Dewayne Jamar Robertson (born October 16, 1981) is a former

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. He was drafted by 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 ...

fourth overall in the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

and has also played for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

. He 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 ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Early years

Robertson attended Melrose High School in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

and was a letterman in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. In football, he was a two-time All-Metropolitan Memphis honoree and a two-time All-State honoree.

College career

Robertson attended college at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

. He originally intended to play H-Back, but was later converted back to defensive tackle after several key drops in spring practice. As a freshman, he was named Freshman All-SEC by the league's coaches. In his junior season in 2002, Robertson recorded 48 tackles, five sacks for -40 yards, 13 quarterback pressures, a pass defensed, and a blocked kick, earning a second-team All- SEC selection. Robertson decided to forgo his senior season and enter the

. He finished his collegiate career with 114 tackles, one fumble recovery, three forced fumbles and 10.5 sacks in three seasons.

Professional career

2003 NFL Draft

Robertson was chosen by the New York Jets after his junior year with the 4th pick of the

. He was the highest selected defensive player from Kentucky since

Art Still Arthur Barry Still (born December 5, 1955) is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Kentucky, where he was an All-American in 1977, and professionally for the Kan ...

went second overall in the

1978 NFL Draft The 1978 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 2–3, 1978, at the Roosevelt Hote ...

New York Jets

He started all 16 games during his rookie season (2003), recording 43 tackles and 1.5 sacks. He was the first Jets defensive player to start every game in his rookie season since Mo Lewis in 1991. He played in all 16 games in 2004, totaling 52 tackles and 3 sacks. He had 7 tackles in the Jets’ 20-17 overtime Wild Card playoff victory on the road against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

. Robertson played in 13 games, tallying 43 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 1 pass breakup. For the first time in his career, he missed a game in Week 15, due to an injured thigh. On November 14, 2006 Robertson was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 10. He had six tackles and a sack in the Jets' Week 10 win over 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 ...

. Robertson's career with the Jets was labeled as a bust, considering the high expectations and the Jets efforts to trade up to draft him. On March 3, 2008, ESPN.com reported that Robertson has been traded to the Bengals. However, later that same day, FOXSports.com broke the news that Robertson and the Bengals were unable to come to terms on a new contract, resulting in the trade falling through.

Denver Broncos

On April 24, 2008, the Jets reached an agreement to trade Robertson to the

for a late-round conditional pick in the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. T ...

. This pick could have escalated as high as a second rounder based on the statistics and performance of Robertson. Upon acquiring Robertson, the Broncos signed him to a five-year contract believed to be worth about $24 million.Roster ready
/ref> Robertson was released by the Broncos on February 16, 2009 after just one season with the team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Dewayne 1981 births Living people Players of American football from Memphis, Tennessee American football defensive tackles Kentucky Wildcats football players New York Jets players Denver Broncos players