of three years, Jeffers had gone from nobody to Super Bowl champion to solid role player on the Cowboys. And the potential was definitely there- he had decent numbers in half a season in Dallas (18 receptions for 330 yards and 2 touchdowns in the final 7 games of the season; if you count the playoffs against the Arizona Cardinals, then in his final 8 games, he had 25 receptions for 422 yards, as he had 7 for 92 in the wild card game). Now, he was a restricted free agent.

Part IV: Carolina’s Chance

As a restricted free agent, the Carolina Panthers made a bold move- make Patrick Jeffers the highest paid receiver on the team. The man had 18 receptions in the regular season with the Cowboys, and had 20 in three seasons overall, and he was going to be the highest paid receiver on the team? Carolina offered a 1-year deal worth $1.2 million, and the Cowboys did not match. Because of this, not only did the Panthers give up a fifth round pick, but the Panthers signed Jeffers in a bit of a questionable move.

Did the Panthers really need to get Jeffers at the price that they did? Did he really need to be the highest paid receiver on the team? Entering the season, they had a pretty solid receiving core. Rae Carruth had a solid rookie season in 1997 (44 receptions for 545 yards), and even though he broke his foot at the start of the 1998 season, he would come back in 1999 stronger than ever. Of course, we all know how that story eventually turned out, as he went from promising wide receiver with talent to one of the most despicable players in the history of the NFL.

The Panthers had Muhsin Muhammad, their second round pick from 1996. And in 1998, he had a pretty good season; he had 941 yards for 6 touchdowns and 68 receptions. At tight end, they had a very good option in Wesley Walls; since joining the Panthers in 1996, he had made the Pro Bowl every season, and was a 3-time Pro Bowler entering the 1999 season, having made it in 1996, 1997, and 1998 for the Panthers. And, they had drafted a receiver in the fourth round in 1998 named Donald Hayes; while he didn’t do a whole lot in 1998 (3 receptions for 62 yards), you had to have hope that he would break out (sure enough, he did, as in 2000, he had 66 receptions for 926 yards and 3 touchdowns).

The Panthers had two solid receivers already, one of the best tight ends in football, and a draft pick that had potential. They also added Eric Metcalf, a guy who had 2 Pro Bowl appearances and in 1995, had nearly 1,200 receiving yards with the Atlanta Falcons. And they were going to make Patrick Jeffers the highest paid receiver on the team? This was a team that went 4-12 the year before in 1998, and finished dead fourth in the NFC West. This was a team that had a pretty good offense in 1998; they had the best offense of any non-playoff team in the NFC, scoring 336 points. However, they allowed 413 points; they needed to be spending their money on defense. They didn’t need another wide receiver, especially an unproven one, and especially at the cost that they paid him.

Carolina took a massive chance on Jeffers with that contract in 1999. Remember that the salary cap wasn’t what it is today- in 1999, it was $58.4 million, so using roughly 2% of your salary cap ($1.2 million) on a depth body and an unproven receiver was a bit of a risky move. The end result?

Part V: A Shaky Start

At first, nobody knew what the Panthers were thinking with that contract. On opening day in 1999 against the Saints, Jeffers was targeted just once for an incomplete pass. The only completed pass he had was negated by an offensive pass interference penalty on Muhsin Muhammad, so Jeffers’ first game resulted in no receptions. Carolina lost that first game 19-10.

In the second game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jeffers wasn’t even targeted. The Panthers lost that one 22-20, and two games into the season, Jeffers had no receptions. Game #3 was the first game that the Panthers won, and in that one, Jeffers had just one catch, which came late in the third quarter on a 17-yard reception. It was the final play of the third quarter, so after nearly 11 quarters of football, Jeffers finally had a reception as a Carolina Panther. Through 3 games, he had one reception and three targets. Not exactly good numbers, especially for his contract.

But starting in week 4 against Washington, he would start to get a bit more involved in the offense. He would have 5 receptions for 57 yards against Washington, and the following week against San Francisco, would have 6 receptions for 93 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jeffers scored a 7-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give the Panthers a 10-9 lead, and in the third quarter, would score a 33-yard touchdown to extend Carolina’s lead to 31-16. Even though the 49ers would fight back and get it to within two points, the 2-point conversion attempt by Jeff Garcia failed, and the Panthers would hold on for a 31-29 win. The win by the Panthers snapped a 4-game losing streak against division rival San Francisco (Carolina and San Francisco were in the same division- think about that for a second), and after a shaky start to the season, the Panthers were now 2-3, and Jeffers was starting to look the part.

