Joel Clifford Dreessen (born July 26, 1982) 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. Like ...

. 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 ...

in the sixth round of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 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 April 23–24, 2005. The league also he ...

. 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 o ...

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

. Dreessen has also played for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at N ...

and

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 ...

Early years

Dreessen was born in Ida Grove,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to ...

, and graduated from Fort Morgan High School in 2000. In 1999, Fort Morgan was the Colorado 3A State champions. Dreessen was also a member of the all-state team in Colorado that year. Dreessen attended

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1 ...

. He earned first-team all-conference honors in 2002 and 2004, second-team all-conference in 2003 and was a participant in the 2004 Senior Bowl. He was inducted into th
Colorado State University Athletics Hall of Fame
in 2021.

Professional career

New York Jets

Dreessen was drafted by the

in the sixth round of the

Houston Texans

On October 28, 2007, Joel Dreessen caught his first NFL touchdown pass, a 28-yard reception in the fourth quarter from quarterback Sage Rosenfels 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 ...

at San Diego's

Qualcomm Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadiu ...

. It was Houston's only touchdown in a 35-10 loss, and Dreessen was named Houston's top offensive player despite only one reception. Dreessen re-signed with the Texans in 2009 for a reported three-year, $3.6 million deal. Near the end of the 2009 season, Dreessen had become the starter at tight end due to the injury of Owen Daniels. Dreessen caught the first touchdown pass in the Texans' last game against 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) East division. The P ...

from

Matt Schaub Matthew Schaub (born June 25, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers, and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the th ...

Denver Broncos

Dreessen signed with the

on March 23, 2012 for three years and $8.5 million. In 2012, he caught 41 receptions as well as 5 touchdowns while playing in 16 games with 15 starts. Dreesen played in 13 games in the 2013 season, recording seven catches and one touchdown. Dreessen was released by the Broncos on July 22, 2014 after a failed physical.

References

External links

ESPN profileCBS Denver: Joel Dreessen Thinks Playing For The Broncos Will Take Him To Next Level
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dreessen, Joel 1982 births Living people People from Ida Grove, Iowa Players of American football from Colorado American football tight ends American football long snappers Colorado State Rams football players New York Jets players Houston Texans players Denver Broncos players People from Fort Morgan, Colorado Ed Block Courage Award recipients