78 Facts About Wes Welker

1.

Wesley Carter Welker was born on May 1,1981 and is an American football coach and former wide receiver who is the wide receivers coach for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League.

2.

Wes Welker previously served as an assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers and the Houston Texans.

3.

Wes Welker played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2004.

4.

Only one player in NFL history, Gale Sayers, had more all-purpose yards in his first three NFL seasons than Wes Welker did with the Dolphins.

5.

Wes Welker still holds the Dolphins' all-time records for total kickoff returns, kickoff return yardage, and total punt returns.

6.

Wes Welker holds the record for most receptions by any undrafted player in NFL history, passing Rod Smith in 2014.

7.

Wes Welker holds the four highest single-season reception totals in Patriots' history, as well as four of the top 10 receiving yardage totals, including the franchise record.

8.

Wes Welker holds the franchise records for most receptions in a single game, most receiving yards in a single game, longest reception, and career receptions.

9.

Wes Welker, who had three consecutive 110-reception seasons, is the first receiver in NFL history with at least three 110-reception seasons, and the first with five 100-reception seasons.

10.

Wes Welker was selected to the Pro Bowl, the All-Pro Team, or both, in every season of his Patriots career.

11.

Wes Welker is considered one of the greatest undrafted players in NFL history.

12.

Wes Welker started his football career at Heritage Hall High School in Oklahoma City.

13.

In that game, Wes Welker had three touchdowns, over 200 all-purpose yards, a 47-yard field goal, and an interception.

14.

Wes Welker handled some kicking duties and recorded 165 extra points made and 35 field goals converted.

15.

Out of high school, Wes Welker was not heavily recruited, as he was considered to be too small to play at the college level.

16.

Wes Welker's last-minute signing proved to be very beneficial for the Red Raider football team.

17.

Wes Welker made his collegiate debut in the 2000 season opener against Utah State.

18.

Wes Welker led the conference and finished second in the NCAA with his total punt return yardage.

19.

Wes Welker set the NCAA record for punt return yards with 1,761, and returned eight punts for touchdowns in his career, which currently places him a second place tie with Antonio Perkins for the NCAA record, and behind Dante Pettis, who finished with nine.

20.

In 2003, Wes Welker won the Mosi Tatupu Award, given annually to the best special teams player in college football.

21.

Wes Welker was named to the Sports Illustrated All-Decade Team as a punt returner.

22.

Wes Welker, who went undrafted during the 2004 NFL Draft, signed as an undrafted free agent with the San Diego Chargers.

23.

Wes Welker made the Chargers out of training camp, but was released after the first game of the season when the Chargers claimed safety Clinton Hart off waivers.

24.

Head coach Marty Schottenheimer later acknowledged that in terms of roster cuts, releasing Wes Welker was the "biggest mistake [he] ever made".

25.

Wes Welker finished the 2005 season with 29 receptions for 434 yards.

26.

Wes Welker returned 48 kickoffs for 1,048 yards and 41 punts for 378 yards.

27.

On March 1,2007, the Dolphins offered Wes Welker, a restricted free agent, a second-round tender of $1.35 million for a one-year contract.

28.

News reports indicated the New England Patriots, who were interested in Wes Welker, had originally considered signing him to an offer sheet.

29.

Wes Welker set an NFL record for most catches in a first season with a new team.

30.

Wes Welker, who finished the season with 1,175 yards and eight touchdowns, received one vote for NFL Offensive Player of the Year, an award won by his quarterback, Tom Brady, and was voted to his first AP All-Pro Team.

31.

Wes Welker had six or more receptions in each of the Patriots' first 11 games, breaking Jimmy Smith's mark of eight games at the start of the Jacksonville Jaguars' 2001 season.

32.

Wes Welker broke the 1,000-yard mark for the second consecutive season in Week 14 against the Seattle Seahawks, catching 12 passes for 134 yards, and catching a pass on the Patriots' two-point conversion.

33.

Wes Welker finished the season with a league-leading 96 receptions, for 1,002 yards.

34.

Wes Welker was selected to attend the 2009 Pro Bowl as a reserve, and was again named to the AP All-Pro Second Team.

35.

Wes Welker was sidelined in Weeks 2 and 3, against the New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons, respectively, with a knee injury; rookie wide receiver Julian Edelman took his place in the lineup.

36.

The second of Wes Welker's touchdowns was Tom Brady's NFL record fifth touchdown in a single quarter.

37.

In Week 13 against the Dolphins, Wes Welker recorded 167 receiving yards to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the third straight season.

