Wikipedia

Jeff Heuerman

Jeff Heuerman (born November 24, 1992)[1] is an American former professional football tight end. He played college football for Ohio State, and in 2015 won the CFP National Championship. He was selected by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 2015 NFL draft, where he played until 2019.

Jeff Heuerman
refer to caption
Heuerman with the Denver Broncos in 2016
No. 82
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1992-11-24) November 24, 1992 (age 31)
Naples, Florida, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school:Barron G. Collier
(Naples, Florida)
College:Ohio State (2011–2014)
NFL draft:2015 / round: 3 / pick: 92
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:63
Receiving yards:678
Receiving touchdowns:5
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Heuerman was an avid hockey player growing up, playing the sport for eight years. He spent one year living in Detroit with his grandfather, to play hockey for the Detroit Compuware team.[2] He played football at Barron Collier High School in Naples, Florida, where he also excelled in track and basketball.[3]

Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Heuerman was rated as the 18th-best tight end prospect of his class.[4]

College career

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Heuerman enrolled early at Ohio State University, joining the Ohio State Buckeyes football team in January 2011. As a freshman, he played in 10 games, making his lone catch on the season against Florida in the 2012 Gator Bowl.[5] As a sophomore, he played in all 12 games, including nine starts. He had eight receptions on the year for 94 yards, including his first collegiate touchdown, an 18-yard score against Nebraska.[6] As a junior, Heuerman led all Buckeyes receivers by averaging 17.9 yards per reception with 26 receptions for 466 yards and four touchdowns, and earned himself conference honorable mention honors.[7] As a senior, he had 17 receptions for 207 yards and two touchdowns.[8]

Professional career

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Pre-draft

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On December 14, 2014, it was announced that Heuerman accepted his invitation to play in the 2015 Senior Bowl, along with teammates Doran Grant and Michael Bennett.[9] Unfortunately, Heuerman was unable to play in the Senior Bowl after suffering an ankle injury late in his senior season.[10] He was one of 19 collegiate tight ends to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was limited to performing the bench press and tied Penn State's Jesse James for second among all tight ends, behind Louisville's Gerald Christian.[11] On March 13, 2015, Heuerman attended Ohio States pro day and performed the majority of combine drills. He attended a private visit with representatives from the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was projected to be a third- or fourth-round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts.[12] Heuerman was ranked as the third best tight end prospect in the draft by Sports Illustrated and NFLDraftScout.com and was ranked the fifth best tight end by NFL analysts Charles Davis and Mike Mayock.[13][14][15][16]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 5+1⁄8 in
(1.96 m) 		254 lb
(115 kg) 		33+1⁄4 in
(0.84 m) 		10+1⁄8 in
(0.26 m)		 4.81 s 1.63 s 2.75 s 34+1⁄2 in
(0.88 m)		 10 ft 0 in
(3.05 m)		 26 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Ohio State's Pro Day[17]

2015

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The Denver Broncos selected Heuerman in the third round (92nd overall) of the 2015 NFL draft. He was the fourth tight end selected in 2015.[18] On May 9, 2015, he tore his ACL in rookie camps and was ruled out for the 2015 season.[19] On June 4, 2015, the Broncos signed Heuerman to a four-year, $2.81 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $620,806.[20]

On February 7, 2016, Heuerman was part of the Broncos team that won Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers by a score of 24–10.[21] Heuerman did not play in the game due to injury.[22]

2016

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Throughout training camp, Heuerman competed against Virgil Green, Garrett Graham, Manasseh Garner, and Henry Krieger-Coble for the vacant starting tight end position after the departures of Owen Daniels and Vernon Davis in free agency. On August 17, 2016, Heuerman suffered a hamstring injury during practice and missed the entire preseason. Head coach Gary Kubiak named Heuerman the backup tight end behind Green to start the season.[23]

He missed the first two games of the season due to his hamstring injury.[24] On September 25, 2016, he made his professional regular season debut in a Week 3 matchup at the Cincinnati Bengals and caught one pass for 29 yards in their 29–17 victory.[25] In Week 6, Heuerman was a healthy scratch after Green returned from an injury that caused him to miss three consecutive games.[26] On December 25, 2016, Heuerman earned his first career start after Green and A. J. Derby were both declared inactive with injuries.[27] He caught a season-high three passes for 32 yards during a 33–10 loss at the Kansas City Chiefs.[28] He finished his first active season with nine receptions for 141 receiving yards in 12 games and two starts.[29]

2017

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Under new head coach Vance Joseph, Heuerman competed against Green, Derby, and Kreiger-Coble for the starting tight end position. He was named the second tight end behind Green to begin the 2017 season.[30]

On October 15, 2017, Heuerman caught his first career touchdown on a 13-yard pass from Trevor Siemian in the fourth quarter during a 23–10 loss at the New York Giants.[31] On December 14, 2017, he caught a career-long 54-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brock Osweiler in the Broncos' 25–13 victory at the Indianapolis Colts.[32] He finished the 2017 season with nine receptions for 142 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns in 14 games and six starts.[33]

