Robert Picard (born November 24, 1949) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

who spent three years in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He played college football for the

Eastern Washington Eagles The Eastern Washington Eagles are the intercollegiate varsity athletic teams that represent Eastern Washington University, located in Cheney, southwest of Spokane. A member of the Big Sky Conference, EWU's athletic program comprises five men's ...

College career

Picard walked on to NAIA

Eastern Washington State Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington, United States. It shares its satellite campus in Spokane, Washington with Washington State University. Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided int ...

, which is now known as Eastern Washington. He played four years as a wide receiver, setting career records for catches (166), yards (2,373), and touchdowns (19). These marks stood for 22 years until they were broken in 1993. He had his number 84 jersey retired, making him one of only two players to have received this honor at Eastern Washington, the other being

Michael Roos Michael Roos (born Mihkel Roos, October 5, 1982) is an Estonian-born former professional American football offensive tackle who played his entire career for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Tita ...

Professional career

Picard was selected by the

in the sixth round of the

1973 NFL draft The 1973 NFL draft was held January 30–31, 1973, at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Houston Oilers selected defensive end John Matuszak. Player selections Round one ...

. He spent three seasons with the Eagles, making his mark primarily on special teams. He was selected in the

1976 NFL expansion draft The 1976 National Football League (NFL) expansion draft was held March 30–31, 1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime ...

by the

, but he was cut in training camp. He then returned to the Philadelphia Eagles for four games before being traded mid-season to the

, where he would play the final eight games of his career. Picard never caught a regular season pass in the NFL, but his play on special teams was renowned. One Philadelphia sportswriter once said of Picard that "''Of all the Philadelphia Eagles, the easiest one to find in the locker room is Bobby Picard. He's the one covered with all the blood. Number 82 in your program, but No. 1 in the kamikaze ranks. The guy who looks like a walking transfusion.''"

References

External links

Bob Picard at Pro Football Reference
1949 births Living people People from Omak, Washington American football wide receivers Eastern Washington Eagles football players Philadelphia Eagles players Seattle Seahawks players Detroit Lions players Players of American football from Washington (state) 20th-century American sportsmen {{Widereceiver-1940s-stub