Jeffery Wayne King (born February 19, 1983) 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 wi ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

and current co-director of player personnel for the Chicago Bears of 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 ...

(NFL). He played college football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

for

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

. He was selected by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

in the fifth round of the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with add ...

. King has also played for the Arizona Cardinals.

High school

A PrepStar All-American for

Coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Joel Hicks at Pulaski County High School, King rated the No. 3 tight end in the Atlantic Region. He was named first-team Group AAA all-state as a tight end by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

and the state coaches. He was ranked the No. 12 prospect in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

by ''

The Roanoke Times ''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, ...

'' and SuperPrep. He was an honorable mention All-South pick by the ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

''. He led his high school team to the Group AAA, Division 5 state semifinals in 2000. He finished his senior season with 278 yards receiving and eight

touchdowns 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 Amer ...

. He also registered eight sacks as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

. He set a school record with 101

pancake blocks The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

in a season. He had 12 pancakes and two receptions for 30 yards and a touchdown in a game his senior year. He was named All-Timesland as a junior and senior. King was also a basketball player who compiled over 1,000 points and 1,000

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

during his career. He averaged 25 points and 14 rebounds as a senior on the way to all-district and all-region honors. He also competed in the shot put for the track team with a best effort of 54' 7" as a junior. He was also a member of the National Honor Society.

College career

King

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his freshman in 2001. In 2002, King played in all 14 games for Virginia Tech making only one reception, a 19-yard touchdown against

Arkansas State Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. He also blocked a field goal against

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pen ...

. In 2003, King played in 13 games with two starts. He made six receptions for 109 yards and one touchdown. He also blocked a field goal against

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

. In 2004, King became a starter. He started all 13 games, posting 25 receptions for 304 yards and four touchdowns. He was also a Second-team All-ACC choice. In 2005, he started all 13 games. He recorded a career-high 26 catches for 292 yards and six touchdowns, a school single-season record for tight ends, and became the first player in school history to catch a touchdown pass in four consecutive games. He also blocked a field goal against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

that the Hokies returned for a touchdown. He was also a second-team All-ACC selection.

College statistics

In his college career, King set a school record for touchdown catches by a tight end with 11, bettering the previous mark of eight. He also blocked three kicks on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

Professional career

2006

King was selected in the fifth round of the

by the

. He played in 12 games in his rookie season, and scored a touchdown on his only reception of the season in a game against the Atlanta Falcons.

2007

In 2007 his first year as a starter King recorded 46 receptions for 406 yards and two touchdowns. King made his then career long reception during the Panthers week three win over the Atlanta Falcons, with a 29-yard catch. He also had a single-game career high in receptions with 10 during a week eight loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

2008

With the return of

Muhsin Muhammad Muhsin Muhammad II (; born Melvin Darnell Campbell Jr. May 5, 1973) is a former American football wide receiver who played for the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Muhammad played college football for ...

to the Carolina Panthers, King changed numbers from #87 to #47. King recorded 21 receptions for 195 yards and had one touchdown reception against the Detroit Lions. King also improved his career long catch, with at 31-yard reception against the Arizona Cardinals.

Arizona Cardinals

King was signed by the Arizona Cardinals on July 29, 2011.

Career statistics

Executive career

King was hired by the Chicago Bears as a pro scout in 2016. He was promoted to assistant director of pro scouting in 2019, and promoted again to director of pro scouting on July 6, 2021. On May 3, 2022, the team announced King was promoted to co-director of player personnel along with Trey Koziol.

Personal life

King graduated with a degree in finance and is enrolled in health and physical education in graduate school.

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Jeff 1983 births Living people People from Pulaski, Virginia Players of American football from Virginia American football tight ends Virginia Tech Hokies football players Carolina Panthers players Arizona Cardinals players Chicago Bears executives