The next few weeks would consist of rather pedestrian performances. He had 60 yards the following week against the Lions, then after not playing against the Falcons in week 8, had 30 yards against the Eagles, 43 yards against the Rams, 34 yards against the Browns, and 31 yards against the Falcons in week 12. At the end of November, Jeffers had 28 receptions for 365 yards and 4 touchdowns. He was a part of the offense, but it wasn’t anything more than he was in Dallas during the end of 1998. So far, the contract seemed to be a bit of a bust, and he would spend the rest of his career as a journeyman receiver once he hit free agency after the 1999 season was done.

But then, December happened. And I have no idea what happened, but in the final 5 weeks of the season, he was the best receiver in the NFL.

Part VI: A Magical December (and January)

I’m not exaggerating. For the final 5 weeks of the season, there was no receiver in football that was better than Patrick Jeffers. He went from a role player to a guy that was universally feared around the league. Nobody got hurt that allowed him to get an opportunity and jump up the depth chart. For five games, Jeffers was an unstoppable force that helped Carolina make a late push to the postseason.

In week 13 against the St. Louis Rams, Jeffers had 7 receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown. With the Panthers down 24-14, Jeffers caught a 71-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Steve Beuerlein to cut the deficit to just three points. Even though the Rams would go onto win the game 34-21, and would later go onto win Super Bowl XXXIV, Jeffers had the best game of his career to date. He had five receptions in the first half, and in the second half, had a huge touchdown.

Turns out, that wasn’t even close to his final form. In week 14 against the Green Bay Packers, he had 8 receptions for 147 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 33-31 win. The game ended in dramatic fashion, with Steve Beuerlein scoring a rushing touchdown with no time left on the clock, but they were able to stay in the game with two early touchdown receptions by Jeffers, coming from 35 yards out and 38 yards out.

During these final 5 weeks, he was catching everything thrown his way. He was catching 68.6% of passes thrown in his direction, or roughly 2 out of every 3. For a wide receiver, this is incredible, because none of these catches are easy. There’s someone covering the receiver all the time. It’s not like a halfback on a swing pass where the catch is the easy part and getting yards is the hard part. To catch over 68% of passes while averaging 20 yards per reception over the final 5 weeks is remarkable. Against the Rams, he caught 7 out of 9 passes. Against the Packers, he caught 8 out of 9. And the following week against the 49ers, he was targeted 11 times, making 8 receptions for 138 yards and a touchdown in a 41-24 victory.

All of the sudden, the Panthers, despite being 2-5 at one point, had a legitimate chance at the playoffs. If they won their final 2 games, they’d be in. Unfortunately for them, they lost the following week to the Pittsburgh Steelers by a final score of 30-20. Don’t blame Jeffers, though- he had 5 receptions for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 43-yard touchdown reception and an 88-yard touchdown reception. At the time, it was the longest passing touchdown in franchise history, and would only be surpassed by a Cam Newton touchdown in 2011 to Brandon LaFell that went for 91 yards.

There was still an outside chance at the playoffs. In their final game against the New Orleans Saints, they would have to win, and hope for a few tiebreakers to fall their way. The result? The greatest moment in the history of NFL Primetime. If anyone has not seen this video, watch it right now. This is why I love Chris Berman. This is one of the greatest moments in the history of the NFL, and why I am a huge advocate for the league playing a Premier League style schedule in week 17 (play all AFC games at 1:00 and all NFC games at 4:30, or vice versa).

But aside from that, it was another great game for Jeffers, who had 7 receptions for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 45-13 victory. The Panthers would finish the season at .500, going 5-2 in the final 7 games of the season, and while they wouldn’t make the playoffs, they may have found a gem in Patrick Jeffers.

Over the first 12 weeks of the season, Jeffers had 28 receptions for 365 yards and 4 touchdowns. Over the final 5 weeks of the season, Jeffers had 35 receptions for 717 yards and 8 touchdowns. He scored multiple touchdowns in 3 out of the final 5 games, and scored at least one touchdown in the final 6 games of the season. Over the final 4 games of the season, he had 28 receptions, 610 yards, and 7 touchdowns. For some perspective on how dominant that is, if you make that into a 16-game season, you finish with 112 receptions, 2,440 yards, and 28 touchdowns.

Marvin Harrison led the league in receiving yards that year with 1,663. The best 4-game stretch he had in terms of yardage was 513 yards. Jeffers’ best stretch was 610 yards. Despite having just 4 touchdowns after November, Jeffers finished the season so strong that he finished tied for second in the NFL in receiving touchdowns that year, alongside Isaac Bruce, Marvin Harrison, and teammate Wesley Walls. The only man ahead was Cris Carter of the Minnesota Vikings, who had 13. Jeffers finished the season with 1,082 receiving yards, and was rewarded handsomely shortly after, getting a 4-year deal worth $10 million.