2018–2019

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Heuerman entered the 2018 season slated as the Broncos starting tight end. He played in 11 games with 10 starts, recording a career-high 31 catches for 281 yards and two touchdowns.[34] In Week 12, he suffered three broken ribs and a bruised lung and was ruled out for the rest of the season.[35] He was placed on injured reserve on November 27, 2018.[36]

On March 15, 2019, Heuerman signed a two-year, $9 million contract extension with the Broncos.[37] In the 2019 season, Heuerman finished with 14 receptions for 114 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in 14 games and 11 starts.[38]

On July 31, 2020, Heuerman was released by the Broncos.[39]

Personal life

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Heuerman was born to Melissa and Paul Heuerman and has two younger brothers, Mike and Matt. His younger brother, Mike, played tight end at the University of Notre Dame.[40]

References

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  1. ^ "College Football Stats". Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  2. ^ Rowland, Kyle (September 18, 2012). "Hockey was Heuerman's First Love". Eleven Warriors. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  3. ^ Shaw, Derrick (February 10, 2015). "OSU TE Jeff Heuerman talks NFL combine". WINK News. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  4. ^ "Jeff Heuerman, 2011 Tight End, Ohio State". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  5. ^ "Jeff Heuerman 2011 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  6. ^ "Jeff Heuerman 2012 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  7. ^ "Jeff Heuerman 2013 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  8. ^ "Jeff Heuerman 2014 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  9. ^ Landis, Bill (December 14, 2014). "Michael Bennett, Jeff Heuerman, Doran Grant accept Senior Bowl invites: What we learned about Ohio State vs. Alabama on Monday". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  10. ^ Wright, Brandon (February 20, 2015). "Ohio State TE Jeff Heuerman could fill a void for Cleveland Browns". Cleveland.com. Retrieved December 22, 2017.[permanent dead link‍]
  11. ^ Brady, James (February 22, 2015). "NFL Combine 2015: Full results for tight ends". SBNation.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  12. ^ Kozora, Alex (April 13, 2015). "2015 NFL Draft Player Profiles: Ohio State TE Jeff Heuerman". SteelersDepot.com. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  13. ^ Mayock, Mike (April 28, 2015). "Mike Mayock's final draft positional rankings". NFL.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  14. ^ Davis, Charles (April 1, 2015). "2015 NFL Draft prospect rankings by position". NFL.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  15. ^ "Jeff Heuerman, DS #3 TE, Ohio State". nfldraftscout.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  16. ^ Burke, Chris (April 8, 2015). "2015 NFL draft positional rankings: Tight end". si.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  17. ^ "NFL Draft Profile: Jeff Heuerman". NFL.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  18. ^ "2015 NFL Draft Listing". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  19. ^ Mason, Andrew (May 9, 2015). "Third-round pick Jeff Heuerman suffers torn ACL in practice". DenverBroncos.com. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
  20. ^ "Spotrac.com: Jeff Heuerman contract". Spotrac.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  21. ^ "Super Bowl 50 – Denver Broncos vs. Carolina Panthers – February 7th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  22. ^ Citro, Michael (February 9, 2016). "Roby, Heuerman Join Elite Group of Buckeyes Who Have Gone On to Win Super Bowl Titles". Eleven Warriors. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  23. ^ "Ourlads.com: Denver Broncos' depth chart: 10/01/2016". Ourlads.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  24. ^ Mason, Andrew (September 6, 2016). "Broncos Injury Report: Bennie Fowler, Jeff Heuerman still sidelined". DenverBroncos.com. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  25. ^ "Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals – September 25th, 2016". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on January 13, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  26. ^ "Talib, Marshall Among Inactive Against Chargers". CBS – Denver. October 30, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  27. ^ "Broncos inactives vs. the Chiefs". DenverBroncos.com. December 25, 2016. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  28. ^ "Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs – December 25th, 2016". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  29. ^ "Jeff Heuerman 2016 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  30. ^ "Ourlads.com: Denver Broncos depth chart: 10/01/2017". Ourlads.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  31. ^ "New York Giants at Denver Broncos – October 15th, 2017". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  32. ^ "Denver Broncos at Indianapolis Colts – December 14th, 2017". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on February 4, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  33. ^ "Jeff Heuerman 2017 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  34. ^ "Jeff Heuerman 2018 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  35. ^ Alper, Josh (November 26, 2018). "Report: Jeff Heuerman to miss rest of season". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  36. ^ Swanson, Ben (November 27, 2018). "Broncos promote Temarrick Hemingway to active roster, place Jeff Heuerman on injured reserve, sign three to practice squad". DenverBroncos.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  37. ^ DiLalla, Aric (March 15, 2019). "Broncos agree to terms with TE Jeff Heuerman on new contract". DenverBroncos.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  38. ^ "Jeff Heuerman 2019 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  39. ^ DiLalla, Aric (July 31, 2020). "Broncos release tight end Jeff Heuerman". DenverBroncos.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  40. ^ "Mike Heuerman". Notre Dame Fighting Irish – Official Athletics Website. July 9, 2018. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
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