Deltha Lee O'Neal, III (born January 30, 1977) is a former American college and professional football player who was a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

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 ...

(NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. He was drafted by 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 headquar ...

as the 15th pick overall in the

2000 NFL Draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...

, and he played professionally for the Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots of the NFL. He was a two-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

selection.

Early years

O'Neal was born in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

. He is a 1995 graduate of Milpitas High School in

Milpitas, California Milpitas ( Spanish for "little milpas") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in Silicon Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 80,273. The city's origins lie in Rancho Milpitas, granted to Californio ranchero José Mar� ...

, where he was a running back, cornerback, and kick returner for the Milpitas

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 ...

team. In

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

, he was a state-qualifier in the 100 and 200-meters, with personal-bests of 10.75 in the 100 and 21.66 in the 200. He was also a member of the 4 × 100 m (41.65s) relay squad.

College career

He attended the University of California, Berkeley, and played for the California Golden Bears football team. In his senior year with the Golden Bears, O'Neal set the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

single-season record of four interceptions returned for touchdowns and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American. He graduated from California with a degree in social welfare in 2000.

Professional career

Denver Broncos

Originally drafted by the

in the first round of the

. Due to O'Neal's speed, former Broncos head coach

Mike Shanahan Michael Edward Shanahan (born August 24, 1952) is a former American football coach, best known as the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2008. During his fourteen seasons with the Broncos, he le ...

briefly flirted with converting O'Neal to wide receiver in mid-2003. O'Neal had two receptions, for four yards, in two games. O'Neal was also used frequently to return punts and kickoffs on special teams. While with the Broncos, O'Neal tied the record for most interceptions in a game with four.

Cincinnati Bengals

In April 2004, an unhappy O'Neal and the Broncos' 24th (first round) and 117th (fourth round) spots in the

2004 NFL draft The 2004 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 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

were traded to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for Cincinnati's 17th spot in the first round. In the 2005 season, O'Neal recorded ten interceptions, breaking the franchise record of nine, set by Ken Riley in 1976 and equalling Ty Law as the NFL's interception leader that year. He broke the record on December 18, 2005, against the Detroit Lions. In early December 2006, O'Neal was arrested on DWI charges. In the 2007 season, O'Neal recorded 52 tackles and one interception. O'Neal was released by the Bengals on August 30, 2008.

New England Patriots

On September 1, 2008, O'Neal was signed by the New England Patriots.

Houston Texans

O'Neal signed with the Houston Texans on August 6, 2009 following an injury to

Jacques Reeves. He was released on September 5, 2009.

NFL statistics

Legal issues

On December 9, 2006, O'Neal was arrested in the Pierce Twp community of Cincinnati after he was pulled over for driving while intoxicated. O'Neal was driving a black Cadillac Escalade. He was one of 9 Bengals players arrested during the 2006 offseason and regular season. In December 2019, O'Neal was charged with one count of DUI with serious injury and one of DUI with property damage in

Royal Palm Beach, Florida Royal Palm Beach is a village in southeast Florida, located within Palm Beach County. The population was measured at 34,140 in the 2010 census. It is part of the Miami Metropolitan Area. Despite its name, the village is located approximately fift ...

after speeding 100 mph in his Mercedes Benz and striking a utility pole, causing the vehicle to catch fire on August 7, 2019. He and a passenger were airlifted to St. Mary's Medical Center, where O'Neal suffered a broken ankle, a fractured back and neck, an eye injury, brain bleeding and intestinal injuries.

References

External links

Houston Texans bioNew England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneal, Deltha 1977 births Living people All-American college football players American Conference Pro Bowl players American football cornerbacks American football return specialists California Golden Bears football players Cincinnati Bengals players Denver Broncos players Houston Texans players New England Patriots players Sportspeople from Palo Alto, California Players of American football from California People from Milpitas, California