In the final five weeks of the season, Jeffers went from a role player to the best receiver in football. Turns out, that fifth round pick that Carolina gave up to Denver (where they chose Jeffers) turned out to work in their favor in the long run. So what happened the following season?

Part VII: An Unfortunate Ending

Jeffers had clearly shown at this point that he could play. He got that 4-year contract, and the Panthers, despite losing Rae Carruth because of reasons, they didn’t draft a receiver. Aside from signing a role player in Isaac Byrd, they were extremely comfortable with their receiving duo of Muhammad and Jeffers, and why wouldn’t they be? Muhammad was a Pro Bowler, and Jeffers had one of the best stretches in the history of the NFL down the stretch for any receiver. The only thing stopping Jeffers at this point was an injury.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened. In the second week of the preseason against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jeffers tore his ACL. He was done for the year. The 2000 season was a rough one for Carolina, who seemingly lost every player with an injury that year. But he was now done for the season, and the Panthers would struggle because of it, going just 7-9. Steve Beuerlein, who made the Pro Bowl in 1999, threw for just 19 touchdown passes in 2000, and while Donald Hayes stepped up (66 receptions for 926 yards), it was clear that this team missed Jeffers.

In 2001, not knowing what to expect with Jeffers coming back from a torn ACL, they chose Steve Smith in the third round of the draft. While Smith didn’t do a whole lot his rookie year (10 receptions for 154 yards), he would quickly become the greatest wide receiver to ever play for the Carolina Panthers. As for Jeffers that season, he was a shell of his former self. He had just 14 receptions for 127 yards and no touchdowns, and caught only 42.4% of his passes. Aside from one game against the Rams, where he had 7 receptions for 70 yards, he was ineffective for the entire season. The Panthers were also a dumpster fire that year- the team went just 1-15, and was so bad that George Seifert’s chances of making the Hall of Fame as a two-time Super Bowl winning coach were significantly hampered because of it.

In 2002, Jeffers didn’t play the first three preseason games, and was released shortly thereafter. He never played another down in the NFL again. It was not an easy decision to make, especially since he believed he was close to playing again, but in the end, Jeffers could never regain full strength. He claimed that even though his right ACL was rehabilitated, he began to lose strength in his left knee. Injuries and unsuccessful rehab derailed an extremely promising career.

This story takes a bit of an odd turn, though. In 2003, Jeffers sued the Panthers and their team doctor, but the courts found in favor of the Panthers after long, drawn-out trials. Here’s an article from 2009 about the final result of the lawsuit. Jeffers tried to sue for negligence and tried to claim that Dr. Donald D’Alessandro intentionally tried to injure him by performing five additional surgeries without his consent, but Jeffers did not win.

Part VIII: Legacy

There are some one-hit wonders, like Derek Loville last week, that were good one year and then fell off the map due to poor play. Patrick Jeffers was not that player. This is one of the saddest one-hit wonders in recent memory, because Jeffers wasn’t just good. When he was on his game, Jeffers was the best receiver in football. That five game stretch at the end of 1999 came out of nowhere, and if he could’ve played like that in 2000 and for the rest of his career, he could’ve been something special.

Instead, we never got to see that. We never got to see what could’ve been. We saw sparks and flashes of it, but never a full season. There are some players that can come back from an ACL injury, but Jeffers was not one of them. Jeffers was the perfect player to represent the Seifert era for the Panthers- not good at the start of 1999, then really good at the end, followed by disappointment in 2000 and useless in 2001.

He could’ve been something special had he have not gotten hurt at Three Rivers Stadium during that preseason game back in 2000. Instead, we’re left with a one-hit wonder, and a Cinderella story in many ways. From walk-on at Virginia to the best receiver in football by the end of the millennium after being passed on by two different teams.

Lost Leagues (Sundays)	Record Watch- Offense (Mondays)	Draft Scratchers (Tuesdays)	Record Watch- Defense (Wednesdays)	One Hit Wonders (Thursdays)	Weird Stat Threads (Fridays)
Part I: United Football League	Part I: Passing Yards	Part I: Roger Vick (NY Jets, 1987)	Part II: Sacks	Part I: Derek Loville (San Francisco, 1995)	Part I: NFL vs. Eurovision
Part II: Spring Football League	Part III: Receptions	Part II: Tyson Alualu (Jacksonville, 2010)	N/A	Part II: Patrick Jeffers (Carolina, 1999)	Part II: NFL vs. Preakness
Part III: Fall Experimental Football League