38.

In Week 16, Wes Welker caught 13 passes, giving him seven games with double-digit receptions.

39.

Wes Welker accomplished this despite missing two games earlier in the season.

40.

Wes Welker was placed on injured reserve on January 6,2010.

41.

Wes Welker finished the season with a league-high 123 receptions, the second-highest total in NFL history, and finished second in yardage, behind Houston's Andre Johnson.

42.

Wes Welker was selected to represent the AFC in the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive year, and, for the first time in his career, was named to the All-Pro First Team.

43.

Wes Welker rehabilitated his knee during the 2010 offseason with the goal of being ready for the 2010 season opener, while many analysts expected that he would start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, and some even speculated that he would miss the entire 2010 season.

44.

Wes Welker finished the 2010 season with 86 receptions for 848 yards and seven touchdowns in 15 games with 11 starts.

45.

Wes Welker was named to the 2011 Pro Bowl as an injury replacement to Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson.

46.

Wes Welker was ranked 50th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2011 players' list.

47.

In Week 5, in the Patriots' win over the New York Jets, Wes Welker caught five passes for 124 yards, including a 73-yard catch-and-run in which Wes Welker beat Eric Smith and was chased down by Darrelle Revis at the eight-yard line.

48.

In Week 14, against the Washington Redskins, Wes Welker recorded his 100th reception of the season, giving him four seasons with at least 100 receptions, tying the NFL record shared by Marvin Harrison and Jerry Rice.

49.

Wes Welker set a personal best with his ninth receiving touchdown.

50.

Wes Welker finished the season with 122 receptions, 1,569 receiving yards and 98.5 yards per game, and 77 receptions for first down.

51.

Wes Welker was named to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time and earned First Team All-Pro honors for the second time in his career.

52.

Wes Welker was ranked 23rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2012.

53.

Wes Welker set the NFL record for most games with 10 or more catches and 100 or more yards.

54.

Wes Welker ended the season tied with Chicago Bears receiver Brandon Marshall for second in receptions with 118, behind Detroit's Calvin Johnson.

55.

Wes Welker finished ranked 44th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2013.

56.

Wes Welker reached 500 receptions with the Patriots in just 70 games, an NFL record.

57.

Wes Welker holds the franchise record for consecutive games with receptions, having caught a pass in every game, including the postseason, he played as a Patriot.

58.

On March 13,2013, Wes Welker signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the Denver Broncos.

59.

Wes Welker's signing with Denver was a result of Wes Welker and the New England Patriots being unable to agree to a contract.

60.

Wes Welker's two receiving touchdowns were part of a single-game record seven thrown by quarterback Peyton Manning.

61.

Wes Welker caught a touchdown pass in eight of the first ten games of the 2013 season.

62.

In Week 14 against the Tennessee Titans, Wes Welker took a hit to the head on a play across the middle late in the second quarter, and his neck bent awkwardly on the play.

63.

Wes Welker previously suffered a concussion in Week 11 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

64.

Wes Welker did not play for the rest of the regular season.

65.

Wes Welker was part of the Broncos' historic offense which saw five players record at least ten touchdowns on the season.

66.

Wes Welker had four receptions for 38 yards in the victory.

67.

Wes Welker had eight catches for 84 yards in the loss, the third such loss in the Super Bowl for Welker.

68.

Wes Welker was ranked 73rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2014.

69.

Wes Welker did not re-sign with the Broncos and became a free agent.

70.

Wes Welker appeared in eight games, but started none, and had 13 receptions for 102 yards for the Rams in the 2015 season.

71.

On January 30,2017, Wes Welker began his coaching career and was hired by the Houston Texans as an offensive assistant and special teams assistant coach under head coach Bill O'Brien.

72.

On February 27,2019, Wes Welker was hired by the San Francisco 49ers to be their wide receivers coach under head coach Kyle Shanahan.

73.

In February 2022, Wes Welker chose to follow head coach Mike McDaniel, the former offensive coordinator for the 49ers, to be the wide receivers coach on McDaniel's inaugural coaching staff with the Miami Dolphins.

74.

Wes Welker was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and is a Christian.

75.

Wes Welker is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and has a grandmother who lives within Cherokee Nation jurisdiction in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma.

76.

Wes Welker graduated from Texas Tech University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management from the Rawls College of Business.

77.

In 2007, Wes Welker established the 83 Foundation.

78.

In 2012, Wes Welker married former swimsuit model and 2005 Miss Hooters Pageant Winner Anna Burns.