Aaron Jameer Dobson (born July 23, 1991) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver. He was drafted by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

in the second round of the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

and played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

Early years

Dobson was born in

Dunbar, West Virginia :''See also Dunbar (disambiguation)'' Dunbar is a city in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Kanawha River. The population was 7,479 at the 2020 census. History Dunbar was incorporated on April 19, 1921, by an ...

. He attended South Charleston High School in

South Charleston, West Virginia South Charleston is a city in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. It is located to the west of Charleston. The population was 13,639 at the 2020 census. South Charleston was established in 1906, but not incorporated until 1917. The ...

, and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

and high school basketball for the South Charleston Black Eagles. He recorded 45 receptions for 1,298 yards and 17

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

and added seven

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

s on defense, and finished his high school career with 108 receptions, 2,365 yards and 32 touchdowns. He had 10 interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns, and was a member of the 2008 MSAC Championship team and 2008 West Virginia AAA State Championship, which finished with a 14-0 record. In 2009, he played for

USA Football USA Football is the national governing body for amateur American football in the United States. It is an independent non-profit based in Indianapolis, Indiana. USA Football designs and delivers premier educational, developmental and competitive p ...

's U.S. Under-19 National Team that won the 2009

IFAF The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the international governing body of gridiron associations. The IFAF oversees the IFAF World Championship of American Football, which is held every four years. The IFAF became a pro ...

Under-19 World Championship in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...

, where he was teammates with future

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

running back, David Wilson.

College career

Dobson attended

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...

, where he played for the

Marshall Thundering Herd football The Marshall Thundering Herd football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports program of Marshall University. The team represents the university as a member of the Sun Belt Conference East Division of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

team from 2009 to 2012. During his college career, Dobson had 165 receptions for 2,398 yards and 24

s. As a junior in 2011, he was the MVP of the

2011 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl The 2011 Beef 'O'Brady's Bowl, the fourth edition of the game formerly known as the St. Petersburg Bowl, was a post-season American college football bowl game, held on December 20, 2011 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, and telec ...

. He ended his Marshall senior season being named 2nd team All-

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

and being invited to play in the

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

. Dobson gained recognition in 2011 during a game against

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...

, when he had a one-handed backhand catch for a touchdown in the second quarter. The play went viral and was ranked second on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

's Top 10 Plays of the Year.

Professional career

New England Patriots

The

selected Dobson in the second round, with the 59th overall pick, of the

. He signed a four-year, $3.4 million contract. His first career catch was for a touchdown against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

in Week 2. In a Week 9 win against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, he had the first 100-yard game of his career. He caught five passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns. He suffered a foot injury in week 12 against the Broncos and missed weeks 13-15. He appeared in 12 games (nine starts) with 519 receiving yards and four touchdowns during his rookie campaign in 2013. Dobson was inactive for eight of the first twelve weeks of the 2014 season before injuring his

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupeds, ...

against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

in Week 13. On December 4, 2014, he was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. With Dobson on IR, the Patriots won

Super Bowl XLIX Super Bowl XLIX was an American football game played to determine the champions of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2014 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Conf ...

after they defeated the defending champion

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

, 28-24. Dobson was active for Week 1 against the Steelers on September 10, 2015. He played sparingly recording one

reception Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to: Astrology * Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another ...

for nine yards. In the second week, against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, he tied a career-high with seven catches, for 87 yards. He recorded a 17-yard pass from quarterback

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

in a 20-13 win over the Bills in Week 11; on the play, he injured his

ankle The ankle, or the talocrural region, or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular join ...

and had to leave the game. He was diagnosed with a

high ankle sprain A high ankle sprain, also known as a syndesmotic ankle sprain (SAS), is a sprain of the syndesmotic ligaments that connect the tibia and fibula in the lower leg, thereby creating a mortise and tenon joint for the ankle. High ankle sprains are desc ...

, and on November 26, 2015, the Patriots placed him on injured reserve, ending his season. On September 3, 2016, Dobson was released by the Patriots as part of final roster cuts.

Detroit Lions

On September 21, 2016, Dobson was signed by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. He was released on September 24, 2016. On September 27, 2016, he was re-signed by the Lions. He was released again on October 8, 2016.

Arizona Cardinals

On January 5, 2017, Dobson signed a reserve/future contract with the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on September 2, 2017. He was released on September 6, 2017.

Career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Marshall Thundering Herd bio

New England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, Aaron 1991 births Living people American football wide receivers Arizona Cardinals players Detroit Lions players Marshall Thundering Herd football players New England Patriots players People from Dunbar, West Virginia Players of American football from West Virginia South Charleston High School alumni People from South Charleston, West Virginia