Daniel Braverman (born September 28, 1993) 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 ...

and

kick returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...

. 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 ...

at Western Michigan, and was selected by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in the seventh round of the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

Early life

Braverman was born in Miramar, Florida, grew up in

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

, and is Jewish. His father, Jamie Braverman, played

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

in 1977 on

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

’s

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

national title team. Braverman played

and ran the 100 meter dash, the 4x100, and the 400 meters in track at University School of Nova Southeastern University in

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

, Florida. He was a two-time all- Broward County selection in football. He was among the fastest high school football players in South Florida, running the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds.

College career

Braverman played

on scholarship for the Western Michigan Broncos in the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

(MAC). On September 8, 2012, Braverman scored his first

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

on his first collegiate touch, scoring on a nine-yard run against Eastern Illinois. On September 15, Braverman participated on his first career start at

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. On October 27, 2012, Braverman caught a career-high 5 catches against

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...

. Braverman red-shirted the 2013 season, due to a torn right

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

suffered in April of that year. On August 30, 2014, Braverman opened the 2014 season with a career-high 10 catches for a career-high 130 yards against Purdue. In 2014, he was # 1 in the MAC in receptions (86), # 4 in

punt return Punt or punting may refer to: Boats * Punt (boat), a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow developed on the River Thames * Falmouth Quay Punt, a small sailing vessel hired by ships anchored in Falmouth harbour * Norfolk Punt, a type of racing ...

s (15), and # 5 in receiving yards (997). During the 2015 regular season, he had 108 receptions for 1,367 yards and 13 touchdowns and # 2 in the

NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

(FBS) in receptions. In 2015, he was the only player in the FBS to make over 100 catches, have over 1,350 receiving yards, and have 13 or more touchdowns. In 2015, he was also # 2 in the MAC in receiving touchdowns (13), # 3 in receiving yards, and # 5 in yards from scrimmage (1,380). In his three-year Western Michigan college career, he started 27 of 37 games, catching 213 passes for 2,509 yards (11.8 avg.) and 19 touchdowns, and ran 76 yards on 12 rush attempts (6.3 avg.). On

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, he made 24 punt returns for 109 yards (4.5 avg.) and 15 kickoff returns for 312 yards (20.8 avg.). He was twice named a ''

Jewish Sports Review ''Jewish Sports Review'' (JSR) was a bi-monthly magazine that operated from 1997 to 2022. Its editors were Ephraim Moxson and Shel Wallman. The magazine identified Jewish athletes, including professionals, college players, athletes in internati ...

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 ...

. At the conclusion of his junior season, Braverman declared for the

NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

Statistics

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Braverman was selected in the seventh round, 230th overall by the

in the

. According to Pro Football Focus, Braverman averaged more yards-per-route from the slot than any receiver drafted in 2016. Mel Kiper Jr. of

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

said: "He kind of reminds you of a (Danny) Amendola, (Julian) Edelman type.... He's quick after the catch, he's aggressive, he's tough, (and) he'll break tackles." On May 9, 2016, Braverman signed a four-year, $2.4 million contract with the Bears with a $79,000

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 ...

. On September 3, he was released by the Bears as part of final roster cuts and was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on November 29, 2016. In 2016, he played three games for the Bears. On September 2, 2017, Braverman was waived by the Bears.

Kansas City Chiefs

On January 2, 2018, Braverman was signed to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

' practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Chiefs on January 10. He was waived on September 1, 2018.

Arizona Cardinals

On December 4, 2018, Braverman was signed to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

practice squad. He was released on December 20, 2018.

San Antonio Commanders

Braverman was signed to a contract from the rights list of the San Antonio Commanders of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

(AAF) on April 1, 2019.

Calgary Stampeders

After the AAF suspended football operations, Braverman signed with the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) on April 17, 2019. He was released before the start of the season on June 9, 2019, and placed on the

practice roster In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. He was released from the practice roster at the end of the season on November 11, 2019.

St. Louis BattleHawks

Braverman signed with the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL during mini-camp in December 2019. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on January 8, 2020. He was waived from injured reserve on March 4, 2020.

Toronto Argonauts

Braverman signed with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

of the CFL on January 4, 2021. He played in just four games where he had 15 receptions for 152 yards, 16 punt returns for 63 yards, and 10 kickoff returns for 228 yards. He was released on April 18, 2022.

References

External links

Western Michigan Broncos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braverman, Daniel 1993 births Living people Jewish American players of American football Players of American football from Broward County, Florida Sportspeople from Miramar, Florida American football wide receivers NSU University School alumni Western Michigan Broncos football players Chicago Bears players Kansas City Chiefs players Arizona Cardinals players San Antonio Commanders players Calgary Stampeders players St. Louis Battlehawks players Toronto Argonauts players 21st-century American Jews Players of Canadian football from Florida Jews from Florida Canadian football wide receivers