Carl McNally Pickens (born March 23, 1970) 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 ...

player who was a

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 ...

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) for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

and

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Colleg ...

, earning first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 1991.

Early life

Pickens attended Murphy High School in

Murphy, North Carolina Murphy is a town in and the county seat of Cherokee County, North Carolina, United States. It is situated at the confluence of the Hiwassee River, Hiwassee and Valley River, Valley rivers. It is the westernmost county seat in the state of North ...

, a small town in the Smoky Mountains about 100 miles from

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

. He played free safety and wide receiver there, intercepting 15 passes in three seasons and catching 71 passes, including 24 for touchdowns, as a senior, when he was a

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

magazine All-American. He also returned punts and kickoffs, and punted. He also excelled at basketball, averaging 27 points per game and attracting the interest of many college programs.

College career

Pickens played

for the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

from 1989 to 1991, where he started his career as a safety and was named a Freshman All-American and All-SEC selection. He moved to wide receiver, where he caught 109 passes for 1,875 yards and 13 touchdowns, and made the

College Football All-America Team The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best college football players in the United States at their respective positions. The original use of the term '' All-America'' seems to have been to the 1889 College Footbal ...

as a junior. He did not return to Tennessee for his senior year. His college receiving statistics were: *1989: 7 catches for 81 yards with 2 TD *1990: 53 catches for 917 yards with 6 TD *1991: 49 catches for 877 yards with 5 TD In 2023, Pickens was inducted into the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

Pickens was selected in the second round (31st overall) of the

1992 NFL draft The 1992 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 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott M ...

by the

. Pickens made his NFL debut in Week 1 of the 1992 season against the Seahawks. In Week 3 against the Packers, he had a 95-yard punt return for a touchdown. He recorded 26 receptions for 326 yards and one touchdown in 16 games and ten starts as a rookie. For the 1992 season, he was named the

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Various entities present an NFL Rookie of the Year award each season to the top rookies in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL considers the (rookie) of the year awards by the Associated Press (AP) to be its official honor. Since 2011, th ...

by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. In Week 8 of the 1993 season against the Oilers, he had seven receptions for 127 yards in the loss for his first game over the century mark in the NFL. He had his first multi-touchdown game in the NFL in Week 17 against the Falcons in a 21–17 win. He finished the 1993 season with 43 receptions for 565 yards and six touchdowns in 13 games and 12 starts. The 1994 season marked a breakout year for Pickens. He had 11 receptions for 188 yards and three touchdowns in a victory over the Oilers in Week 11. The game against the Oilers started a four-game streak of going over 100 yards for Pickens. He finished the season with 71 receptions for 1,127 yards and 11 touchdowns. Pickens had five consecutive games with a touchdown to start the 1995 season. The streak was bookended by a three-touchdown game against the Dolphins. He had five games going over the 100-yard mark, three games with at least two touchdowns, and 14 games with at least one touchdown on the 1995 season. In the 1995 season, he set a Bengals record for receptions in a single season with 99, and touchdown catches with 17. He totaled 1,234 receiving yards on the year. He later surpassed his own record by recording 100 receptions in 1996. From 1994 to 1995, Pickens became the first NFL player to record at least five receptions and a receiving touchdown in eight straight games. In Week 13 of the 1996 season, he had 11 receptions for 176 yards and three touchdowns against the Falcons in a 41–31 victory. He earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his game against the Falcons. He followed that up with another three-touchdown game in a loss the Jaguars. In the 1996 season, he had 100 receptions for 1,180 yards and 12 touchdowns. In Week 4 of the 1997 season, Pickens had eight receptions for 125 yards in a loss to the Broncos. He finished the 1997 season with 52 receptions for 695 yards and five touchdowns in 12 games. He missed the last four games being inactive and eventually put on injured reserve. In Week 4 of the 1998 season, Pickens had seven receptions for 120 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to the Ravens. In the following game, he had 13 receptions for 204 yards and one touchdown in a win over the Steelers. He earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his game against the Steelers. In the 1998 season, he had 82 receptions for 1,023 yards and five touchdowns in 16 games and starts. In Week 13 of the 1999 season, against the 49ers, Pickens had seven receptions for 107 yards and two touchdowns. In the 1999 season, Pickens had 57 receptions for 737 yards and six touchdowns. In his nine NFL seasons, Pickens recorded 540 receptions for 7,129 yards and 63 touchdowns, while also gaining another 307 yards and one touchdown on punt returns. His 63 touchdown receptions were a franchise record until surpassed by

Chad Johnson Chad Ochocinco Johnson (born Chad Javon Johnson, January 9, 1978), known from 2008 to 2012 as Chad Ochocinco, is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He ...

in 2010. He is also known for the "Carl Pickens Clause". This was a loyalty clause that the Bengals created and added to Pickens's contract which would cause him to forfeit all or some of his

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

if he insulted the organization in public. This clause has since been used in contracts with other players.

Tennessee Titans

Pickens signed a one-year contract with the

on July 31, 2000. With the Titans, he had his first winning season of his career and his first playoff appearance. He finished the regular season with ten receptions for 242 yards in nine games and six starts.

Dallas Cowboys

On April 5, 2001, Pickens signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. He announced his retirement on May 30.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Pickens was arrested January 5, 2014, for allegedly assaulting his wife after the two argued on a movie date.

References

External links

Tennessee Volunteers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pickens, Carl 1970 births Living people American football wide receivers Tennessee Volunteers football players Cincinnati Bengals players Tennessee Titans players American Conference Pro Bowl players NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year winners People from Murphy, North Carolina 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen